King's Gambit Accepted: Modern Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
2,430,170 games: White 50.4% / Draw 3.9% / Black 45.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,593,1841.6M | ||
| 670,706671K | ||
| 49,68150K | ||
| 40,30440K | ||
| 25,14025K | ||
| 16,09816K | ||
| 15,38915K | ||
| 5,4685,468 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 23, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.25 The position is about equal
Best play: 4. exd5 Nf6 5. c4 c6 6. d4 cxd5 7. c5 b6 8. b4 Be7
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 46% under 1400, 51% at 2200 and up and 49% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 485K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.6M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.4M | |
| 2200 and up | 72K | |
| Masters, over the board | 351 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
- Nakamura, H. – Adams, M.
- Rapport, R. – Gelfand, B.
- Rapport, R. – Adams, M.
- Sutovsky, E. – Mamedyarov, S.
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: Modern Defense (ECO C36, 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 d5 (3 moves).
In 2,430,170 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.4%, Black 45.7% and 3.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. exd5, in 66% of those games.
It continues into one named variation. In all, 3 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 play against the King's Gambit Accepted: Modern Defense
The most played answer, 4. exd5, also scores best for White: 54.4%, with White winning 52.4% and Black 43.5% of 1.6M games. Of the main answers, 4. e5 scores lowest: 50.6%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4. exd5.
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: Modern Defense has lost ground since 2016: 0.087% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.13%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.13% | 45,020 |
| 2017 | 0.13% | 68,796 |
| 2018 | 0.11% | 88,866 |
| 2019 | 0.11% | 133,168 |
| 2020 | 0.095% | 279,527 |
| 2021 | 0.092% | 358,974 |
| 2022 | 0.093% | 348,839 |
| 2023 | 0.092% | 344,902 |
| 2024 | 0.09% | 323,863 |
| 2025 | 0.087% | 302,146 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.085% | 93,218 |
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 (1)
Transpositions
All 3 named lines that continue from here
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Gambit Accepted: Modern Defense (C36)”. Lichess data as of 23 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-gambit-accepted-modern-defense