Caissa Codex
C39

King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, Rubinstein Variation

Chess diagram: King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, Rubinstein Variation after 6. d4

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Statistics from Lichess

3,867 games: White 43.3% / Draw 4.2% / Black 52.6%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
3,2563,256
245245
192192
5252
2626
2323
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1919

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 28, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.84 Black is better

Best play: 6... d6 7. Nd3 Nxe4 8. Qe2 Qe7 9. Bxf4 Nc6 10. c3 Nf6 11. Bg5

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, Rubinstein Variation (ECO C39, Open Games) is a gambit in the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. h4 g4 5. Ne5 Nf6 6. d4 (6 moves).

In 3,867 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 43.3%, Black 52.6% and 4.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 6…d6, in 84% of those games.

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How to play against the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, Rubinstein Variation

The most played answer, 6…d6, also scores best for Black: 57.6%, with Black winning 55.4% and White 40.3% of 3,256 games. Of the main answers, 6…Nxe4 scores lowest: 40.4%. Stockfish's first choice is also 6…d6.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 6. d4, the position after King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, Rubinstein Variation (C39)”. Lichess data as of 28 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-gambit-accepted-kieseritzky-gambit-berlin-defense-rubinstein-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-gambit-accepted-kieseritzky-gambit-berlin-defense-rubinstein-variation