C26

Bishop's Opening: Vienna Hybrid, Spielmann Attack

Chess diagram: Bishop's Opening: Vienna Hybrid, Spielmann Attack after 4. d3

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Statistics from Lichess

1,562,839 games: White 52.5% / Draw 4.4% / Black 43.2%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
439,256439K
389,417389K
293,387293K
198,303198K
154,832155K
30,01530K
24,73225K
11,49211K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 19, 2026

Engine evaluation

0.00 The position is about equal

Best play: 4... c6 5. Nf3 d6 6. O-O O-O 7. Ne2 Re8 8. Ng3 d5 9. Bb3

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% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 53% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 628K
1400–1799 1.3M
1800–2199 775K
2200 and up 74K
Masters, over the board 660

Master games

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

Overview

Bishop's Opening: Vienna Hybrid, Spielmann Attack (ECO C26, Open Games) is a variation of the Vienna Game: Stanley Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 (4 moves).

In 1,562,839 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.5%, Black 43.2% and 4.4% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…d6, in 28% of those games.

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How to play against the Bishop's Opening: Vienna Hybrid, Spielmann Attack

4…c6 scores best for Black: 48.9%, with Black winning 46.9% and White 49.1% of 155K games. The most played, 4…d6, scores 45.4% in 439K games, and 4…Nc6 scores lowest: 45.2%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4…c6.

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, Spielmann Attack has stayed between 0.051% and 0.064% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.06% in 2025).

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.051%18,043
20170.054%29,508
20180.053%41,302
20190.051%63,364
20200.056%164,036
20210.064%248,493
20220.064%240,582
20230.063%238,038
20240.062%221,398
20250.06%209,042
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.058%64,070

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

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Bishop's Opening: Vienna Hybrid, Spielmann Attack (C26)”. Lichess data as of 19 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/bishops-opening-vienna-hybrid-spielmann-attack