Caissa Codex
C20

King's Pawn Opening: Van Hooydoon Gambit

Chess diagram: King's Pawn Opening: Van Hooydoon Gambit after 6…Nxd4

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

1,380 games: White 34.3% / Draw 4.7% / Black 60.9%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
1,3021,302
2929
1616
1313
99
33
33
22

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

Engine evaluation

−1.45 Black is better

Best play: 7. Nxd4 Bxd4 8. Be3 Bxe3 9. Qxe3 O-O 10. Nc3 Re8 11. O-O-O c6

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

Overview

King's Pawn Opening: Van Hooydoon Gambit (ECO C20, Open Games) is a gambit in the King's Pawn Game, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Qe2 Nc6 3. c3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Bc5 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Nxd4 (6 moves).

In 1,380 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 34.3%, Black 60.9% and 4.7% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. Nxd4, in 94% of those games.

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Other lines from the same position

Instead of 2. Qe2 Nc6 3. c3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Bc5 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Nxd4, the position after King's Pawn Game also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “King's Pawn Opening: Van Hooydoon Gambit (C20)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-pawn-opening-van-hooydoon-gambit

https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-pawn-opening-van-hooydoon-gambit