Caissa Codex
C32

King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Keres Variation

Chess diagram: King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Keres Variation after 5. Nd2

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.

Statistics from Lichess

7,797 games: White 51.5% / Draw 4.1% / Black 44.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
2,0562,056
1,9081,908
1,8731,873
650650
530530
366366
234234
5555

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 13, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.25 The position is about equal

Best play: 5... exd3 6. Bxd3 Qxd5 7. Ngf3 Nc6 8. Bc4 Qh5 9. Nf1 Be6 10. Bxe6

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

Overview

King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Keres Variation (ECO C32, Open Games) is a gambit in the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. f4 d5 3. exd5 e4 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nd2 (5 moves).

In 7,797 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.5%, Black 44.4% and 4.1% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…e3, in 26% of those games.

Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.

Write a description or report a mistake
What would you like to send?

Markdown supported (headings ###, bold, lists, links). Submissions are reviewed before publishing.

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

The most played answer, 5…e3, also scores best for Black: 52.1%, with Black winning 50.7% and White 46.5% of 2,056 games. Of the main answers, 5…Qxd5 scores lowest: 38.5%. Stockfish's first choice is 5…exd3.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 4…Nf6 5. Nd2, the position after King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Keres Variation (C32)”. Lichess data as of 13 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-gambit-declined-falkbeer-countergambit-charousek-gambit-keres-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-gambit-declined-falkbeer-countergambit-charousek-gambit-keres-variation