Bishop's Opening: Vienna Hybrid
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Statistics from Lichess
3,385,921 games: White 51.4% / Draw 4.9% / Black 43.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,396,7621.4M | ||
| 653,965654K | ||
| 386,580387K | ||
| 359,906360K | ||
| 285,235285K | ||
| 174,170174K | ||
| 47,64448K | ||
| 28,66629K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 13, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.07 The position is about equal
Best play: 4... Na5 5. Bb3 Nxb3 6. axb3 d5 7. Nf3 d4 8. Ne2 Bd6 9. c3
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 54% under 1400, 53% at 2200 and up and 52% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1.6M | |
| 1400–1799 | 2.8M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.7M | |
| 2200 and up | 275K | |
| Masters, over the board | 2,890 |
Master games
- Nakamura, H. – Carlsen, M.
- Nakamura, H. – Carlsen, M.
- Nakamura, H. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Giri, A.
- Kasparov, G. – Caruana, F.
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 26, 2026
Overview
Bishop's Opening: Vienna Hybrid (ECO C24, Open Games) is a variation of the Bishop's Opening: Berlin Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 Nc6 4. Nc3 (4 moves).
In 3,385,921 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.4%, Black 43.7% and 4.9% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Bc5, in 41% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Bishop's Opening: Vienna Hybrid
4…Na5 scores best for Black: 50.8%, with Black winning 47.7% and White 46.0% of 174K games. The most played, 4…Bc5, scores 46.4% in 1.4M games, and 4…d6 scores lowest: 44.6%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4…Na5.
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: Vienna Hybrid has gained ground since 2016: 0.15% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.087%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.087% | 31,140 |
| 2017 | 0.089% | 48,986 |
| 2018 | 0.089% | 69,641 |
| 2019 | 0.088% | 109,313 |
| 2020 | 0.098% | 286,073 |
| 2021 | 0.12% | 482,848 |
| 2022 | 0.14% | 512,963 |
| 2023 | 0.15% | 549,229 |
| 2024 | 0.15% | 538,428 |
| 2025 | 0.15% | 527,330 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.16% | 171,614 |
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
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Bishop's Opening: Vienna Hybrid (C24)”. Lichess data as of 13 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/bishops-opening-vienna-hybrid