Kangaroo Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
568,172 games: White 52.4% / Draw 5.2% / Black 42.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Keres Defense, Transpositional Variation | 294,703295K | |
| 240,641241K | ||
| 32,54133K | ||
| 287287 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.36 White is slightly better
Best play: 3. Bd2 a5 4. Nc3 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. a3 Bxc3 7. Bxc3 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 better this line does for Black: Black scores 42% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 46% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 362K | |
| 1400–1799 | 562K | |
| 1800–2199 | 238K | |
| 2200 and up | 62K | |
| Masters, over the board | 3,711 |
Master games
- Giri, A. – Caruana, F.
- Gelfand, B. – Caruana, F.
- Bacrot, E. – Carlsen, M.
- Gelfand, B. – Grischuk, A.
- Gelfand, B. – Radjabov, T.
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
Overview
Kangaroo Defense (ECO A40, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Horwitz Defense, reached after 1. d4 e6 2. c4 Bb4+ (2 moves).
In 568,172 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.4%, Black 42.3% and 5.2% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. Nc3, in 52% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Kangaroo Defense: Keres Defense, Transpositional Variation.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Kangaroo Defense
3. Nd2 scores best for White: 56.3%, with White winning 53.2% and Black 40.6% of 33K games. The most played, 3. Nc3, scores 55.2% in 295K games, and 3. Bd2 scores lowest: 54.8%. Stockfish's first choice is 3. Bd2.
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 Kangaroo Defense is played less than half as often as in 2016: 0.018% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.037%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.037% | 13,373 |
| 2017 | 0.031% | 17,233 |
| 2018 | 0.029% | 22,582 |
| 2019 | 0.025% | 31,128 |
| 2020 | 0.025% | 72,739 |
| 2021 | 0.023% | 91,263 |
| 2022 | 0.022% | 83,041 |
| 2023 | 0.02% | 76,111 |
| 2024 | 0.018% | 65,468 |
| 2025 | 0.018% | 62,149 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.02% | 21,846 |
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)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Kangaroo Defense (A40)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kangaroo-defense