King's Gambit Accepted: Bishop's Gambit
The Bishop's Gambit is 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4, a line of the King's Gambit Accepted. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
1,662,123 games: White 54.2% / Draw 3.4% / Black 42.4%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 371,098371K | ||
| 235,652236K | ||
| Cozio Defense | 194,301194K | |
| Anderssen Defense | 170,854171K | |
| Maurian Defense | 168,884169K | |
| 154,913155K | ||
| 88,92689K | ||
| Bledow Variation | 62,03262K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 4, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.48 Black is slightly better
Best play: 3... Nc6 4. d4 Qh4+ 5. Kf1 d6 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. Nxh4 Bxd1 8. Nc3
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 55% under 1400, 54% at 2200 and up and 45% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 282K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1M | |
| 1800–2199 | 933K | |
| 2200 and up | 99K | |
| Masters, over the board | 803 |
Master games
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Aronian, L.
- Short, N. D. – Kasparov, G.
- Ivanchuk, V. – Karjakin, S.
- Ivanchuk, V. – Ding Liren
- Polgar, J. – Topalov, V.
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 Bishop's Gambit is 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4, a line of the King's Gambit Accepted. It is the main alternative to 3.Nf3: White develops the bishop first and lets Black check on h4. It is far less common than 3.Nf3, so its theory is less developed, but some grandmasters have argued that it is the better move. The famous Immortal Game started with this line.
The idea
White's plan is to develop quickly and attack on the kingside along the half-open f-file and with the bishop on c4. Many of Black's defences include ...d5, which hits the bishop.
After 3...Qh4+ White loses the right to castle but answers 4.Kf1, where the king is reasonably safe: the queen cannot check it again, and White gains time by attacking the queen with Nf3. With no knight on f3 yet, White's queen can use the d1–h5 diagonal, and Black's usual plan from the King's Knight Gambit, ...g5 and ...g4, is less effective. White often delays the knight or develops it to e2.
Main lines
Besides 3...Qh4+, Black usually plays 3...Nf6 or 3...d5.
- 3...Qh4+ 4.Kf1, the Classical Defense. It was the main line in the 19th century, a side line for most of the 20th, and is now about as common as 3...Nf6. The most common reply is 4...d6, the Cozio Variation, after which 5.Nf3 is usual. The aggressive 4...g5, the Lopez Variation, was once popular and is now only occasionally played. 4...Nf6 aims for ...Ng4 and ...Qf2 mate, and White usually attacks the queen at once with 5.Nf3.
- 3...Nf6 4.Nc3, the Bogoljubov Variation, has been called the modern main line. It most often continues 4...c6 with the plan ...d5. A main line runs 5.Bb3 d5 6.exd5 cxd5 7.d4: Black has an extra pawn and active pieces, but weak pawns on d5 and f4, while White leads in development.
- 3...d5, the Bledow Variation: Black gives back the pawn for rapid development. White usually takes with 4.Bxd5, and the main line continues 4...Nf6, the Morphy Variation. Emanuel Lasker considered 3...d5 4.Bxd5 Qh4+ a refutation of the gambit, but according to modern theory it is playable for both sides.
