Vienna Game: Max Lange Defense
Chess opening · ECO C25 · 4 half-moves
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6
The Vienna Game: Max Lange Defense is reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6. It is White's move in the position shown.
It branches from the Vienna Game with 2… Nc6.
How often it is played
The Vienna Game: Max Lange Defense and its variations appeared in 0.44% of games — 13,053 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 105 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 51%, 3.3% were drawn and Black won 45%. 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 +0.15 — which is level. 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: Falkbeer Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 | 0.45% |
| 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 Gambit, with Max Lange Defense | 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4 | 0.11% |
| Vienna Game: Stanley Variation, Three Knights Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 | 0.05% |
| Vienna Game: Paulsen Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 | 0.02% |
| Vienna Game: Stanley Variation, Meitner-Mieses Gambit | 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Qg4 Qf6 5. Nd5 | 0.01% |
| Vienna Game: Fyfe Gambit | 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. d4 | 0.01% |
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