Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: von Popiel Gambit
The von Popiel Gambit is 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5, an older form of the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit in which White attacks the knight with the bishop instead of playing the usual 4.f3. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
665,407 games: White 51.5% / Draw 4.3% / Black 44.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 289,770290K | ||
| 96,95997K | ||
| French Defense: Classical Variation, Burn Variation | 86,01386K | |
| 57,61158K | ||
| 41,37041K | ||
| 40,48140K | ||
| 11,56512K | ||
| 10,63711K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.72 Black is better
Best play: 4... Bf5 5. f3 Nbd7 6. fxe4 Nxe4 7. Nxe4 Bxe4 8. Nf3 Nb6 9. Be2
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 better this line does for White: White scores 50% under 1400, 54% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 300K | |
| 1400–1799 | 414K | |
| 1800–2199 | 394K | |
| 2200 and up | 56K | |
| Masters, over the board | 20 |
Master games
- Goldenberg, D. – Miles, A. J.
- David, A. – Ribeiro, F.
- Hansson, D. – Thorhallsson, T.
- Yankin, V. – Frolov, D.
- Kurucsai, I. – Burmakin, V.
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 von Popiel Gambit is 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5, an older form of the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit in which White attacks the knight with the bishop instead of playing the usual 4.f3.
History
Ignatz von Popiel played 4.Bg5 in 1889. He came up with the idea of 3.Nc3 in place of the original Blackmar Gambit 3.f3, although his main idea was to meet 3...Nf6 with 4.Bg5 rather than 4.f3. He also analysed the Lemberger Countergambit, 3.Nc3 e5, which was common at the time. The later main line with 4.f3 was popularised by Emil Josef Diemer.
4...Bf5
The most common reply is 4...Bf5, adding a defender to the e4-pawn. A common trap follows 5.Qe2 Qxd4? 6.Qb5+, forking Black's king, the bishop on f5 and the b-pawn.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 51.5% of the 665,407 games and Black 44.2%. Below 1800 the results are close, 48.4–48.8% against 47.4–47.5%, while from 1800 up White leads: 52.8% against 42.8% between 1800 and 2199, and 50.9% against 43.3% from 2200 up. There are only 20 master games, too few to judge.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: von Popiel Gambit
4…Nbd7 scores best for Black: 48.9%, with Black winning 46.6% and White 48.8% of 97K games. The most played answer, 4…Bf5, scores lowest: 45.0% in 290K games. Stockfish's first choice is 4…Bf5.
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: von Popiel Gambit is played more than twice as often as in 2016: 0.035% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.017%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.017% | 5,963 |
| 2017 | 0.019% | 10,331 |
| 2018 | 0.02% | 16,059 |
| 2019 | 0.02% | 24,551 |
| 2020 | 0.019% | 55,412 |
| 2021 | 0.019% | 73,993 |
| 2022 | 0.022% | 83,491 |
| 2023 | 0.028% | 104,362 |
| 2024 | 0.031% | 110,866 |
| 2025 | 0.035% | 122,699 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.04% | 43,906 |
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 (1)
Transpositions
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: von Popiel Gambit (D00)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/blackmar-diemer-gambit-von-popiel-gambit