Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Accepted: Ryder Gambit
The Ryder Gambit is 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Qxf3, a double-pawn sacrifice in the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
976,818 games: White 51.3% / Draw 3.3% / Black 45.4%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 313,690314K | ||
| 184,837185K | ||
| 160,521161K | ||
| 128,403128K | ||
| 124,170124K | ||
| 34,12234K | ||
| 7,9267,926 | ||
| 7,4057,405 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 23, 2026
Engine evaluation
−2.14 Black is clearly better
Even so, White scores 53.0% here in practice: wins plus half the draws in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500.
Best play: 5... Qxd4 6. Be3 Qh4+ 7. g3 Qg4 8. Qf2 Qf5 9. Qd2 e6 10. O-O-O
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 56% under 1400, 46% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 439K | |
| 1400–1799 | 981K | |
| 1800–2199 | 451K | |
| 2200 and up | 11K | |
| Masters, over the board | 4 |
Master games
- Kireev, S. – Kund, W.
- Ali, M. – Asylguzhin, R.
- Fischer, S. – Nechaev, A. N.
- Preussner, M. – Jacobs, R.
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 Ryder Gambit is 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Qxf3, a double-pawn sacrifice in the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. Instead of recapturing on f3 with the knight, White uses the queen and leaves the d4-pawn unprotected. Emil Josef Diemer devoted most of his late-1950s book on the opening, Vom Ersten Zug An Auf Matt!, to this line and the Halosar Trap.
5...Qxd4
Black can take the second pawn. Gary Lane argued in 2000 that White has serious problems proving enough compensation after 5...Qxd4 6.Be3 Qg4 7.Qf2 e5. Black can also decline the pawn with 5...c6 or 5...e6 and hold the position.
The Halosar Trap
The trap, named after Hermann Halosar, arises after 5...Qxd4 6.Be3 Qb4 7.O-O-O Bg4? 8.Nb5, threatening mate with 9.Nxc7#. The queen cannot take the knight, because 8...Qxb5 9.Bxb5+ is check and gives White's queen time to escape from the bishop. Black lost Diemer–Halosar, Baden-Baden 1934, after 8...Na6 9.Qxb7 Rc8 10.Qxa6. The main line continues 9...Qe4 10.Qxa6 Qxe3+ 11.Kb1 Qc5 12.Nf3, when, as Graham Burgess wrote, White has some advantage but Black has avoided instant loss.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 51.3% of the 976,818 games and Black 45.4%. The result turns with rating: White wins 54.1% under 1400, but from 2200 up Black is ahead, 51.3% against 43.9%. There are only 4 master games.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Accepted: Ryder Gambit
5…c6 scores best for Black: 52.0%, with Black winning 50.1% and White 46.1% of 161K games. The most played, 5…e6, scores 47.7% in 314K games, and 5…Bg4 scores lowest: 32.6%. Stockfish's first choice is 5…Qxd4.
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 Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Accepted: Ryder Gambit peaked in 2020 at 0.044% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.035% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.037% | 13,235 |
| 2017 | 0.028% | 15,611 |
| 2018 | 0.03% | 23,222 |
| 2019 | 0.039% | 49,078 |
| 2020 | 0.044% | 128,683 |
| 2021 | 0.043% | 167,219 |
| 2022 | 0.038% | 142,511 |
| 2023 | 0.035% | 133,032 |
| 2024 | 0.037% | 130,960 |
| 2025 | 0.035% | 122,270 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.035% | 37,970 |
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
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: Ryder Gambit (D00)”. Lichess data as of 23 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/blackmar-diemer-gambit-accepted-ryder-gambit