Dutch Defense: Staunton Gambit
The Staunton Gambit is 1.d4 f5 2.e4: against the Dutch Defense White gives up a pawn for quick development and an attack on Black's king, which 1...f5 has already weakened a little. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
935,788 games: White 55.0% / Draw 4.8% / Black 40.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Dutch Defense: Staunton Gambit Accepted | 708,508709K | |
| 105,730106K | ||
| Rat Defense: Balogh Defense | 56,14356K | |
| French Defense: Franco-Hiva Gambit | 41,52342K | |
| 10,91411K | ||
| Modern Defense: Fianchetto Gambit | 4,6414,641 | |
| 1,9871,987 | ||
| 1,5621,562 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
0.00 The position is about equal
Best play: 2... fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 g6 5. h4 d5 6. h5 Bf5 7. Bxf6
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 52% under 1400, 54% at 2200 and up and 50% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 123K | |
| 1400–1799 | 269K | |
| 1800–2199 | 612K | |
| 2200 and up | 150K | |
| Masters, over the board | 905 |
Master games
- Del Rio de Angelis, S. – Vallejo Pons, F.
- Wiacek, K. – Timmerman, G. J.
- Dobrov, V. – Nakamura, H.
- Ernst, S. – Jones, G. C.
- Erdos, V. – Nikolic, P.
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 Staunton Gambit is 1.d4 f5 2.e4: against the Dutch Defense White gives up a pawn for quick development and an attack on Black's king, which 1...f5 has already weakened a little. Black can decline with 2...d6, transposing to the Balogh Defense, but taking the pawn with 2...fxe4 is considered stronger. Its ECO codes are A82 and A83.
Origins
The main line, 2...fxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5, was first played by Howard Staunton against Bernhard Horwitz in London in 1846. The gambit was once a feared weapon for White, but defensive techniques have since been found to neutralise it, and it is rarely played today: White scores only about 50 percent with it.
Main lines
After 2...fxe4 play usually continues 3.Nc3 Nf6.
- 4.Bg5, the main line. Here 4...d5? is a common trap: 5.Bxf6 exf6 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxd5 Qxd5 8.Nxd5, and the knight attacks both c7 and f6, so White comes out a pawn ahead. Instead Black usually develops quickly and protects the kingside, giving back the pawn if needed, with 4...Nc6 5.d5 Ne5 6.Qd4 Nf7. 6.Qe2 is a modern alternative. White can win the pawn back with 5.Bxf6 exf6 6.Nxe4, but after 6...Qe7 the knight is hard to defend, and Black comes out with an extra pawn and the two bishops.
- 4.f3, in the style of the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. After 4...exf3 White gets good compensation, so Black generally plays 4...d5 5.fxe4 dxe4. Black can also return the pawn with 4...e3 to slow White's development.
- 4.g4, the Bayonet Attack or Tartakower Variation, does not give enough compensation after 4...h6.
Avoiding it
Black can sidestep the Staunton Gambit by playing 1...e6 before ...f5. The drawback of that move order is that White can answer 2.e4 and reach the French Defense, so Black no longer gets the Dutch.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 55.0% of the 935,788 games and Black 40.3%. Under 1400 it is close, 50.1% against 45.8%, while between 1800 and 2199 White wins 55.9% against 39.3%. From 2200 up the gap narrows to 51.1% against 42.5%. In 905 master games over the board White and Black each won 33.5%, and 33.0% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Dutch Defense: Staunton Gambit
The most played answer, 2…fxe4 (Dutch Defense: Staunton Gambit Accepted), also scores best for Black: 43.8%, with Black winning 41.3% and White 53.6% of 709K games. Of the main answers, 2…Nf6 scores lowest: 38.1%. Stockfish's first choice is also 2…fxe4.
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 Dutch Defense: Staunton Gambit dipped to 0.032% of Lichess games in 2021 and has recovered since: 0.039% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.04% | 14,112 |
| 2017 | 0.043% | 23,516 |
| 2018 | 0.042% | 33,218 |
| 2019 | 0.039% | 49,239 |
| 2020 | 0.038% | 112,196 |
| 2021 | 0.032% | 126,774 |
| 2022 | 0.033% | 124,849 |
| 2023 | 0.033% | 123,700 |
| 2024 | 0.036% | 130,126 |
| 2025 | 0.039% | 135,280 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.041% | 45,066 |
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
All 9 named lines that continue from here
- A82 Dutch Defense: Staunton Gambit Accepted 2 moves
- A82 Dutch Defense: Blackmar's Second Gambit 4 moves
- A83 Dutch Defense: Staunton Gambit 4 moves
- A82 Dutch Defense: Staunton Gambit, American Attack 3 moves
- A82 Dutch Defense: Staunton Gambit, Tartakower Variation 4 moves
- A83 Alekhine Variation 5 moves
- A83 Chigorin Variation 4 moves
- A83 Lasker Variation 5 moves
- A83 Nimzowitsch Variation 4 moves
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Staunton Gambit, version of 19 September 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Dutch Defense: Staunton Gambit (A82)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/dutch-defense-staunton-gambit