Caissa Codex
C39

King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Paulsen Defense Deferred

Chess diagram: King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Paulsen Defense Deferred after 7…Bg7

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Statistics from Lichess

711 games: White 24.5% / Draw 3.4% / Black 72.2%

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 23, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.29 The position is about equal

Best play: 8. d4 Nh5 9. O-O O-O 10. Nxg4 Qxh4 11. Ne5 Nd7 12. Nf3 Qf6

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, Paulsen Defense Deferred (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. Bc4 d5 7. exd5 Bg7 (7 moves).

In 711 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 24.5%, Black 72.2% and 3.4% were drawn. White's most played move here is 8. d4, in 53% of those games.

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How to play against the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Paulsen Defense Deferred

The most played answer, 8. d4, also scores best for White: 29.6%, with White winning 27.4% and Black 68.3% of 379 games. Of the main answers, 8. d6 scores lowest: 17.5%. Stockfish's first choice is also 8. 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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 6. Bc4 d5 7. exd5 Bg7, 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, Paulsen Defense Deferred (C39)”. Lichess data as of 23 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-gambit-accepted-kieseritzky-gambit-paulsen-defense-deferred

https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-gambit-accepted-kieseritzky-gambit-paulsen-defense-deferred