Tree path 4 levels King's Pawn Game › King's Knight Opening › Elephant Gambit › Paulsen Countergambit
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game C20
- King's Knight Opening C40
- Elephant Gambit C40
- Paulsen Countergambit C40 you are here
Elephant Gambit: Paulsen Countergambit
Overview
Elephant Gambit: Paulsen Countergambit is a sacrificial opening line filed under ECO C40 in the Open Games group. The defining idea is the early concession of material to seize the initiative and unbalance the position.
The Open Games group covers open games — classical 1.e4 e5 openings where both sides contest the centre directly with pawns.
It begins with 6 plies and takes 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 e4 to reach the canonical position.
In the opening tree, this line branches off from Elephant Gambit, part of the broader King's Pawn Game system.
Use the board to walk through every move, check how the position has scored on Lichess, or take it head-to-head against Stockfish.
- ECO code
- C40
- Group
- Open Games (C)
- Plies
- 6
- Parent
- Elephant Gambit
This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.
Statistics from Lichess
3,227,289 games · White 44.6% / Draw 4.0% / Black 51.4%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Qe2 | 1,392,118 | |
| Nd4 | 894,434 | |
| Ng1 | 544,884 | |
| Ne5 | 247,473 | |
| Bb5+ | 67,216 | |
| Nc3 | 35,466 | |
| Ng5 | 28,903 | |
| Bc4 | 4,158 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 01:25:33
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Submissions are reviewed before publishing.