C30

King's Gambit Declined: Keene Defense

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Statistics from Lichess

339,091 games: White 51.0% / Draw 3.6% / Black 45.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	88,63389K
	83,66484K
	54,35754K
	49,52950K
	31,48031K
	15,29215K
	5,6695,669
	5,4595,459

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026

Engine evaluation

+1.03 White is better

Best play: 4. Nc3 d6 5. d3 Nf6 6. Bg2 g6 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. O-O h6

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 better this line does for Black: Black scores 46% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	75K
1400–1799	229K
1800–2199	181K
2200 and up	7,064
Masters, over the board	56

Master games

Andersson, U. – Keene, R. ½–½, 1974
Stocek, J. – Vokac, M. 1–0, 2001
Rodriguez Vila, A. – Spangenberg, H. 0–1, 1999
Sorokin, M. – Sorin, A. 1–0, 1994
Vouldis, A. – Plachetka, J. ½–½, 2002

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: Keene Defense (ECO C30, Open Games) is a declined gambit in the King's Gambit Declined: Keene's Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Qh4+ 3. g3 Qe7 (3 moves).

In 339,091 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.0%, Black 45.4% and 3.6% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. Nf3, in 26% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the King's Gambit Declined: Keene Defense

4. fxe5 scores best for White: 57.9%, with White winning 56.1% and Black 40.2% of 84K games. The most played, 4. Nf3, scores 49.8% in 89K games, and 4. f5 scores lowest: 49.2%. Stockfish's first choice is 4. Nc3.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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: Keene Defense has lost ground since 2016: 0.012% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.017%.

0.017%0.012%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.017%	6,106
2017	0.017%	9,455
2018	0.015%	11,969
2019	0.015%	18,538
2020	0.013%	38,443
2021	0.012%	47,561
2022	0.013%	48,807
2023	0.013%	49,641
2024	0.013%	45,908
2025	0.012%	42,402
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.012%	13,422

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 Declined: Keene Defense (C30)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-gambit-declined-keene-defense