King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation (3… d6 4. c3)
1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 3. Nf3 d6 4. c3
The King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C30, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 3. Nf3 d6 4. c3. It is a line of the King's Gambit Declined. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 796 times by this move order. White won 50%, 5% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 4… Nc6 (34% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.07 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 4… Nf6 5. fxe5 dxe5 6. Nxe5 O-O 7. d4)
- ECO
- C30
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqk1nr/ppp2ppp/3p4/2b1p3/4PP2/2P2N2/PP1P2PP/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 3. Nf3 d6 4. c3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 44 | |
| 1500-1999 | 533 | |
| 2000+ | 219 | |
| All | 796 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Nc6 | 272 (34%) | |
| 4… Bg4 | 218 (27%) | |
| 4… Nf6 | 207 (26%) | |
| 4… Bb6 | 25 (3%) | |
| 4… a6 | 23 (3%) | |
| 4… exf4 | 13 (2%) | |
| 4… f5 Classical Variation, Rubinstein Countergambit | 11 (1%) | |
| 4… Qe7 | 6 (1%) |
Master games
203 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 47%, draw 12%, Black 41%). The strongest:
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2794) – GM Nihal Sarin (2673) 0-1 · Titled Tue 30th May Early · 2023-05-30
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2757) – GM V Pranav (2621) 0-1 · Titled Tue 6th May Early · 2025-05-06
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2723) – GM V Pranav (2641) 0-1 · Titled Tue 17th Feb 2026 · 2026-02-17
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2793) – IM Mihnea Costachi (2476) 1-0 · Titled Tue 3rd Jan Early · 2023-01-03
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2773) – IM Mihnea Costachi (2463) 1-0 · Titled Tue 8th Feb Early · 2022-02-08
Search all games of the King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- contrapunctus_XI (2640) – Flanagan2000 (2518) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- LaYucaReyChess (2481) – FM sergeikim2003 (2503) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Greifax (2516) – juvefun (2456) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation (2. f4 Bc5) 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5
Continuations
- King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation, Rubinstein Countergambit C30 · 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 3. Nf3 d6 4. c3 f5
- King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation, Euwe Attack C30 · 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 3. Nf3 d6 4. c3 Bg4 5. fxe5 dxe5 6. Qa4+
More King's Gambit Declined lines (all)
- King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation, Rotlewi Countergambit C30
- King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation, Walthoffen Attack C30
- King's Gambit Declined: Classical, Hanham Variation C30
- King's Gambit Declined: Classical, Réti Variation C30
- King's Gambit Declined: Classical, Soldatenkov Variation C30
- King's Gambit Declined: Classical, Svenonius Variation C30
- King's Gambit Declined: Hobbs-Zilbermints Gambit C30
- King's Gambit Declined: Keene Defense C30
- King's Gambit Declined: Keene's Defense (2. f4 Qh4+) C30
- King's Gambit Declined: Keene's Defense (2… Qh4+ 3. g3) C30
- King's Gambit Declined: Mafia Defense C30
- King's Gambit Declined: Miles Defense C30
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.