Danish Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3
The Danish Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C21, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3. Black is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 45,337 times by this move order. White won 53%, 4% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 3… dxc3 (70% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.28 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 3… dxc3 4. Nxc3 Bc5 5. Bc4 d6 6. Qb3)
- ECO
- C21
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pppp1ppp/8/8/3pP3/2P5/PP3PPP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 16,141 | |
| 1500-1999 | 25,598 | |
| 2000+ | 3,598 | |
| All | 45,337 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… dxc3 Danish Gambit Accepted | 31,781 (70%) | |
| 3… Nc6 | 4,798 (11%) | |
| 3… d5 Sörensen Defense | 2,761 (6%) | |
| 3… d6 | 1,365 (3%) | |
| 3… Nf6 | 1,140 (3%) | |
| 3… d3 | 1,138 (3%) | |
| 3… c5 | 743 (2%) | |
| 3… Qe7 | 633 (1%) |
Master games
273 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 10%, Black 48%). The strongest:
- GM Nikolas Theodorou (2598) – GM Gawain C B Maroroa Jones (2623) 1-0 · chess.com SpeedChess Q2Sw · 2022-11-12
- GM Nikolas Theodorou (2598) – GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (2597) 0-1 · chess.com SpeedChess Q2Sw · 2022-11-12
- GM Nikolas Theodorou (2567) – GM Pa Iniyan (2518) 0-1 · Chess.com RCC Wk15 Swiss · 2022-05-21
- IM Yoseph Theolifus Taher (2455) – GM Naroditsky, D. (2621) 1/2-1/2 · Katara Bullet Final 2020 · 2020-08-26
- IM Yoseph Theolifus Taher (2455) – GM Naroditsky, D. (2621) 0-1 · Katara Bullet Final 2020 · 2020-08-26
Search all games of the Danish Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Superstitions_Guy (2766) – vistagusta (2831) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- IM Jamorris94 (2779) – QuantumLeap1 (2709) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- IM Angelicanmade (2561) – calculus9001 (2571) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Center Game Accepted 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4
Continuations
- Danish Gambit Accepted C21 · 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 dxc3
- Danish Gambit Accepted: Svenonius Defense C21 · 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 Ne7
- Danish Gambit Declined: Sörensen Defense C21 · 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 d5
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.