Indian Defense: Budapest Defense, Adler Variation
The Adler Variation of the Budapest Gambit is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Nf3. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
2,099,594 games: White 47.4% / Draw 5.4% / Black 47.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,014,4711M | ||
| 852,712853K | ||
| 181,224181K | ||
| 41,69142K | ||
| 4,9324,932 | ||
| 849849 | ||
| 736736 | ||
| 731731 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 10, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.61 White is slightly better
Best play: 4... Nc6 5. Bg5 Be7 6. Bxe7 Qxe7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Nd5 Qd8 9. e4
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 49% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 58% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 79K | |
| 1400–1799 | 799K | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.4M | |
| 2200 and up | 165K | |
| Masters, over the board | 942 |
Master games
- Giri, A. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Aronian, L. – Ivanchuk, V.
- Ivanchuk, V. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Gelfand, B. – Rapport, R.
- Ponomariov, R. – Mamedyarov, S.
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 26, 2026
Description
The Adler Variation of the Budapest Gambit is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Nf3. With this natural move White is ready to return the e5-pawn in order to develop quickly. The first known Budapest Gambit game was a casual game between Mór Adler and Géza Maróczy in Budapest on 5 March 1896.
White's plans
White aims to control the d5-square and the long a1–h8 diagonal, and to expand on the queenside with c4–c5 or on the kingside with f2–f4–f5–f6, as appropriate.
The main line: 4...Bc5
Black's main move is 4...Bc5, attacking f2 and forcing 5.e3, which blocks in White's bishop on c1. After 5...Nc6 White will not have enough pieces to hold the e5-pawn in the long run. The minor line 4...Nc6 delays the bishop's development so that it can go to the long diagonal instead.
An important decision for White is whether to play a2–a3, which prepares b2–b4. After 5.e3 Nc6 6.a3 Black typically answers 6...a5, and in the 1980s it was found that this suits Black, because the rook on a8 can then join the attack along the sixth rank. 6.a3 has gone from being the main continuation to being considered a mistake. Without a3, a typical line is 6.Be2 O-O 7.O-O Re8 8.Nc3 Ngxe5 9.Nxe5 Nxe5: Black has regained the pawn, White has more space in the centre, and Black can attack the kingside with rook lifts.
The numbers
On Lichess the results are level: White wins 47.4% of the 2.1 million games and Black 47.3%. Black is ahead below 1800, White from 2200 up (48.8% against 43.9%). In 942 master games over the board White won 40.6%, Black 24.4%, and 35.0% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Indian Defense: Budapest Defense, Adler Variation
4…d6 scores best for Black: 55.4%, with Black winning 53.3% and White 42.5% of 181K games. The most played answer, 4…Nc6, scores lowest: 48.9% in 1M games. Stockfish's first choice is 4…Nc6.
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 Indian Defense: Budapest Defense, Adler Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.07% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.089% (its peak: 0.11% in 2019).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.089% | 31,708 |
| 2017 | 0.1% | 55,659 |
| 2018 | 0.11% | 84,414 |
| 2019 | 0.11% | 138,352 |
| 2020 | 0.095% | 277,116 |
| 2021 | 0.078% | 303,744 |
| 2022 | 0.079% | 298,138 |
| 2023 | 0.077% | 289,551 |
| 2024 | 0.074% | 265,410 |
| 2025 | 0.07% | 243,222 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.07% | 77,119 |
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 Budapest Gambit, version of 26 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Indian Defense: Budapest Defense, Adler Variation (A52)”. Lichess data as of 10 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/indian-defense-budapest-defense-adler-variation