C31

King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit

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Statistics from Lichess

570,037 games: White 48.7% / Draw 4.7% / Black 46.6%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	281,880282K
	136,653137K
	102,941103K
	24,59925K
	7,2547,254
	6,6086,608
	4,3794,379
	1,2511,251

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.37 White is slightly better

Best play: 4... Qxd5 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. Bd2 Bxc3 7. Bxc3 Ne7 8. dxe4 Qxe4+ 9. Qe2

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

By rating

Rating changes little here: White scores 54% under 1400, 55% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	5,404
1400–1799	133K
1800–2199	411K
2200 and up	50K
Masters, over the board	165

Master games

Short, N. D. – Karjakin, S. 1–0, 2008
Ehlvest, J. – Handoko, E. 1–0, 1999
Bronstein, D. I. – Vaisman, V. 1–0, 1976
Fiorito, F. – Zarnicki, P. ½–½, 1998
Stean, M. – Bronstein, D. I. ½–½, 1976

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 Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit (ECO C31, Open Games) is a gambit in the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Staunton Line, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. f4 d5 3. exd5 e4 4. d3 (4 moves).

In 570,037 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.7%, Black 46.6% and 4.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Nf6, in 49% of those games.

It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit Accepted and King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Old Line. In all, 8 named lines continue from it.

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Description

How to play against the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit

The most played answer, 4…Nf6, also scores best for Black: 50.2%, with Black winning 48.0% and White 47.7% of 282K games. Of the main answers, 4…Qxd5 scores lowest: 47.5%. Stockfish's first choice is 4…Qxd5.

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, Charousek Gambit has lost ground since 2016: 0.019% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.033% (its peak: 0.037% in 2017).

0.033%0.019%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.033%	11,634
2017	0.037%	20,330
2018	0.035%	27,145
2019	0.029%	36,151
2020	0.023%	66,477
2021	0.021%	80,306
2022	0.021%	80,394
2023	0.02%	76,107
2024	0.02%	70,380
2025	0.019%	66,939
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.02%	22,049

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 (3)

All 8 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit (C31)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-gambit-declined-falkbeer-countergambit-charousek-gambit