Caissa Codex
C29

Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit

Chess diagram: Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit after 3. f4

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

4,261,520 games: White 55.5% / Draw 4.1% / Black 40.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
1,273,3881.3M
Main Line 1,122,4691.1M
985,931986K
511,594512K
189,964190K
113,520114K
25,29125K
11,35011K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 6, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.12 The position is about equal

Best play: 3... d5 4. fxe5 Nxe4 5. Nf3 Bc5 6. d4 Bb4 7. Bd2 c5 8. Bb5+

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 worse this line does for White: White scores 60% under 1400, 54% at 2200 and up and 49% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 2.7M
1400–1799 3.8M
1800–2199 2.1M
2200 and up 268K
Masters, over the board 1,210

Master 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 26, 2026

Overview

Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit (ECO C29, Open Games) is a gambit in the Vienna Game: Falkbeer Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 (3 moves).

In 4,261,520 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 55.5%, Black 40.4% and 4.1% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…exf4, in 30% of those games.

It continues into one named variation, Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit, Main Line. In all, 10 named lines continue from it.

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How to play against the Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit

3…d5 (Main Line) scores best for Black: 49.2%, with Black winning 46.7% and White 48.2% of 1.1M games. The most played answer, 3…exf4, scores lowest: 36.4% in 1.3M games. Stockfish's first choice is also 3…d5.

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: Vienna Gambit is played more than twice as often as in 2016: 0.18% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.092%.

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.092%32,751
20170.092%50,443
20180.095%74,562
20190.088%109,430
20200.097%284,524
20210.18%695,875
20220.19%697,164
20230.2%744,842
20240.18%655,865
20250.18%637,217
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.19%209,999

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 (1)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 3. f4, the position after Vienna Game: Falkbeer Variation also goes on to:

Transpositions

This position is also reached from these lines, by another move order:

All 10 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit (C29)”. Lichess data as of 6 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/vienna-game-vienna-gambit

https://chesscodex.org/openings/vienna-game-vienna-gambit