King's Gambit Accepted: MacLeod Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
4,888,205 games: White 54.5% / Draw 3.4% / Black 42.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 2,494,4042.5M | ||
| 2,094,7912.1M | ||
| 100,594101K | ||
| Vienna Gambit, with Max Lange Defense: Knight Variation | 69,86470K | |
| 48,69149K | ||
| 31,64232K | ||
| 25,01925K | ||
| 8,5178,517 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.17 The position is about equal
Best play: 4. d4 g5 5. d5 g4 6. dxc6 gxf3 7. Qxf3 Qh4+ 8. g3 fxg3
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 better this line does for Black: Black scores 44% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 2.1M | |
| 1400–1799 | 5.3M | |
| 1800–2199 | 2.1M | |
| 2200 and up | 52K | |
| Masters, over the board | 10 |
Master games
- Kamsky, G. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Gallagher, J. G. – Hresc, V.
- Svensson, B. – Grabarczyk, M.
- Manea, A. – Paschall, W. M.
- Jonkman, H. – Enklaar, B. F.
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 26, 2026
Overview
King's Gambit Accepted: MacLeod Defense (ECO C34, 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 Nc6 (3 moves).
In 4,888,205 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 54.5%, Black 42.0% and 3.4% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. Bc4, in 51% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are King's Gambit Accepted: Blachly Gambit and Vienna Gambit, with Max Lange Defense: Hamppe-Allgaier Gambit, Thorold Variation.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the King's Gambit Accepted: MacLeod Defense
4. d4 scores best for White: 57.1%, with White winning 55.3% and Black 41.2% of 2.1M games. The most played answer, 4. Bc4, scores lowest: 56.0% in 2.5M games. Stockfish's first choice is also 4. 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
Popularity by year
The King's Gambit Accepted: MacLeod Defense has stayed between 0.17% and 0.2% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.18% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.2% | 73,079 |
| 2017 | 0.19% | 102,256 |
| 2018 | 0.17% | 133,128 |
| 2019 | 0.18% | 227,270 |
| 2020 | 0.19% | 561,322 |
| 2021 | 0.2% | 785,724 |
| 2022 | 0.2% | 745,621 |
| 2023 | 0.19% | 718,788 |
| 2024 | 0.18% | 662,268 |
| 2025 | 0.18% | 615,273 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.17% | 188,233 |
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)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Gambit Accepted: MacLeod Defense (C34)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-gambit-accepted-macleod-defense