Bishop's Opening: Urusov Gambit
The Urusov Gambit is 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nf3, a pawn sacrifice in the Berlin Defense of the Bishop's Opening. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
781,366 games: White 53.0% / Draw 4.1% / Black 42.9%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, Dubois Réti Defense | 186,331186K | |
| 167,729168K | ||
| 102,353102K | ||
| 88,24788K | ||
| 69,00669K | ||
| 62,53363K | ||
| 47,21247K | ||
| 27,77028K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.21 The position is about equal
Best play: 4... Bb4+ 5. c3 dxc3 6. bxc3 d5 7. exd5 Bd6 8. Qe2+ Qe7 9. Qxe7+
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the worse this line does for White: White scores 55% under 1400, 51% at 2200 and up and 52% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 221K | |
| 1400–1799 | 538K | |
| 1800–2199 | 425K | |
| 2200 and up | 60K | |
| Masters, over the board | 424 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – So, W.
- Dubov, D. – Giri, A.
- Adhiban, B. – Volokitin, A.
- Savchenko, B. – Zvjaginsev, V.
- Bauer, R. – Zhak, B. M.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026
Description
The Urusov Gambit is 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nf3, a pawn sacrifice in the Berlin Defense of the Bishop's Opening. It is named after the Russian prince Sergey Semyonovich Urusov (1827-1897). It can also be reached from Petrov's Defense after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4.
The idea
White gives up the d-pawn for quick development and attacking chances. On move three the alternative 3...Nxe4 4.dxe5 gives White some advantage.
Main lines
- 4...Nxe4 accepts the gambit. After 5.Qxd4 Nf6 White continues with Nc3, Bg5, Qh4 and O-O-O, and usually intends to meet ...O-O and ...h6 with the piece sacrifice Bxh6, exposing the king. Black's position is solid with no clear weaknesses, but White has attacking chances and active pieces for the pawn. After 5...Nd6 instead, 6.O-O gives White an overwhelming attack.
- 4...d5 declines the gambit. Play goes 5.exd5 Bb4+ 6.c3 Qe7+ 7.Be2 dxc3, and both 8.bxc3 and 8.Nxc3 give roughly equal chances.
- 4...Nc6 transposes to the Two Knights Defense.
From 4...Bc5 5.O-O Nc6 the game can also reach the Max Lange Attack.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 53.0% of the 781,366 games and Black 42.9%. White's lead is largest between 1400 and 1799, 54.4% against 42.6%, and smallest from 2200 up, 47.5% against 45.3%. Masters over the board draw more than half their games: in 424 games 54.7% were drawn, White won 24.8% and Black 20.5%.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Bishop's Opening: Urusov Gambit
The most played answer, 4…Nc6 (Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, Dubois Réti Defense), also scores best for Black: 48.4%, with Black winning 45.9% and White 49.0% of 186K games. Of the main answers, 4…c5 scores lowest: 40.9%. Stockfish's first choice is 4…Bb4+.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
The Bishop's Opening: Urusov Gambit peaked in 2018 at 0.037% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.027% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.03% | 10,635 |
| 2017 | 0.036% | 19,983 |
| 2018 | 0.037% | 29,371 |
| 2019 | 0.034% | 42,759 |
| 2020 | 0.034% | 98,165 |
| 2021 | 0.033% | 128,250 |
| 2022 | 0.031% | 118,246 |
| 2023 | 0.028% | 105,849 |
| 2024 | 0.027% | 96,371 |
| 2025 | 0.027% | 93,368 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.026% | 28,201 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (2)
Transpositions
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Bishop's Opening, version of 14 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Bishop's Opening: Urusov Gambit (C43)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/bishops-opening-urusov-gambit