King's Gambit Accepted: Becker Defense
The Becker Defense is 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 h6, a way for Black to keep the gambit pawn in the King's Knight's Gambit. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
874,293 games: White 49.3% / Draw 3.5% / Black 47.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 499,718500K | ||
| 257,388257K | ||
| 91,04991K | ||
| 9,9309,930 | ||
| 4,0324,032 | ||
| 3,6923,692 | ||
| 2,4692,469 | ||
| 2,2612,261 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.26 The position is about equal
Best play: 4. d4 g5 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. g3 fxg3 7. hxg3 d6 8. Be3 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 45% under 1400, 54% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 127K | |
| 1400–1799 | 674K | |
| 1800–2199 | 446K | |
| 2200 and up | 14K | |
| Masters, over the board | 133 |
Master games
- Morozevich, A. – Leko, P.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Paravyan, D.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Martinez Alcantara, J. E.
- Shirov, A. – Alekseev, E.
- Short, N. D. – McShane, L. J.
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 Becker Defense is 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 h6, a way for Black to keep the gambit pawn in the King's Knight's Gambit. Black prepares a pawn chain h6, g5, f4 that defends the f4-pawn while avoiding the Kieseritzky Gambit.
The idea
After 3...g5 at once White can undermine the chain with 4.h4, which practically forces 4...g4. With the pawn already on h6, Black is not forced to play ...g4 when White attacks the chain with h4.
The pawn on h6 also matters in lines where White plays g3. In most such positions ...fxg3 would allow Bxg5, which captures a pawn, develops a piece and attacks Black's queen at once. Here the h6-pawn prevents it.
Main lines
- 4.d4 g5 is the main line, usually followed by 5.Nc3, 5.g3, 5.h4 or 5.Bc4.
- 4.Nc3 usually transposes to the main line after 4...g5 5.d4, but it has independent lines too.
- 4.b3 is another option, preparing a queenside fianchetto.
Transpositions are common. After 4.d4 g5 5.Bc4 Bg7 6.O-O the game is in a common line of the Hanstein Gambit, and 4.Bc4 most often transposes to the Fischer Defense after 4...d6. The most notable independent line, rarely reached by transposition, is 4.d4 g5 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.g3 fxg3 7.hxg3 d6.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 49.3% of the 874,000 games and Black 47.2%. The result turns with rating: under 1400 White leads 54.1% to 43.1%, while from 2200 up Black wins 51.0% against 43.7%. There are too few master games over the board, 133, to say much.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the King's Gambit Accepted: Becker Defense
4. h4 scores best for White: 55.6%, with White winning 53.8% and Black 42.5% of 91K games. The most played answer, 4. Bc4, scores lowest: 50.4% in 500K games. Stockfish's first choice is 4. d4.
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: Becker Defense has lost ground since 2016: 0.034% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.045%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.045% | 16,212 |
| 2017 | 0.044% | 24,067 |
| 2018 | 0.038% | 29,943 |
| 2019 | 0.035% | 43,775 |
| 2020 | 0.031% | 89,986 |
| 2021 | 0.031% | 120,838 |
| 2022 | 0.034% | 127,668 |
| 2023 | 0.033% | 123,741 |
| 2024 | 0.035% | 124,394 |
| 2025 | 0.034% | 118,679 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.034% | 37,437 |
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
- 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: Becker Defense (C34)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-gambit-accepted-becker-defense