Vienna Game: Giraffe Attack
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Bc5 3. Qg4
The Vienna Game: Giraffe Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO C25, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Bc5 3. Qg4. It is a line of the Vienna Game. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 222 times by this move order. White won 55%, 2% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 3… Qf6 (54% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.45 (Stockfish, depth 42; best line 3… Nf6 4. Qg3 O-O 5. d3 Nc6 6. Bg5)
- ECO
- C25
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqk1nr/pppp1ppp/8/2b1p3/4P1Q1/2N5/PPPP1PPP/R1B1KBNR b KQkq - 3 3- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Bc5 3. Qg4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 113 | |
| 1500-1999 | 101 | |
| 2000+ | 8 | |
| All | 222 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… Qf6 | 119 (54%) | |
| 3… g6 | 43 (19%) | |
| 3… Nf6 | 24 (11%) | |
| 3… d6 | 9 (4%) | |
| 3… Bxf2+ | 7 (3%) | |
| 3… Nc6 | 7 (3%) | |
| 3… c6 | 3 (1%) | |
| 3… d5 | 3 (1%) |
Master games
3 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 0%, draw 33%, Black 67%). The strongest:
- GM Vasif Durarbayli (2606) – WGM Evgeniya Doluhanova (2221) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tuesday 13th Apr · 2021-04-13
- IM Justin Sarkar (2389) – Matan Poleg (2226) 0-1 · 30th Czech Rapid G1 2019 · 2019-07-18
- CM Michael Kotyk (2150) – FM Cristian-Gabriel Voiteanu (2235) 0-1 · Titled Tue 5th Sep Early · 2023-09-05
Search all games of the Vienna Game: Giraffe Attack and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- dwightishere (2361) – lord-palpatine66 (2444) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 900 + 10s
- Gector1Discharge (2232) – July_July (2087) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 600 + 5s
- Chandon2020 (2186) – Kamskov_Evgenij (2125) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 300 + 3s
Comes from
Vienna Game: Anderssen Defense 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Bc5
More Vienna Game lines (all)
- Vienna Game C25
- Vienna Game: Fyfe Gambit C25
- Vienna Game: Hamppe-Meitner Variation 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
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.