Vienna Game: Falkbeer Variation
Chess opening · ECO C26 · 4 half-moves
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6
The Vienna Game: Falkbeer Variation is reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6. It is White's move in the position shown.
It branches from the Vienna Game with 2… Nf6.
How often it is played
The Vienna Game: Falkbeer Variation and its variations appeared in 0.45% of games — 13,412 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 98 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 52%, 3.5% were drawn and Black won 44%. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Vienna Game: Max Lange Defense | 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 | 0.44% |
| King's Knight Opening | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 | 15% |
| Sicilian Defense | 1. e4 c5 | 9.6% |
Main continuations
| Variation | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Vienna Game: Stanley Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 | 0.18% |
| Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit | 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 | 0.17% |
| Vienna Game: Mieses Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 | 0.01% |
| Vienna Game: Mengarini Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. a3 | 0.01% |
Check your own games
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