King's Pawn Game: Dresden Opening
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Statistics from Lichess
534,334 games: White 47.0% / Draw 5.1% / Black 48.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 210,758211K | ||
| 202,351202K | ||
| 68,35068K | ||
| 11,81512K | ||
| 7,5927,592 | ||
| 6,3136,313 | ||
| 5,1695,169 | ||
| 5,0705,070 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 7, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.27 The position is about equal
Best play: 3... Bc5 4. d3 d6 5. Be3 Nge7 6. d4 exd4 7. Nxd4 O-O 8. Nc3
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 47% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 848K | |
| 1400–1799 | 699K | |
| 1800–2199 | 214K | |
| 2200 and up | 10K | |
| Masters, over the board | 21 |
Master games
- Herrera Reyes, J. – Huschenbeth, N.
- Kurtenkov, A. – Tseshkovsky, V.
- Segalla, J. G. M. – Gysi, A.
- Shirazi, K. G. – Shipman, W.
- Herrera Reyes, J. – Petkov, V.
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 Pawn Game: Dresden Opening (ECO C44, Open Games) is a variation of the King's Knight Opening: Normal Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c4 (3 moves).
In 534,334 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.0%, Black 48.0% and 5.1% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…Bc5, in 39% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Dresden Opening: The Goblin.
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 Pawn Game: Dresden Opening
The most played answer, 3…Bc5, also scores best for Black: 52.6%, with Black winning 50.1% and White 45.0% of 211K games. Of the main answers, 3…d6 scores lowest: 47.3%. Stockfish's first choice is also 3…Bc5.
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 Pawn Game: Dresden Opening is played less than half as often as in 2016: 0.017% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.039%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.039% | 13,941 |
| 2017 | 0.027% | 14,662 |
| 2018 | 0.022% | 17,653 |
| 2019 | 0.024% | 30,187 |
| 2020 | 0.023% | 66,498 |
| 2021 | 0.022% | 86,229 |
| 2022 | 0.021% | 77,194 |
| 2023 | 0.02% | 74,340 |
| 2024 | 0.018% | 65,464 |
| 2025 | 0.017% | 58,988 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.017% | 18,131 |
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 (1)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Pawn Game: Dresden Opening (C44)”. Lichess data as of 7 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-pawn-game-dresden-opening