Vienna Game

ECO C25-C29intermediate

The Vienna, 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3, is the improved King's Gambit: White defends e4 first, keeping the f4 thrust in reserve. Against the natural 2...Nf6, the Vienna Gambit 3.f4 is genuinely dangerous — 3...exf4? 4.e5 wins material, so Black must know the precise 3...d5 counter. Quieter souls play 3.g3 with a kingside fianchetto and a slow buildup. The Vienna's blend of trickiness and soundness has made it one of the most popular club-level weapons of the online era.

Train as White Train as Black Explore all variations

Main line

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Diagram shows the position after 6 half-moves of the main line. On SpeakChess you can drill this line move by move — the trainer plays the other side and corrects you instantly, then spaced repetition schedules each variation so you review it right before you would forget it.

Move by move

The first 12 moves of the main line, explained one at a time. Every move of every variation is annotated like this inside the trainer — this page shows the opening moves so you can judge the explanations before signing up.

What a great first move! The pawn marches up to e4, a light square right in the middle of the board. Grabbing the center early gives your other pieces lots of room to come out and play. A super way to begin!
Black answers boldly, pushing a pawn all the way to e5, a dark square in the heart of the board. Now both sides have a pawn standing tall in the middle. This is a fair, friendly fight for the center!
White moves their knight from b1 to c3. This is a good developing move, bringing a piece out from the corner and into the game.
Black moves their knight from g8 to f6. This is a good developing move, bringing a piece out from the corner to help control the middle of the board.
White moves their bishop from its home square to a new spot. This is a good developing move that helps get a piece into the game.
Black moves their knight from f6 to e4. It takes a white pawn and lands on a strong square in the middle of the board.
White develops the queen to h5, a premature move that violates opening principles by placing it on an exposed square. This allows Black a tactical fork with knight to f6, winning material.
Black moves their knight from the e4 square to the d6 square. It's a simple knight move to a new spot on the board.
White retreats the bishop from c4 to b3, moving it away from attack by Black's knight on d6. It remains on the a2–g8 diagonal, eyeing the f7 square.
Black moves their bishop from the corner to a new spot. This is a good developing move, getting a piece ready to help.
You move your knight from g1 to f3. This is a great developing move, bringing your knight into the game and closer to the middle.
Black moves their knight from b8 to c6. This is a good developing move, bringing a piece into the game and closer to the middle.

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Win rates by rating

Results from real online games, measured after the line shown in each row. Most opening sites show one aggregate number — how an opening scores depends heavily on who is playing it.

Rating	Games	White wins	Draws	Black wins	Position after
400-600	503	51.7%	6%	42.3%	1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4
600-800	38	68.4%	2.6%	28.9%	1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5
800-1000	92	70.7%	4.3%	25%	1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5
1000-1200	901	43.3%	2.8%	53.9%	1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4
1200-1400	30	43.3%	3.3%	53.3%	1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6 5.Bb3
1400-1600	86	62.8%	2.3%	34.9%	1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6 5.Bb3
1600-1800	35	54.3%	2.9%	42.9%	1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6 5.Bb3
1800-2000	31	61.3%	0%	38.7%	1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6 5.Bb3 Be7
2000-2200	48	41.7%	14.6%	43.7%	1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6 5.Bb3 Be7 6.Nf3
2200-2400	43	53.5%	9.3%	37.2%	1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6 5.Bb3 Be7 6.Nf3 Nc6

Most played continuations (1000-1200 rating)

After 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4:

Nxe4 — played 83.7% of the time (White wins 42%, draws 3%, Black wins 54.9%)
Bxf7+ — played 3.8% of the time (White wins 38.2%, draws 2.9%, Black wins 58.8%)
Nf3 — played 3.4% of the time (White wins 54.8%, draws 3.2%, Black wins 41.9%)

Frequently asked questions

Why is the Vienna Gambit considered better than the King's Gambit?

Because 2.Nc3 rules out the immediate punishments that make 2.f4 risky — the e4 pawn is defended and ...Qh4+ ideas lose their sting. White gets King's Gambit attacking chances with a far sturdier position behind them.

How does Black neutralize the Vienna?

Against 3.f4 the only good move is 3...d5! striking the center before capturing on f4 — after 4.fxe5 Nxe4 Black is fully fine. Against the quiet 3.g3, a classical setup with ...d5 or ...Bc5 and ...d6 gives Black easy equality. Knowing 3...d5 is the entire entry fee.