Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne-Kloosterboer Gambit
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Statistics from Lichess
5,050,116 games: White 47.3% / Draw 3.9% / Black 48.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 3,423,9423.4M | ||
| 705,390705K | ||
| Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation | 427,237427K | |
| 297,920298K | ||
| 91,56692K | ||
| 57,27857K | ||
| 7,7117,711 | ||
| 7,5947,594 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 23, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.77 White is better
Best play: 3. dxc6 Nxc6 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Qc7 6. h3 Bf5 7. O-O O-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 47% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1.3M | |
| 1400–1799 | 3.3M | |
| 1800–2199 | 2.8M | |
| 2200 and up | 290K | |
| Masters, over the board | 32 |
Master games
- Kacharava, N. – Rakhmanov, A.
- Nikitenko, M. – Rakhmanov, A.
- Adams, M. – Pert, R.
- Nigmatov, O. – Rakhmanov, A.
- Petrov, M. – Pert, R.
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 26, 2026
Overview
Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne-Kloosterboer Gambit (ECO B01, Semi-Open Games) is a gambit in the Scandinavian Defense, reached after 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 c6 (2 moves).
In 5,050,116 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.3%, Black 48.8% and 3.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. dxc6, in 68% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne Gambit and Scandinavian Defense: Kloosterboer Gambit.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne-Kloosterboer Gambit
3. d4 (Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation) scores best for White: 52.5%, with White winning 50.3% and Black 45.2% of 427K games. The most played, 3. dxc6, scores 48.9% in 3.4M games, and 3. Nc3 scores lowest: 48.4%. Stockfish's first choice is 3. dxc6.
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 Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne-Kloosterboer Gambit dipped to 0.18% of Lichess games in 2020 and has recovered since: 0.21% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.19% | 69,020 |
| 2017 | 0.19% | 103,412 |
| 2018 | 0.19% | 146,980 |
| 2019 | 0.19% | 241,417 |
| 2020 | 0.18% | 528,881 |
| 2021 | 0.18% | 716,986 |
| 2022 | 0.19% | 726,571 |
| 2023 | 0.2% | 745,181 |
| 2024 | 0.2% | 730,354 |
| 2025 | 0.21% | 725,427 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.21% | 227,394 |
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 (2)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne-Kloosterboer Gambit (B01)”. Lichess data as of 23 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/scandinavian-defense-blackburne-kloosterboer-gambit