C26

Vienna Game: Mieses Variation

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Statistics from Lichess

518,002 games: White 53.5% / Draw 5.6% / Black 40.9%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	134,862135K
	117,350117K
	115,313115K
	69,46069K
	28,49828K
	18,71119K
	11,20511K
	6,9146,914

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026

Engine evaluation

0.00 The position is about equal

Best play: 3... Bc5 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nge2 c6 6. O-O d5 7. exd5 cxd5 8. d4

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

By rating

The stronger the players, the better this line does for White: White scores 50% under 1400, 53% at 2200 and up and 54% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	212K
1400–1799	213K
1800–2199	286K
2200 and up	121K
Masters, over the board	2,303

Master games

Mamedyarov, S. – Giri, A. ½–½, 2018
Li Chao2 – Kramnik, V. ½–½, 2016
So, W. – Keymer, V. 1–0, 2025
Nakamura, H. – Topalov, V. 1–0, 2017
Mamedyarov, S. – Dominguez Perez, L. 1–0, 2019

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

Vienna Game: Mieses Variation (ECO C26, Open Games) is a variation of the Vienna Game: Falkbeer Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 (3 moves).

In 518,002 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.5%, Black 40.9% and 5.6% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…Bc5, in 26% of those games.

It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Vienna Game: Mieses Variation, Erben Gambit and Vienna Game: Paulsen Variation, Pollock Gambit.

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Description

How to play against the Vienna Game: Mieses Variation

3…d5 scores best for Black: 48.6%, with Black winning 45.1% and White 47.8% of 115K games. The most played, 3…Bc5, scores 43.3% in 135K games, and 3…Nc6 scores lowest: 41.1%. Stockfish's first choice is 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 Vienna Game: Mieses Variation peaked in 2020 at 0.024% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.019% in 2025.

0.021%0.019%0.024%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.021%	7,421
2017	0.019%	10,267
2018	0.021%	16,112
2019	0.02%	24,538
2020	0.024%	70,555
2021	0.021%	81,114
2022	0.02%	74,740
2023	0.019%	71,286
2024	0.018%	63,858
2025	0.019%	66,302
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.021%	23,163

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)

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Vienna Game: Mieses Variation (C26)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/vienna-game-mieses-variation