Who should play it
In many lines White can transpose into positions normally reached with 3.Nf3 but often chooses not to, so the Bishop's Gambit gives a King's Gambit player a second, less explored path.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 54.2% of the 1.7 million games and Black 42.4%. White stays ahead at every rating: 53.8% against 43.4% under 1400, 55.5% against 41.8% between 1400 and 1799, and 51.2% against 43.7% from 2200 up. In 803 master games over the board Black did better: Black won 37.1%, White 26.8%, and 36.1% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the King's Gambit Accepted: Bishop's Gambit
3…Be7 scores best for Black: 46.9%, with Black winning 45.2% and White 51.4% of 155K games. The most played, 3…Qh4+, scores 44.8% in 371K games, and 3…Bc5 scores lowest: 38.2%. Stockfish's first choice is 3…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 King's Gambit Accepted: Bishop's Gambit has lost ground since 2016: 0.054% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.1%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.1% | 35,973 |
| 2017 | 0.096% | 53,019 |
| 2018 | 0.092% | 71,916 |
| 2019 | 0.076% | 94,497 |
| 2020 | 0.067% | 196,458 |
| 2021 | 0.064% | 249,952 |
| 2022 | 0.067% | 251,040 |
| 2023 | 0.062% | 233,186 |
| 2024 | 0.057% | 202,776 |
| 2025 | 0.054% | 186,096 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.05% | 55,019 |
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 (16)
- C33 Anderssen Defense 3…g5
- C33 Bledow Variation 3…d5
- C33 Boden Variation 3…Qh4+ 4. Kf1 Nc6
- C33 Bryan Countergambit 3…Qh4+ 4. Kf1 b5
- C33 Chigorin's Attack 3…Qh4+ 4. Kf1 d5 5. Bxd5 g5 6. g3
- C33 Classical Defense 3…Qh4+ 4. Kf1 Ne7 5. Nc3 g5 6. d4 Bg7
- C33 Cozio Defense 3…Nf6
- C33 Cozio Variation 3…Qh4+ 4. Kf1 d6
- C33 First Jaenisch Variation 3…Qh4+ 4. Kf1 Nf6
- C33 Gianutio Gambit 3…f5
- C33 Greco Variation 3…Qh4+ 4. Kf1 Bc5
- C33 Kieseritzky Gambit 3…b5
- C33 Lopez Defense 3…c6
- C33 Lopez Variation 3…Qh4+ 4. Kf1 g5
- C33 Maurian Defense 3…Nc6
- C33 Steinitz Defense 3…Ne7
All 28 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- C33 Anderssen Defense 3 moves
- C33 Bledow Variation 3 moves
- C33 Boden Variation 4 moves
- C33 Bryan Countergambit 4 moves
- C33 Chigorin's Attack 6 moves
- C33 Classical Defense 6 moves
- C33 Cozio Defense 3 moves
- C33 Cozio Variation 4 moves
- C33 First Jaenisch Variation 4 moves
- C33 Gianutio Gambit 3 moves
- C33 Greco Variation 4 moves
- C33 Kieseritzky Gambit 3 moves
- C33 Lopez Defense 3 moves
- C33 Lopez Variation 4 moves
- C33 Maurian Defense 3 moves
- C33 Steinitz Defense 3 moves
- C33 King's Gambit Accepted: Bishop's Gambit, Anderssen Variation 4 moves
- C33 King's Gambit Accepted: Bishop's Gambit, Bledow Countergambit 4 moves
- C33 King's Gambit Accepted: Bishop's Gambit, Bogoljubow Variation 4 moves
- C33 King's Gambit Accepted: Bishop's Gambit, Boren-Svenonius Variation 5 moves
- C33 King's Gambit Accepted: Bishop's Gambit, Classical Defense, Cozio Attack 5 moves
- C33 King's Gambit Accepted: Bishop's Gambit, Grimm Attack 7 moves
- C33 King's Gambit Accepted: Bishop's Gambit, McDonnell Attack 7 moves
- C33 King's Gambit Accepted: Bishop's Gambit, McDonnell Attack 6 moves
- C33 King's Gambit Accepted: Lopez-Gianutio Countergambit, Hein Variation 6 moves
- C33 King's Gambit Accepted: Bishop's Gambit, Bogoljubow Defense 4 moves
- C33 King's Gambit Accepted: Bishop's Gambit, Fraser Variation 7 moves
- C33 King's Gambit Accepted: Bishop's Gambit, Paulsen Attack 5 moves
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Bishop's Gambit, version of 30 August 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: Bishop's Gambit (C33)”. Lichess data as of 4 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-gambit-accepted-bishops-gambit