Caissa Codex
C44

Dresden Opening: The Goblin

Chess diagram: Dresden Opening: The Goblin after 4. Nxe5

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

198 games: White 26.3% / Draw 3.5% / Black 70.2%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
191191
33
22
11
11

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 22, 2026

Engine evaluation

−3.71 Black is clearly better

Best play: 4... Nxe5 5. d4 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Nc6 7. Bxb4 Nxb4 8. Nc3 O-O 9. Be2

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

Dresden Opening: The Goblin (ECO C44, Open Games) is a variation of the King's Pawn Game: Dresden Opening, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c4 Nf6 4. Nxe5 (4 moves).

In 198 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 26.3%, Black 70.2% and 3.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Nxe5, in 96% of those games.

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Transpositions

This position is also reached from these lines, by another move order:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Dresden Opening: The Goblin (C44)”. Lichess data as of 22 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/dresden-opening-the-goblin

https://chesscodex.org/openings/dresden-opening-the-goblin