King's Gambit Accepted: Abbazia Defense
The Abbazia Defense is 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 d5 4.exd5 Nf6, the most common continuation of the Modern Defense to the King's Gambit. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
944,295 games: White 45.5% / Draw 4.8% / Black 49.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 310,008310K | ||
| 199,493199K | ||
| 167,848168K | ||
| 162,341162K | ||
| 73,67674K | ||
| 18,05718K | ||
| 7,0437,043 | ||
| 1,8991,899 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.24 The position is about equal
Best play: 5. c4 c6 6. d4 cxd5 7. c5 b6 8. b4 Be7 9. Bb5+ Bd7
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 48% under 1400, 51% at 2200 and up and 50% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 19K | |
| 1400–1799 | 273K | |
| 1800–2199 | 638K | |
| 2200 and up | 98K | |
| Masters, over the board | 639 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
- Carlsen, M. – Wang, Y.
- Nakamura, H. – Tomashevsky, E.
- Nakamura, H. – Adams, M.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Niemann, H. M.
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 Abbazia Defense is 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 d5 4.exd5 Nf6, the most common continuation of the Modern Defense to the King's Gambit. The name comes from a tournament held in Abbazia in 1912 in which every game had to be a King's Gambit Accepted, and it is also used for the whole Modern Defense, 3...d5.
The idea
Black does not try to keep the extra pawn. The plan is to gain piece play and fight for the initiative, much as in the Falkbeer Countergambit. The position before 4...Nf6 can in fact arise from the Falkbeer by transposition: 2...d5 3.exd5 exf4 4.Nf3.
Several publications have recommended this line as an easy way for Black to equalise, and it was once seen as a critical test of the gambit. White's extra central pawn and active pieces are now considered to give White a slight advantage.
Main lines
With 4...Nf6 Black attacks the pawn on d5.
- 5.Bb5+ is White's usual counterattack. The continuation 5...c6 6.dxc6 bxc6 7.Bc4 Nd5 is known as the Botvinnik Variation.
- Otherwise White defends the pawn with 5.c4, 5.Bc4 or 5.Nc3.
Instead of 4...Nf6 Black sometimes plays 4...Qxd5, which resembles the Scandinavian Defense, or 4...Bd6 or 4...c6.
The numbers
On Lichess Black wins 49.7% of the 944,000 games and White 45.5%. Under 1400 White is ahead, 50.4% against 46.9%, but between 1800 and 2199 Black leads 50.2% to 45.0%, and from 2200 up 47.8% to 45.2%. The 639 master games over the board split almost evenly: White won 28.2%, Black 29.1%, and 42.7% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the King's Gambit Accepted: Abbazia Defense
5. Bb5+ scores best for White: 49.6%, with White winning 46.7% and Black 47.4% of 74K games. The most played, 5. c4, scores 49.0% in 310K games, and 5. d4 scores lowest: 45.2%. Stockfish's first choice is 5. c4.
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 King's Gambit Accepted: Abbazia Defense peaked in 2018 at 0.047% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.038% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.04% | 14,443 |
| 2017 | 0.045% | 24,562 |
| 2018 | 0.047% | 36,989 |
| 2019 | 0.04% | 49,579 |
| 2020 | 0.033% | 96,343 |
| 2021 | 0.031% | 122,253 |
| 2022 | 0.036% | 134,302 |
| 2023 | 0.037% | 139,293 |
| 2024 | 0.038% | 136,852 |
| 2025 | 0.038% | 130,147 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.038% | 41,866 |
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)
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article King's 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. “King's Gambit Accepted: Abbazia Defense (C36)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-gambit-accepted-abbazia-defense