Vienna Game: Anderssen Defense
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Bc5
The Vienna Game: Anderssen Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO C25, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Bc5. It is a line of the Vienna Game. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 21,129 times by this move order. White won 50%, 3% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 3. Nf3 (42% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.38 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 3. Nf3 d6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6)
- ECO
- C25
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
rnbqk1nr/pppp1ppp/8/2b1p3/4P3/2N5/PPPP1PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 2 3- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Bc5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 11,173 | |
| 1500-1999 | 9,297 | |
| 2000+ | 659 | |
| All | 21,129 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. Nf3 | 8,887 (42%) | |
| 3. Bc4 | 6,155 (29%) | |
| 3. f4 | 2,524 (12%) | |
| 3. d3 | 1,302 (6%) | |
| 3. g3 | 412 (2%) | |
| 3. a3 | 237 (1%) | |
| 3. Qg4 Giraffe Attack | 222 (1%) | |
| 3. Qf3 | 142 (1%) |
Master games
563 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 48%, draw 18%, Black 34%). The strongest:
- LCZero 0.31-dag-f7fb268-BT4-61 (3652) – Stockfish dev-20241208-cf10644 (3683) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 27 Superfinal 2024 · 2024-12-25
- Stockfish dev-20241208-cf10644 (3683) – LCZero 0.31-dag-f7fb268-BT4-61 (3652) 1-0 · TCEC 27 Superfinal 2024 · 2024-12-25
- GM Eltaj Safarli (2649) – GM Anton Korobov (2680) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE World Rapid 2014 · 2014-06-16
- GM Jorden Van Foreest (2696) – GM Anton Demchenko (2597) 1/2-1/2 · 45th Olympiad 2024 · 2024-09-21
- IM Elham Amar (2555) – GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2683) 0-1 · World Blitz 2023 · 2023-12-30
Search all games of the Vienna Game: Anderssen Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- IM MassterofMayhem (2668) – RonaldoGoat_CR7 (2659) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Pblu35 (2664) – FM Artem_chess01 (2602) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Pblu35 (2641) – GGBlitzBullet (2558) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Vienna Game 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3
Continuations
- Vienna Game: Giraffe Attack C25 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Bc5 3. Qg4
- Vienna Game: Hamppe-Meitner Variation C25 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Bc5 3. Na4
More Vienna Game lines (all)
- Vienna Game: Fyfe Gambit C25
- Vienna Game: Hamppe-Muzio Gambit C25
- Vienna Game: Hamppe-Muzio, Dubois Variation C25
- Vienna Game: Max Lange Defense C25
- Vienna Game: Omaha Gambit C25
- Vienna Game: Paulsen Variation (2… Nc6 3. g3) C25
- Vienna Game: Paulsen Variation (5. Nge2 d5) C25
- Vienna Game: Paulsen Variation, Mariotti Gambit C25
- Vienna Game: Philidor Countergambit C25
- Vienna Game: Pierce Gambit, Rushmere Attack C25
- Vienna Game: Stanley Variation, Meitner-Mieses Gambit C25
- Vienna Game: Zhuravlev Countergambit 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.