King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation (2. f4 Bc5)
1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5
The King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C30, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5. It is a line of the King's Gambit Declined. White is to move. 6 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 6,189 times by this move order. White won 49%, 3% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 3. Nf3 (89% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.15 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 3. Nf3 d6 4. c3 Nc6 5. fxe5 dxe5)
- ECO
- C30
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
rnbqk1nr/pppp1ppp/8/2b1p3/4PP2/8/PPPP2PP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 1 3- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,488 | |
| 1500-1999 | 3,970 | |
| 2000+ | 731 | |
| All | 6,189 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. Nf3 | 5,485 (89%) | |
| 3. fxe5 | 313 (5%) | |
| 3. Bc4 | 116 (2%) | |
| 3. c3 | 78 (1%) | |
| 3. Nc3 | 56 (1%) | |
| 3. d3 | 45 (1%) | |
| 3. d4 | 23 (0%) | |
| 3. Qh5 Classical Variation, Walthoffen Attack | 23 (0%) |
Master games
301 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 47%, draw 14%, Black 39%). The strongest:
- GM Aleksei Pridorozhni (2512) – GM Vladislav Tkachiev (2649) 0-1 · FIDE World Blitz 2013 · 2013-06-10
- GM Gareev, T. (2602) – IM V Pranav (2548) 0-1 · Titled Tue 22nd Nov Late · 2022-11-22
- GM Alexandr Fier (2569) – GM Victor Mikhalevski (2573) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 4th May · 2021-05-04
- GM Aleksei Pridorozhni (2597) – IM Mihnea Costachi (2471) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 22nd Sept · 2020-09-22
- IM Ilamparthi A R (2426) – GM V Pranav (2604) 0-1 · Titled Tue 19th Mar Early · 2024-03-19
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
- IM Whynot72 (2530) – FM sergeikim2003 (2511) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- nuitet989893 (2485) – FM sergeikim2003 (2506) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
King's Gambit 1. e4 e5 2. f4
Continuations
- King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation, Walthoffen Attack C30 · 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 3. Qh5
- King's Gambit Declined: Senechaud Countergambit C30 · 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 3. Nf3 g5
- King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation (3… d6 4. c3) C30 · 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 3. Nf3 d6 4. c3
- King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation, Rotlewi Countergambit C30 · 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 3. Nf3 d6 4. b4
- King's Gambit Declined: Classical, Soldatenkov Variation C30 · 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 3. Nf3 d6 4. fxe5
- King's Gambit Declined: Classical, Hanham Variation C30 · 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 3. Nf3 d6 4. Nc3 Nd7
More King's Gambit Declined lines (all)
- King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation, Euwe Attack C30
- King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation, Rubinstein Countergambit C30
- King's Gambit Declined: Classical, Réti 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
- King's Gambit Declined: Norwalde Variation C30
- King's Gambit Declined: Norwalde Variation, Bücker Gambit 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.