King's Gambit Accepted: McDonnell Gambit
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
5,851 games: White 59.4% / Draw 2.3% / Black 38.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 5,4005,400 | ||
| 157157 | ||
| 6666 | ||
| 5656 | ||
| 3333 | ||
| 2929 | ||
| 2525 | ||
| 2222 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
−1.53 Black is clearly better
Even so, White scores 60.6% here in practice: wins plus half the draws in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500.
Best play: 5... Nc6 6. Ng1 Qh4+ 7. Kf1 Nge7 8. d4 f3 9. gxf3 Rg8 10. h3
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
King's Gambit Accepted: McDonnell Gambit (ECO C37, 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. Bc4 g4 5. Nc3 (5 moves).
In 5,851 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 59.4%, Black 38.2% and 2.3% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…gxf3, in 92% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Gambit Accepted: McDonnell Gambit (C37)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-gambit-accepted-mcdonnell-gambit