Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Zeller Defense
1. d4 d5 2. e4 dxe4 3. Nc3 Bf5
The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Zeller Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO D00, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. e4 dxe4 3. Nc3 Bf5. It is a line of the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2,289 times by this move order. White won 54%, 3% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 4. f3 (75% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 4. g4 Bg6 5. Nge2 Nf6 6. h4 Nxg4)
- ECO
- D00
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rn1qkbnr/ppp1pppp/8/5b2/3Pp3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 2 4- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. e4 dxe4 3. Nc3 Bf5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 791 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,384 | |
| 2000+ | 114 | |
| All | 2,289 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. f3 | 1,711 (75%) | |
| 4. Qe2 | 149 (7%) | |
| 4. g4 | 88 (4%) | |
| 4. Bf4 | 78 (3%) | |
| 4. Be3 | 58 (3%) | |
| 4. Bc4 | 57 (2%) | |
| 4. Bg5 | 42 (2%) | |
| 4. d5 | 28 (1%) |
Master games
17 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 59%, draw 12%, Black 29%). The strongest:
- IM Shamil Arslanov (2410) – FM Tobias Voege (2256) 1-0 · Titled Tue 25th Nov 2025 · 2025-11-25
- IM Shamil Arslanov (2410) – CM Artem Alek Fedorov (2236) 1-0 · Titled Tue 7th Jan Early · 2025-01-07
- IM Shamil Arslanov (2410) – FM Harold Wanyama (2188) 1-0 · Titled Tue 3rd Mar 2026 · 2026-03-03
- IM Shamil Arslanov (2410) – CM Lorner Jesus Acosta Villarroel (2168) 1-0 · Titled Tue 30th Jan Early · 2024-01-30
- Paolo Tocco (2034) – IM Anastasios Pavlidis (2343) 0-1 · 31st NATO Chess 2021 · 2021-10-14
Search all games of the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Zeller Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Tsalko_vadim (2483) – Malyshok2012 (2643) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- CM Kavaliro (2451) – Udemzo (2533) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- rusert13 (2501) – thekinglear (2379) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (1… d5 2. e4) 1. d4 d5 2. e4
Continuations
- Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Zeller Defense, Soller Attack D00 · 1. d4 d5 2. e4 dxe4 3. Nc3 Bf5 4. f3 Nf6 5. Bc4
More Blackmar-Diemer Gambit lines (all)
- Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (3. Nc3 Nf6) D00
- Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Blackmar Gambit D00
- Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Diemer-Rosenberg Attack D00
- Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Fritz Attack D00
- Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Lemberger Countergambit D00
- Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Lemberger Countergambit, Endgame Variation D00
- Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Lemberger Countergambit, Lange Gambit D00
- Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Lemberger Countergambit, Rasmussen Attack D00
- Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Lemberger Countergambit, Sneiders Attack D00
- Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Lemberger Countergambit, Soller Attack D00
- Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Netherlands Variation D00
- Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Rasa-Studier Gambit D00
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.