Caissa Codex
C20

King's Pawn Game: Clam Variation, Radisch Gambit

Chess diagram: King's Pawn Game: Clam Variation, Radisch Gambit after 3…Bc5

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.

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Statistics from Lichess

27,813 games: White 49.9% / Draw 3.2% / Black 46.9%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
10,81411K
10,29810K
2,8812,881
1,7671,767
845845
337337
321321
193193

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

Engine evaluation

+2.99 White is clearly better

Even so, Black scores 48.5% here in practice: wins plus half the draws in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500.

Best play: 4. fxe5 Nxe4 5. Qg4 d5 6. Qxg7 Qh4+ 7. g3 Bf2+ 8. Kd1 Qg4+

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

Overview

King's Pawn Game: Clam Variation, Radisch Gambit (ECO C20, Open Games) is a gambit in the King's Pawn Game: Leonardis Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. d3 Nf6 3. f4 Bc5 (3 moves).

In 27,813 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.9%, Black 46.9% and 3.2% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. Nf3, in 39% of those games.

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How to play against the King's Pawn Game: Clam Variation, Radisch Gambit

4. fxe5 scores best for White: 56.9%, with White winning 55.4% and Black 41.6% of 10K games. The most played, 4. Nf3, scores 48.4% in 11K games, and 4. h3 scores lowest: 46.5%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4. fxe5.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 2…Nf6 3. f4 Bc5, the position after King's Pawn Game: Leonardis Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “King's Pawn Game: Clam Variation, Radisch Gambit (C20)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-pawn-game-clam-variation-radisch-gambit

https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-pawn-game-clam-variation-radisch-gambit