Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Accepted
The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Accepted is 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3, the main line of the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
2,364,488 games: White 52.8% / Draw 3.7% / Black 43.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,447,0571.4M | ||
| Ryder Gambit | 909,023909K | |
| 2,6742,674 | ||
| 2,0542,054 | ||
| 1,7381,738 | ||
| 1,2401,240 | ||
| 259259 | ||
| 112112 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 8, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.67 Black is slightly better
Best play: 5. Nxf3 g6 6. Bf4 Bg7 7. Qd2 O-O 8. O-O-O Nbd7 9. h3 Nb6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 46% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 797K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.7M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.3M | |
| 2200 and up | 113K | |
| Masters, over the board | 240 |
Master games
- Haugen, A. – Weisskohl, J.
- Haugen, A. – Donnelly, D. M. J.
- Haugen, A. – Bastos, P. R. L.
- Trumpf, W. – Muck, C.
- Colin, S. – Betker, J.
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
Description
The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Accepted is 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3, the main line of the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. Black takes the second pawn offered, and White gets a tempo and a half-open f-file in return for a pawn. The German master Emil Josef Diemer (1908–1990) popularised 3...Nf6 4.f3.
After 5.Nxf3
White usually recaptures with the knight, and Black then has five main options:
- 5...Bf5, the Gunderam Defence, analysed extensively by Gerhart Gunderam. White's main reply is 6.Ne5, aiming to chase the bishop with the kingside pawns.
- 5...Bg4, the Teichmann Defence, pins the knight, often to exchange it and undermine White's centre. White's best answer is 6.h3.
- 5...e6, the Euwe Defence, analysed by Max Euwe, aims for a French-type position with an extra pawn. Play usually continues 6.Bg5 Be7, and White's most popular move is 7.Bd3.
- 5...g6, the Bogoljubov Defence, fianchettoes the bishop to increase pressure on d4 after a later ...c5. Diemer himself played it against Bogoljubov.
- 5...c6, the Ziegler Defence, is Black's most critical reply, and most modern authors recommend it as the antidote to the gambit.
5.Qxf3
White can also recapture with the queen and offer a second pawn, the Ryder Gambit. Most of Diemer's book on the opening, published in the late 1950s, was devoted to it.
Assessment
The soundness of the gambit is much debated. Many masters dismiss it while many amateurs embrace it, and theory suggests Black has many ways to equalise, so it is almost never seen in top-level play but has a certain popularity among club players. IM Willy Hendriks noted that this main line, after 5.Nxf3, has the same engine evaluation as the King's Gambit after 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 52.8% of the 2.4 million games and Black 43.5%, and White stays ahead in every rating band. Masters have done far better with Black: in 240 games over the board Black won 42.1%, White 19.6%, and 38.3% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Accepted
The most played answer, 5. Nxf3, also scores best for White: 55.8%, with White winning 53.8% and Black 42.2% of 1.4M games. Of the main answers, 5. Qxf3 scores lowest: 52.9%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5. Nxf3.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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 Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Accepted has gained ground since 2016: 0.13% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.088%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.088% | 31,379 |
| 2017 | 0.078% | 42,938 |
| 2018 | 0.074% | 57,974 |
| 2019 | 0.078% | 97,169 |
| 2020 | 0.077% | 226,300 |
| 2021 | 0.076% | 295,421 |
| 2022 | 0.071% | 265,389 |
| 2023 | 0.076% | 284,892 |
| 2024 | 0.12% | 417,483 |
| 2025 | 0.13% | 448,151 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.14% | 150,045 |
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 (11)
- D00 Bogoljubow Defense 5. Nxf3 g6
- D00 Euwe Defense 5. Nxf3 e6
- D00 Gunderam Defense 5. Nxf3 Bf5
- D00 Holwell Defense 5. Nxf3 Qd6
- D00 Kaulich Defense 5. Nxf3 c5
- D00 Pietrowsky Defense 5. Nxf3 Nc6
- D00 Ritter Defense 5. Nxf3 b6
- D00 Ryder Gambit 5. Qxf3
- D00 Schlutter Defense 5. Nxf3 Nbd7
- D00 Teichmann Defense 5. Nxf3 Bg4
- D00 Ziegler Defense 5. Nxf3 c6
All 20 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- D00 Bogoljubow Defense 5 moves
- D00 Euwe Defense 5 moves
- D00 Gunderam Defense 5 moves
- D00 Holwell Defense 5 moves
- D00 Kaulich Defense 5 moves
- D00 Pietrowsky Defense 5 moves
- D00 Ritter Defense 5 moves
- D00 Ryder Gambit 5 moves
- D00 Schlutter Defense 5 moves
- D00 Teichmann Defense 5 moves
- D00 Ziegler Defense 5 moves
- D00 Kloss Attack 8 moves
- D00 Mad Dog Attack 7 moves
- D00 Nimzowitsch Attack 7 moves
- D00 Studier Attack 8 moves
- D00 Zilbermints Gambit 9 moves
- D00 Stader Variation 7 moves
- D00 Ciesielski Variation 8 moves
- D00 Classical Variation 8 moves
- D00 Seidel-Hall Attack 8 moves
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Blackmar–Diemer Gambit, version of 23 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Accepted (D00)”. Lichess data as of 8 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/blackmar-diemer-gambit-accepted