C29

Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit, Main Line

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Statistics from Lichess

1,141,846 games: White 48.2% / Draw 5.1% / Black 46.7%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	908,754909K
	148,284148K
	50,56351K
Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit, Steinitz Variation	17,78118K
	5,0205,020
	3,1113,111
	2,5592,559
	2,3512,351

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.13 The position is about equal

Best play: 4. fxe5 Nxe4 5. Qf3 Nc6 6. Bb5 Nxc3 7. dxc3 Qh4+ 8. g3 Qe4+

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 50% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up and 51% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	183K
1400–1799	464K
1800–2199	673K
2200 and up	195K
Masters, over the board	1,177

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 27, 2026

Overview

Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit, Main Line (ECO C29, Open Games) is a gambit in the Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 d5 (3 moves).

In 1,141,846 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.2%, Black 46.7% and 5.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. fxe5, in 80% of those games.

It branches into 6 named variations; the most played are Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit, Paulsen Attack and Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit, Modern Variation. In all, 9 named lines continue from it.

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Description

How to play against the Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit, Main Line

The most played answer, 4. fxe5, also scores best for White: 51.6%, with White winning 49.0% and Black 45.8% of 909K games. Of the main answers, 4. exd5 scores lowest: 47.6%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4. fxe5.

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 Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit, Main Line is played more than twice as often as in 2016: 0.057% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.026%.

0.026%0.057%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.026%	9,198
2017	0.026%	14,186
2018	0.028%	22,120
2019	0.025%	31,332
2020	0.025%	73,115
2021	0.037%	146,341
2022	0.044%	165,077
2023	0.053%	197,539
2024	0.054%	192,944
2025	0.057%	199,054
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.063%	68,818

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 (6)

Transpositions

C31 King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Milner-Barry Variation then 3…Nf6

All 9 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit, Main Line (C29)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/vienna-game-vienna-gambit-main-line