Caissa Codex
C39

King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Brentano Defense 6…Nf6 7. Bxf4

Chess diagram: King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Brentano Defense after 7. Bxf4

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Statistics from Lichess

343 games: White 60.6% / Draw 3.5% / Black 35.9%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
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Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026

Engine evaluation

0.00 The position is about equal

Best play: 7... Nh5 8. Qd2 f6 9. Nc3 Bg7 10. exd5 Nxf4 11. Qxf4 fxe5 12. dxe5

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, Brentano Defense (ECO C39, Open Games) is a gambit in the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Brentano Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. h4 g4 5. Ne5 d5 6. d4 Nf6 7. Bxf4 (7 moves).

In 343 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 60.6%, Black 35.9% and 3.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…Nxe4, in 43% of those games.

It continues into one named variation, King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Brentano Defense, Caro Variation.

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How to answer 7. Bxf4

The most played answer, 7…Nxe4, also scores best for Black: 46.3%, with Black winning 45.0% and White 52.3% of 149 games. Of the main answers, 7…dxe4 scores lowest: 23.7%. Stockfish's first choice is 7…Nh5.

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

Variations (1)

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Brentano Defense (C39)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-gambit-accepted-kieseritzky-gambit-brentano-defense-2

https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-gambit-accepted-kieseritzky-gambit-brentano-defense-2