Caissa Codex
C20

King's Pawn Game: Wayward Queen Attack, Kiddie Countergambit

Chess diagram: King's Pawn Game: Wayward Queen Attack, Kiddie Countergambit after 2…Nf6

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

338,940 games: White 47.7% / Draw 3.8% / Black 48.5%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
322,678323K
7,4407,440
2,7272,727
1,2901,290
1,0821,082
King's Pawn Opening: Speers 915915
626626
625625

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 23, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.03 The position is about equal

Best play: 3. Qxe5+ Be7 4. Qf4 Nc6 5. e5 Nh5 6. Qf3 g6 7. Nc3 O-O

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

By rating

Rating changes little here: Black scores 52% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 6.4M
1400–1799 1.1M
1800–2199 76K
2200 and up 2,431
Masters, over the board — no games

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: Wayward Queen Attack, Kiddie Countergambit (ECO C20, Open Games) is a gambit in the King's Pawn Game: Wayward Queen Attack, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Qh5 Nf6 (2 moves).

In 338,940 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.7%, Black 48.5% and 3.8% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. Qxe5+, in 95% of those games.

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Popularity by year

The King's Pawn Game: Wayward Queen Attack, Kiddie Countergambit is played less than half as often as in 2016: 0.009% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.025%.

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.025%8,851
20170.014%7,636
20180.01%7,922
20190.011%13,726
20200.016%48,189
20210.019%73,125
20220.015%54,662
20230.012%44,314
20240.0098%35,102
20250.009%31,283
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.0085%9,270

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 2…Nf6, the position after King's Pawn Game: Wayward Queen Attack also goes on to:

Transpositions

From here, a move transposes into another named line:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “King's Pawn Game: Wayward Queen Attack, Kiddie Countergambit (C20)”. Lichess data as of 23 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-pawn-game-wayward-queen-attack-kiddie-countergambit

https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-pawn-game-wayward-queen-attack-kiddie-countergambit