Vienna Game: Stanley Variation, Monster Declined
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4 4. Qh5 Nd6 5. Bb3 Be7
The Vienna Game: Stanley Variation, Monster Declined is a chess opening classified as ECO C27, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4 4. Qh5 Nd6 5. Bb3 Be7. It is a line of the Vienna Game. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 60 times by this move order. White won 53%, 9% were drawn and Black won 38%. The most popular continuation is 6. Nf3 (37% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 6. Qxe5 O-O 7. Nf3 Nc6 8. Qf4 Na5)
- ECO
- C27
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/ppppbppp/3n4/4p2Q/8/1BN5/PPPP1PPP/R1B1K1NR w KQkq - 4 6- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4 4. Qh5 Nd6 5. Bb3 Be7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 2 | |
| 2000+ | 57 | |
| All | 60 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. Nf3 | 22 (37%) | |
| 6. Qxe5 | 22 (37%) | |
| 6. d3 | 6 (10%) | |
| 6. Nb5 | 5 (8%) | |
| 6. f4 | 3 (5%) | |
| 6. h4 | 2 (3%) |
Master games
235 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 47%, draw 19%, Black 34%). The strongest:
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2801) – GM Anish Giri (2782) 1-0 · chess.com Speed 1m+1spm 2018 · 2018-09-07
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2802) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2767) 1-0 · SpeedChess Final 2024 · 2024-09-06
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2787) – GM Pentala Harikrishna (2763) 0-1 · chess.com QF Blitz 1m+1spm 2016 · 2016-05-04
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2759) – GM Levon Aronian (2781) 0-1 · Goldmoney Asian Prelim · 2021-06-28
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2728) – GM Levon Aronian (2773) 1-0 · Online Nations Cup Prelim · 2020-05-09
Search all games of the Vienna Game: Stanley Variation, Monster Declined and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- ZhangXS (2674) – CogitoErgoVinco (2642) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
- derdimcokanacan (2646) – slouuurps (2667) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- secret_mikalsen (2642) – JelenaZ (2613) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Vienna Game: Frankenstein-Dracula Variation 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4
Continuations
- Vienna Game: Stanley Variation, Alekhine Variation C27 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4 4. Qh5 Nd6 5. Bb3 Be7 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Nxe5
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: 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
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.