C33

King's Gambit Accepted: Villemson Gambit

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Statistics from Lichess

328,365 games: White 47.5% / Draw 3.4% / Black 49.1%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	72,36672K
	71,18171K
	45,56446K
	41,06741K
	26,35326K
	19,60020K
	16,44616K
	6,9866,986

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026

Engine evaluation

−1.14 Black is better

Best play: 3... Qh4+ 4. Ke2 d5 5. exd5 Bg4+ 6. Nf3 Qh6 7. h3 Bxf3+ 8. gxf3

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 52% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	568K
1400–1799	446K
1800–2199	130K
2200 and up	9,012
Masters, over the board	11

Master games

Nepomniachtchi, I. – Ding Liren 0–1, 2019
Bartel, M. – Tomczak, J. ½–½, 2017
Bartel, M. – Bartel, M. 0–1, 2015
Rozen, E. – Roebers, E. 1–0, 2022
Guerin, G. – Hebden, M. 0–1, 2006

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: Villemson Gambit (ECO C33, Open Games) is a gambit in the King's Gambit Accepted, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. d4 (3 moves).

In 328,365 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.5%, Black 49.1% and 3.4% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…Qh4+, in 22% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the King's Gambit Accepted: Villemson Gambit

The most played answer, 3…Qh4+, also scores best for Black: 62.4%, with Black winning 60.9% and White 36.2% of 72K games. Of the main answers, 3…d6 scores lowest: 44.8%. Stockfish's first choice is also 3…Qh4+.

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

The King's Gambit Accepted: Villemson Gambit has lost ground since 2016: 0.011% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.014%.

0.014%0.011%0.015%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.014%	4,940
2017	0.011%	6,264
2018	0.011%	8,475
2019	0.011%	13,901
2020	0.013%	39,527
2021	0.015%	57,772
2022	0.014%	51,693
2023	0.012%	46,686
2024	0.012%	42,438
2025	0.011%	39,828
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.011%	12,046

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

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “King's Gambit Accepted: Villemson Gambit (C33)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-gambit-accepted-villemson-gambit