King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit Accepted
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Statistics from Lichess
4,092,681 games: White 47.6% / Draw 4.1% / Black 48.4%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Staunton Line | 1,761,2531.8M | |
| King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Modern Transfer | 1,352,2441.4M | |
| 675,612676K | ||
| King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Nimzowitsch-Marshall Countergambit | 222,070222K | |
| 31,86632K | ||
| King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Miles Gambit | 28,56529K | |
| 7,4587,458 | ||
| 4,7954,795 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 26, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.23 The position is about equal
Best play: 3... exf4 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. c4 c6 6. d4 cxd5 7. Bxf4 Bb4+ 8. Nc3
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 56% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 53% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 232K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.9M | |
| 1800–2199 | 2.5M | |
| 2200 and up | 212K | |
| Masters, over the board | 833 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Wang, Y.
- Nakamura, H. – Tomashevsky, E.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Niemann, H. M.
- Rapport, R. – Bu Xiangzhi
- Ivanchuk, V. – Le Quang Liem
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 Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit Accepted (ECO C31, Open Games) is a gambit in the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. f4 d5 3. exd5 (3 moves).
In 4,092,681 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.6%, Black 48.4% and 4.1% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…e4, in 43% of those games.
It branches into 4 named variations; the most played are King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Staunton Line and King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Modern Transfer. In all, 16 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 Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit Accepted
3…c6 (King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Nimzowitsch-Marshall Countergambit) scores best for Black: 59.9%, with Black winning 58.2% and White 38.3% of 222K games. The most played, 3…e4, scores 52.2% in 1.8M games, and 3…Qxd5 scores lowest: 43.0%. Stockfish's first choice is 3…exf4.
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 Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit Accepted has lost ground since 2016: 0.16% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.2%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.2% | 70,552 |
| 2017 | 0.21% | 115,173 |
| 2018 | 0.2% | 156,152 |
| 2019 | 0.17% | 214,139 |
| 2020 | 0.14% | 421,462 |
| 2021 | 0.14% | 557,768 |
| 2022 | 0.16% | 584,630 |
| 2023 | 0.16% | 588,749 |
| 2024 | 0.16% | 574,406 |
| 2025 | 0.16% | 552,309 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.16% | 174,906 |
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 (4)
All 16 named lines that continue from here
- C31 King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Miles Gambit 3 moves
- C31 King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Modern Transfer 3 moves
- C31 King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Nimzowitsch-Marshall Countergambit 3 moves
- C31 King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Staunton Line 3 moves
- C31 King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Anderssen Attack 4 moves
- C31 King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit 4 moves
- C31 King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Pickler Gambit 4 moves
- C31 King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Rubinstein Variation 5 moves
- C32 King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit Accepted 5 moves
- C32 Keres Variation 5 moves
- C32 Old Line 5 moves
- C32 King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Alapin Variation 9 moves
- C32 King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit 6 moves
- C32 King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Main Line 7 moves
- C32 King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Variation 8 moves
- C32 King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Tarrasch Variation 8 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit Accepted (C31)”. Lichess data as of 26 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-gambit-declined-falkbeer-countergambit-accepted