Vienna Game: Stanley Variation, Reversed Spanish
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Bb4
The Vienna Game: Stanley Variation, Reversed Spanish is a chess opening classified as ECO C26, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Bb4. It is a line of the Vienna Game. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1,324 times by this move order. White won 50%, 4% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 4. d3 (40% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.12 (Stockfish, depth 47; best line 4. Nf3 Bxc3 5. dxc3 d6 6. a4 Be6)
- ECO
- C26
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/pppp1ppp/5n2/4p3/1bB1P3/2N5/PPPP1PPP/R1BQK1NR w KQkq - 4 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Bb4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 635 | |
| 1500-1999 | 592 | |
| 2000+ | 97 | |
| All | 1,324 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. d3 | 530 (40%) | |
| 4. Nf3 | 212 (16%) | |
| 4. Nge2 | 203 (15%) | |
| 4. a3 | 129 (10%) | |
| 4. Nd5 | 76 (6%) | |
| 4. Qf3 | 65 (5%) | |
| 4. f4 | 53 (4%) | |
| 4. f3 | 10 (1%) |
Master games
141 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 21%, Black 38%). The strongest:
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2801) – GM Anish Giri (2782) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com Speed 1m+1spm 2018 · 2018-09-07
- GM Daniil Dubov (2693) – GM Vincent Keymer (2733) 0-1 · Tata Steel India Rapid · 2024-11-15
- GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2678) – GM Pavel Eljanov (2672) 1-0 · PNWCC Online Blitz JP 9 · 2020-05-09
- GM Olexandr Bortnyk (2604) – GM Samuel Sevian (2647) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tuesday 10th Aug · 2021-08-10
- IM Bryan Enming Lin (2500) – GM Jeffery Xiong (2656) 1/2-1/2 · 3rd 3-0 Thu 17th Sep 2026 · 2026-09-17
Search all games of the Vienna Game: Stanley Variation, Reversed Spanish and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- shahruh94 (2658) – FM dclasby (2782) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- secret_mikalsen (2625) – Rawhen (2497) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- aionix64 (2461) – bombokobombo123456 (2628) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Vienna Game: Stanley Variation 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4
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.