King's Gambit Accepted: King's Knight's Gambit 3…g5 4. h4
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Statistics from Lichess
877,821 games: White 53.0% / Draw 3.3% / Black 43.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 700,617701K | ||
| 94,55695K | ||
| 33,94934K | ||
| 15,45215K | ||
| 7,9867,986 | ||
| 7,8077,807 | ||
| 6,5286,528 | ||
| 3,1113,111 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 23, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.34 Black is slightly better
Best play: 4... d5 5. d4 dxe4 6. Nxg5 Nf6 7. Nc3 Bb4 8. Bb5+ Bd7 9. Be2
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the worse this line does for White: White scores 56% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 45% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 77K | |
| 1400–1799 | 456K | |
| 1800–2199 | 539K | |
| 2200 and up | 35K | |
| Masters, over the board | 455 |
Master games
- Short, N. D. – Shirov, A.
- Fedorov, A. – Shirov, A.
- Short, N. D. – Shirov, A.
- Fedorov, A. – Anand, V.
- Fedorov, A. – Timman, J. H.
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
Overview
King's Gambit Accepted: King's Knight's Gambit (ECO C39, Open Games) is a gambit in the King's Gambit Accepted: King's Knight's Gambit, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. h4 (4 moves).
In 877,821 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.0%, Black 43.8% and 3.3% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…g4, in 80% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit and King's Gambit Accepted: Allgaier Gambit. In all, 29 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 4. h4
The most played answer, 4…g4, also scores best for Black: 47.2%, with Black winning 45.5% and White 51.2% of 701K games. Of the main answers, 4…f6 scores lowest: 35.0%. Stockfish's first choice is 4…d5.
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
This line has lost ground since 2016: 0.033% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.043%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.043% | 15,273 |
| 2017 | 0.044% | 24,216 |
| 2018 | 0.041% | 31,823 |
| 2019 | 0.036% | 45,208 |
| 2020 | 0.03% | 88,786 |
| 2021 | 0.032% | 125,030 |
| 2022 | 0.034% | 127,102 |
| 2023 | 0.034% | 127,686 |
| 2024 | 0.034% | 122,680 |
| 2025 | 0.033% | 114,017 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.035% | 38,065 |
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 (2)
All 29 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- C39 King's Gambit Accepted: Allgaier Gambit 5 moves
- C39 King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit 5 moves
- C39 King's Gambit Accepted: Allgaier, Schlechter Defense 5 moves
- C39 Berlin Defense 5 moves
- C39 Brentano Defense 5 moves
- C39 King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit 6 moves
- C39 Kolisch Defense 5 moves
- C39 Long Whip 5 moves
- C39 Neumann Defense 5 moves
- C39 Paulsen Defense 5 moves
- C39 Rosenthal Defense 5 moves
- C39 King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky, Polerio Defense 5 moves
- C39 King's Gambit Accepted: Allgaier Gambit, Thorold Attack 7 moves
- C39 King's Gambit Accepted: Allgaier Gambit, Urusov Attack 7 moves
- C39 King's Gambit Accepted: Allgaier, Blackburne Gambit 7 moves
- C39 King's Gambit Accepted: Allgaier, Horny Defense 8 moves
- C39 King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Anderssen Defense 7 moves
- C39 de Riviere Variation 6 moves
- C39 Rubinstein Variation 6 moves
- C39 Brentano Defense 7 moves
- C39 King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Paulsen Defense Deferred 7 moves
- C39 King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky, Long Whip Defense, Jaenisch Variation 8 moves
- C39 King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky, Salvio Defense, Cozio Variation 7 moves
- C39 King's Gambit Accepted: Allgaier, Cook Variation 10 moves
- C39 King's Gambit Accepted: Allgaier, Urusov Attack 9 moves
- C39 King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Anderssen-Cordel Gambit 9 moves
- C39 Caro Variation 8 moves
- C39 King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky, Rice Gambit 8 moves
- C39 King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Rice Gambit 8 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Gambit Accepted: King's Knight's Gambit (C39)”. Lichess data as of 23 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-gambit-accepted-kings-knights-gambit-4