King's Gambit Declined: Queen's Knight Defense
Chess opening · ECO C30 · 4 half-moves
1. e4 e5 2. f4 Nc6
The King's Gambit Declined: Queen's Knight Defense is reached after 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Nc6. It is White's move in the position shown.
It branches from the King's Gambit with 2… Nc6.
How often it is played
The King's Gambit Declined: Queen's Knight Defense and its variations appeared in 0.26% of games — 7,676 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 153 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 51%, 2.8% were drawn and Black won 46%. These are games between players of every strength and time control, so they say how the opening does in practice rather than how sound it is.
What the engine thinks
Stockfish, at depth 18, evaluates the position at +0.24 — a small edge for White. Positive numbers favour White; see reading the evaluation bar.
Similar openings
The most-played alternatives — what else could have been chosen around the move where this opening begins.
| Opening | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| King's Gambit Accepted | 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 | 0.64% |
| King's Knight Opening | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 | 15% |
| Sicilian Defense | 1. e4 c5 | 9.6% |
Main continuations
| Variation | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| King's Gambit Declined: Miles Defense | 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Nc6 3. Nf3 f5 | 0.01% |
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