Open games & French

King's Gambit Declined

1.e4 c5 2.f4 e5

The King's Gambit Declined starts with 1.e4 c5 2.f4 e5 and is catalogued under ECO C30, in the open games & french half of the book. The catalog indexes 53 lines inside it, grouped into 50 named variations, and the position after those moves has 1 playable continuation to walk from here.

Opening repertoire map

Root edges show how often each move is played around your Elo. Use the arrow on a position to reveal the next replies.

Current position
King's Gambit Declined: Panteldakis Countergambit
Popularity by Elo
Share of Lichess blitz, rapid, and classical games that continued with each move.
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Current setup

Move ideas

  1. 1.e4

    Claims the center with a pawn and opens lines for the queen and king’s bishop.

    Idea: Build quick development and make early castling possible.

  2. 1e5

    Meets White’s center directly and opens lines for Black’s queen and bishop.

    Idea: Fight for equal central space in a balanced, open position.

  3. 2.f4

    Advances the f-pawn to gain kingside space and control new squares.

    Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.

  4. 2f5

    Advances the f-pawn to gain kingside space and control new squares.

    Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.

  5. 3.exf5

    Captures the pawn on f5 and changes the local pawn or piece balance.

    Idea: Open lines in the kingside and reshape the center for the next phase.

  6. 3exf4

    Captures the pawn on f4 and changes the local pawn or piece balance.

    Idea: Open lines in the kingside and reshape the center for the next phase.

  7. 4.Nf3

    Develops the knight to f3, bringing it into the game.

    Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.

  8. 4d5

    Advances to d5 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.

    Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.

  9. 5.d4

    Advances to d4 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.

    Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.

Book continuations

Waiting for Lichess game popularity.

1 move

Named variations

Each line below is an indexed entry under King's Gambit Declined. Open one to load it on the board and keep exploring from that position.

26 more named lines sit inside this family — the tree above walks all of them.

ECO groups openings by the structures they lead to, so these families tend to share plans with the King's Gambit Declined.