King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation, Walthoffen Attack
1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 3. Qh5
The King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation, Walthoffen Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO C30, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 3. Qh5. It is a line of the King's Gambit Declined. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 23 times by this move order. White won 52%, 0% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 3… Nc6 (30% of games).
Engine evaluation: −1.08 (Stockfish, depth 34; best line 3… Nc6 4. fxe5 Nd4 5. Bd3 d5 6. exd6)
- ECO
- C30
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqk1nr/pppp1ppp/8/2b1p2Q/4PP2/8/PPPP2PP/RNB1KBNR b KQkq - 2 3- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 3. Qh5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 4 | |
| 1500-1999 | 10 | |
| 2000+ | 9 | |
| All | 23 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… Nc6 | 7 (30%) | |
| 3… Bxg1 | 7 (30%) | |
| 3… d5 | 2 (9%) | |
| 3… d6 | 2 (9%) | |
| 3… exf4 | 2 (9%) | |
| 3… Qf6 | 1 (4%) | |
| 3… Nh6 | 1 (4%) | |
| 3… Ne7 | 1 (4%) |
Master games
10 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 40%, draw 20%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2829) – GM V Pranav (2611) 0-1 · Titled Tue 7th Nov Early · 2023-11-07
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2835) – GM V Pranav (2588) 1-0 · Titled Tue 18th Jul Early · 2023-07-18
- Martin Villwock (2075) – GM Ivan Sokolov (2625) 0-1 · 11th BPB Limburg Open · 2017-06-04
- Lucas Do Valle Cardoso (2314) – WCM Malak Ismayil (1997) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 29th Sept · 2020-09-29
- WFM Aliaksandra Tarasenka (1995) – FM Ivan Runets (2262) 0-1 · ch-BLR U18 2021 · 2021-02-06
Highest-rated Lichess games
- SugarMagnolia (2454) – ayanikita (2449) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- darlenhalo (2201) – mpathomassen (2238) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- darlenhalo (2212) – BabayagaII (2172) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation (2. f4 Bc5) 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5
More King's Gambit Declined lines (all)
- King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation (3… d6 4. c3) C30
- King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation, Euwe Attack C30
- King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation, Rotlewi Countergambit C30
- King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation, Rubinstein Countergambit 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
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.