Vienna Game: Paulsen Variation (2… Nc6 3. g3)
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3
The Vienna Game: Paulsen Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C25, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3. It is a line of the Vienna Game. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2,376 times by this move order. White won 54%, 5% were drawn and Black won 41%. The most popular continuation is 3… Nf6 (44% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 51; best line 3… Bc5 4. Bg2 d6 5. Na4 Be6 6. d3)
- ECO
- C25
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pppp1ppp/2n5/4p3/4P3/2N3P1/PPPP1P1P/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 535 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,178 | |
| 2000+ | 663 | |
| All | 2,376 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… Nf6 | 1,039 (44%) | |
| 3… Bc5 | 697 (29%) | |
| 3… d6 | 217 (9%) | |
| 3… Bb4 | 148 (6%) | |
| 3… f5 | 71 (3%) | |
| 3… g6 | 66 (3%) | |
| 3… h6 | 20 (1%) | |
| 3… h5 | 19 (1%) |
Master games
1,220 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 19%, Black 36%). The strongest:
- AllieStein v0.8-120f959_net-15.0 (3509) – Stoofvlees II a16 (3513) 1-0 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2021-01-03
- Stoofvlees II a16 (3513) – AllieStein v0.8-120f959_net-15.0 (3509) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-12-31
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2764) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2882) 0-1 · Saint Louis Blitz 2019 · 2019-08-14
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2841) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2792) 1/2-1/2 · 1st 3-0 Thu 25th Jun 2026 · 2026-06-25
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2780) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2786) 1-0 · chess.com SpeedChess 2023 · 2023-09-14
Search all games of the Vienna Game: Paulsen Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- PioneerZhangBeihai (2701) – El_Banditoff (2759) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- PioneerZhangBeihai (2691) – El_Banditoff (2750) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Dr_Ragin (2658) – CM Mysterious-Master (2616) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Vienna Game: Max Lange Defense 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6
Continuations
- Vienna Game: Paulsen Variation (5. Nge2 d5) C25 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Bc5 5. Nge2 d5
- Vienna Game: Paulsen Variation, Mariotti Gambit C25 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 Bc5 4. Bg2 h5 5. Nf3 h4
More Vienna Game lines (all)
- Vienna Game C25
- Vienna Game: Anderssen Defense C25
- Vienna Game: Fyfe Gambit C25
- Vienna Game: Giraffe Attack C25
- Vienna Game: Hamppe-Meitner Variation C25
- Vienna Game: Hamppe-Muzio Gambit C25
- Vienna Game: Hamppe-Muzio, Dubois Variation C25
- Vienna Game: Omaha 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.