King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Paulsen Defense Deferred

King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Paulsen Defense Deferred is a gambit, classified under ECO code C39 within the Open Games family. As with all gambits, one side sacrifices material early — usually a pawn — in exchange for development, open lines, or initiative.

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

The line arises from 14 plies — specifically the moves 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. h4 g4 5. Ne5 Nf6 6. Bc4 d5 7. exd5 Bg7.

It is a variation of King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, which itself descends from the root opening King's Pawn Game.

Step through the moves on the interactive board below, review the live Lichess statistics, or play this position against Stockfish at one of six difficulty levels.