King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense

King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense is a sacrificial opening line filed under ECO C39 in the Open Games group. The defining idea is the early concession of material to seize the initiative and unbalance the position.

The Open Games group covers open games — classical 1.e4 e5 openings where both sides contest the centre directly with pawns.

Play reaches this position via 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. h4 g4 5. Ne5 Nf6, after 10 plies of opening development.

In the opening tree, this line branches off from King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, part of the broader King's Pawn Game system.

4 named variations grow from this line, including King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Anderssen Defense, de Riviere Variation, Rubinstein Variation, and others.

In total, the branch covers 7 sub-variations across all depths.

Use the board to walk through every move, check how the position has scored on Lichess, or take it head-to-head against Stockfish.