Vienna Gambit, with Max Lange Defense: Steinitz Gambit, Paulsen Defense
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4 exf4 4. d4 Qh4+ 5. Ke2 d6
The Vienna Gambit, with Max Lange Defense: Steinitz Gambit, Paulsen Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO C25, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4 exf4 4. d4 Qh4+ 5. Ke2 d6. It is a line of the Vienna Gambit, with Max Lange Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 21 times by this move order. White won 48%, 9% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 6. Nf3 (86% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.08 (Stockfish, depth 33; best line 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. Bxf4 f5 8. exf5 Qh5)
- ECO
- C25
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
r1b1kbnr/ppp2ppp/2np4/8/3PPp1q/2N5/PPP1K1PP/R1BQ1BNR w kq - 0 6- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4 exf4 4. d4 Qh4+ 5. Ke2 d6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 5 | |
| 1500-1999 | 10 | |
| 2000+ | 6 | |
| All | 21 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. Nf3 | 18 (86%) | |
| 6. Nd5 | 2 (10%) | |
| 6. d5 | 1 (5%) |
Master games
29 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 24%, Black 38%). The strongest:
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2770) – GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2687) 1/2-1/2 · Levitov Match March 24th · 2021-03-24
- GM Vasif Durarbayli (2631) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2782) 0-1 · Titled Tue 4th Jul Late · 2023-07-04
- GM Vasif Durarbayli (2627) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2764) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 16th May Late · 2023-05-16
- GM Johan-Sebastian Christiansen (2655) – GM Bassem Amin (2626) 1/2-1/2 · World Rapid 2025 · 2025-12-26
- GM Vitaliy Bernadskiy (2592) – GM Bartosz Socko (2591) 1-0 · 6th Sharjah Masters 2023 · 2023-05-21
Highest-rated Lichess games
- tajik555 (2339) – andreastampubolon (2393) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-06 · 600 + 5s
- Potapov54 (2265) – green_terminator (2319) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- LuckyPierre (2084) – Klagen1 (2170) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 600 + 0s
Comes from
Vienna Gambit, with Max Lange Defense: Steinitz Gambit, Main Line 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4 exf4 4. d4 Qh4+ 5. Ke2
More Vienna Gambit, with Max Lange Defense lines (all)
- Vienna Gambit, with Max Lange Defense C25
- Vienna Gambit, with Max Lange Defense: Cunningham Defense C25
- Vienna Gambit, with Max Lange Defense: Hamppe-Allgaier Gambit C25
- Vienna Gambit, with Max Lange Defense: Hamppe-Allgaier Gambit, Alapin Variation C25
- Vienna Gambit, with Max Lange Defense: Hamppe-Allgaier Gambit, Thorold Variation C25
- Vienna Gambit, with Max Lange Defense: Hamppe-Muzio Gambit C25
- Vienna Gambit, with Max Lange Defense: Knight Variation C25
- Vienna Gambit, with Max Lange Defense: Pierce Gambit C25
- Vienna Gambit, with Max Lange Defense: Quelle Gambit C25
- Vienna Gambit, with Max Lange Defense: Steinitz Gambit C25
- Vienna Gambit, with Max Lange Defense: Steinitz Gambit, Fraser-Minckwitz Defense C25
- Vienna Gambit, with Max Lange Defense: Steinitz Gambit, Sörensen Defense C25
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.