Mikenas Defense: Pozarek Gambit
1. d4 Nc6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Nxe5 4. Nc3 Nxc4
The Mikenas Defense: Pozarek Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO A40, reached after 1. d4 Nc6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Nxe5 4. Nc3 Nxc4. It is a line of the Mikenas Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 10 times by this move order. White won 50%, 0% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 5. e4 (30% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 34; best line 5. Nf3 Nb6 6. e4 d5 7. exd5 Nf6)
- ECO
- A40
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pppp1ppp/8/8/2n5/2N5/PP2PPPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. d4 Nc6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Nxe5 4. Nc3 Nxc4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 5 | |
| 1500-1999 | 5 | |
| All | 10 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. e4 | 3 (30%) | |
| 5. Nf3 | 2 (20%) | |
| 5. e3 | 2 (20%) | |
| 5. Qb3 | 1 (10%) | |
| 5. Bf4 | 1 (10%) | |
| 5. Qa4 | 1 (10%) |
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Pomponiusz (1760) – mkajad (1792) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 300 + 0s
- teddy2024 (1426) – m1134n (2117) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 300 + 0s
- lpa123 (1675) – Monte321 (1671) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Mikenas Defense 1. d4 Nc6
More Mikenas Defense lines (all)
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.