King's Pawn Game: Busch-Gass Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Bc5
The King's Pawn Game: Busch-Gass Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C40, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Bc5. It is a line of the King's Pawn Game. 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 62,804 times by this move order. White won 52%, 3% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 3. Bc4 (41% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.81 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 3. Nxe5 Nc6 4. Nf3 d5 5. exd5 Qxd5)
- ECO
- C40
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
rnbqk1nr/pppp1ppp/8/2b1p3/4P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 2 3- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Bc5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 40,616 | |
| 1500-1999 | 21,405 | |
| 2000+ | 783 | |
| All | 62,804 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. Bc4 | 25,454 (41%) | |
| 3. Nxe5 | 12,258 (20%) | |
| 3. d4 | 8,634 (14%) | |
| 3. Nc3 | 7,873 (13%) | |
| 3. c3 | 4,336 (7%) | |
| 3. d3 | 1,475 (2%) | |
| 3. Bb5 | 613 (1%) | |
| 3. Be2 | 470 (1%) |
Master games
225 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 58%, draw 6%, Black 36%). The strongest:
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2762) – FM William Graif (2222) 1-0 · Titled Tue 14th Oct 2025 · 2025-10-14
- GM Dariusz Swiercz (2646) – FM William Graif (2305) 1-0 · Titled Tue 22nd Nov Late · 2022-11-22
- GM Hans Moke Niemann (2736) – FM William Graif (2211) 1-0 · Titled Tue 6th May Late · 2025-05-06
- GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (2619) – FM William Graif (2304) 1-0 · Titled Tue 6th Jun Late · 2023-06-06
- GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (2603) – FM William Graif (2305) 1-0 · Titled Tue 31st Jan Late · 2023-01-31
Search all games of the King's Pawn Game: Busch-Gass Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- benga77 (2431) – AcademiaPlazadeArmas (2509) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- TedMosby32 (2464) – harrynga25 (2431) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- OlegHackevich (2424) – REANIMATOR333 (2370) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
King's Knight Opening 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3
Continuations
- King's Pawn Game: Busch-Gass Gambit, Chiodini Gambit C40 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Bc5 3. Nxe5 Nc6
More King's Pawn Game lines (all)
- King's Pawn Game (1. e4) B00
- King's Pawn Game: Maróczy Defense B07
- King's Pawn Game (1. e4 e5) C20
- King's Pawn Game: Alapin Opening C20
- King's Pawn Game: Bavarian Gambit C20
- King's Pawn Game: Beyer Gambit C20
- King's Pawn Game: Clam Variation, King's Gambit Reversed C20
- King's Pawn Game: Clam Variation, Radisch Gambit C20
- King's Pawn Game: King's Head Opening (1… e5 2. f3) C20
- King's Pawn Game: King's Head Opening (2… Nf6 3. Nc3) C20
- King's Pawn Game: Leonardis Variation C20
- King's Pawn Game: MacLeod Attack C20
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.