Italian Game: Blackburne-Kostić Gambit
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit, called the Blackburne-Kostić Gambit on this site, is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4, a dubious offshoot of the Italian Game. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
4,332,543 games: White 48.6% / Draw 4.1% / Black 47.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,826,3731.8M | ||
| 801,013801K | ||
| 576,521577K | ||
| 507,956508K | ||
| 304,424304K | ||
| 157,832158K | ||
| 125,513126K | ||
| 15,16215K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 20, 2026
Engine evaluation
+1.42 White is better
Best play: 4. Nxd4 exd4 5. O-O c6 6. Re1 d6 7. c3 Be7 8. d3 Nf6
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 worse this line does for Black: Black scores 53% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 4M | |
| 1400–1799 | 5.9M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.6M | |
| 2200 and up | 20K | |
| Masters, over the board | 2 |
Master games
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 Blackburne Shilling Gambit, called the Blackburne-Kostić Gambit on this site, is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4, a dubious offshoot of the Italian Game. The name is facetious. The line is also called the Kostić Gambit after the Serbian grandmaster Borislav Kostić, who played it in the early 20th century.
History
Wilhelm Steinitz made the first known mention of the line in 1895. The legend behind the name is that the English master Joseph Henry Blackburne used its trap to win a shilling a game from café visitors, but there are no recorded games of Blackburne playing it.
The trap
The only virtue of 3...Nd4 is its trap. After the natural 4.Nxe5? Black wins material with 4...Qg5! The obvious 5.Nxf7 then loses to 5...Qxg2 6.Rf1 Qxe4+ 7.Be2 Nf3#, a smothered mate.
The line is often said not to be a true gambit, since White cannot take on e5 without losing material. Still, after 4.Nxe5 Qg5 White can keep a playable game with 5.Bxf7+!, getting two pawns and an attack for the piece.
How White should answer
3...Nd4 is a weak, time-wasting move. Steinitz recommended 4.O-O or 4.Nxd4. Jeremy Silman writes that White is better after 4.O-O, 4.c3 or 4.Nc3, and recommends as best 4.Nxd4 exd4 5.c3. After 5...Bc5 Black loses a pawn to 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Qh5+. Graham Burgess notes that if the trap is avoided, White is left with a large advantage.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 48.6% of the 4.3 million games and Black 47.3%. Under 1400 Black wins 51.3% against 45.5%. From 2200 up White leads 49.7% to 45.0%. Masters over the board almost never play it; the database has two games.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Italian Game: Blackburne-Kostić Gambit
The most played answer, 4. Nxd4, also scores best for White: 57.9%, with White winning 55.6% and Black 39.8% of 1.8M games. Of the main answers, 4. Nxe5 scores lowest: 24.5%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4. Nxd4.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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 Italian Game: Blackburne-Kostić Gambit has lost ground since 2016: 0.13% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.17% (its peak: 0.2% in 2021).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.17% | 61,112 |
| 2017 | 0.19% | 102,210 |
| 2018 | 0.17% | 130,850 |
| 2019 | 0.18% | 218,947 |
| 2020 | 0.2% | 586,006 |
| 2021 | 0.2% | 799,119 |
| 2022 | 0.18% | 663,428 |
| 2023 | 0.17% | 636,975 |
| 2024 | 0.14% | 507,166 |
| 2025 | 0.13% | 442,270 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.12% | 128,409 |
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 Blackburne Shilling 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. “Italian Game: Blackburne-Kostić Gambit (C50)”. Lichess data as of 20 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-blackburne-kostic-gambit