Vienna Game: Stanley Variation, Meitner-Mieses Gambit
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
385,800 games: White 69.0% / Draw 2.2% / Black 28.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 326,816327K | ||
| 25,22525K | ||
| 19,23419K | ||
| 6,6636,663 | ||
| 3,7863,786 | ||
| 1,0921,092 | ||
| 760760 | ||
| 532532 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 9, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.67 White is slightly better
Best play: 5... Qxf2+ 6. Kd1 Kf8 7. Nh3 h5 8. Qg5 Qd4 9. d3 Be7 10. Qf5
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 67% under 1400, 71% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 66K | |
| 1400–1799 | 321K | |
| 1800–2199 | 190K | |
| 2200 and up | 9,504 | |
| Masters, over the board | 5 |
Master games
- Emms, J. M. – Hawksworth, J. C.
- Dabrowska, K. – Maciejewski, M.
- Merry, A. B. – Webb, M.
- Arakeljan, A. M. – Korolev, A.
- Lengyel, B. – Ruck, T.
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: Stanley Variation, Meitner-Mieses Gambit (ECO C25, Open Games) is a gambit in the Vienna Game: Max Lange Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Qg4 Qf6 5. Nd5 (5 moves).
In 385,800 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 69.0%, Black 28.8% and 2.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…Qxf2+, in 85% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to play against the Vienna Game: Stanley Variation, Meitner-Mieses Gambit
The most played answer, 5…Qxf2+, also scores best for Black: 32.4%, with Black winning 31.3% and White 66.6% of 327K games. Of the main answers, 5…Qg6 scores lowest: 17.6%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5…Qxf2+.
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: Stanley Variation, Meitner-Mieses Gambit is played more than five times as often as in 2016: 0.017% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.0032% (its peak: 0.02% in 2023).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0032% | 1,148 |
| 2017 | 0.0038% | 2,099 |
| 2018 | 0.0045% | 3,525 |
| 2019 | 0.0043% | 5,327 |
| 2020 | 0.0059% | 17,169 |
| 2021 | 0.016% | 63,641 |
| 2022 | 0.019% | 70,539 |
| 2023 | 0.02% | 75,861 |
| 2024 | 0.018% | 65,466 |
| 2025 | 0.017% | 58,311 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.016% | 17,713 |
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Vienna Game: Stanley Variation, Meitner-Mieses Gambit (C25)”. Lichess data as of 9 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/vienna-game-stanley-variation-meitner-mieses-gambit