King's Gambit Accepted: Modern Defense 3…d5 4. exd5
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Statistics from Lichess
2,650,250 games: White 50.9% / Draw 4.2% / Black 44.9%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,045,3061M | ||
| King's Gambit Accepted: Abbazia Defense | 941,107941K | |
| 296,500297K | ||
| 143,314143K | ||
| 91,56792K | ||
| 46,87947K | ||
| 46,56247K | ||
| 17,73418K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 13, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.26 The position is about equal
Best play: 4... Nf6 5. c4 c6 6. d4 cxd5 7. Bxf4 Bb4+ 8. Nc3 O-O 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 60% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 51% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 243K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.4M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.6M | |
| 2200 and up | 139K | |
| Masters, over the board | 731 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
- Carlsen, M. – Wang, Y.
- Nakamura, H. – Tomashevsky, E.
- Nakamura, H. – Adams, M.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Niemann, H. M.
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: Modern Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d5 4. exd5 (4 moves).
In 2,650,250 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.9%, Black 44.9% and 4.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Qxd5, in 39% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, King's Gambit Accepted: Abbazia Defense. In all, 2 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. exd5
4…Nf6 (King's Gambit Accepted: Abbazia Defense) scores best for Black: 52.1%, with Black winning 49.7% and White 45.5% of 941K games. The most played answer, 4…Qxd5, scores lowest: 40.8% in 1M games. Stockfish's first choice is also 4…Nf6.
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: 0.1% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.13%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.13% | 46,468 |
| 2017 | 0.13% | 72,289 |
| 2018 | 0.12% | 98,102 |
| 2019 | 0.11% | 139,752 |
| 2020 | 0.097% | 285,209 |
| 2021 | 0.095% | 369,995 |
| 2022 | 0.1% | 380,788 |
| 2023 | 0.1% | 385,393 |
| 2024 | 0.1% | 368,634 |
| 2025 | 0.1% | 346,825 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.099% | 109,023 |
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 2 named lines that continue from here
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Gambit Accepted: Modern Defense (C36)”. Lichess data as of 13 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-gambit-accepted-modern-defense-2