Caissa Codex
C39

King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Brentano Defense, Caro Variation

Chess diagram: King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Brentano Defense, Caro Variation after 8. Nd2

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Statistics from Lichess

53 games: White 75.5% / Draw 3.8% / Black 20.8%

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 22, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.84 White is better

Best play: 8... Nd7 9. Nxe4 dxe4 10. Nxg4 h5 11. Nf2 Qe7 12. Qe2 Nf6 13. 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, Brentano Defense, Caro Variation (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 Nxe4 8. Nd2 (8 moves).

In 53 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 75.5%, Black 20.8% and 3.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 8…Nxd2, in 23% of those games. That is too few games for the percentages to mean much.

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Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Brentano Defense, Caro Variation (C39)”. Lichess data as of 22 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-gambit-accepted-kieseritzky-gambit-brentano-defense-caro-variation

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