Englund Gambit win rate

White scored 50.9% (margin 0.7 points) in 20,497 rated games of the Englund Gambit, ECO A40, played between players within 100 rating points on 1 September 2026. It ranked number 22 of 117 openings by popularity and made up 1.3% of all games.

49.0%

47.3%

White wins 49.0%
Draws 3.7%
Black wins 47.3%

20,497 games

How often does White win in the Englund Gambit?

White won 49.1% of the 20,497 games, 3.7% were drawn and Black won 47.3%. White's score of 50.9% is no clear difference from White's score across all openings (51.9%): the gap of 1.0 points is larger than the margin of 0.7 points but under the 1 point treated as clear.

Results of 20,497 Englund Gambit games, 1 September 2026.
Result	Games	Share
White wins	10,054	49.1%
Draws	756	3.7%
Black wins	9,687	47.3%

Does the Englund Gambit score differently at different ratings?

White's score is highest at under 1200 (51.7%) and lowest at 1200 to 1599 (49.9%). That spread of 1.9 points is inside the two margins added together, so the data show no clear difference between the bands.

Players rated 1200 to 1599 choose the Englund Gambit most often relative to their other openings, in 1.5 percent of their games.

White's score in the Englund Gambit by the lower rating of the two players, 1 September 2026.
Rating band	Games	Share of the band	White score	Margin (points)
under 1200	3,688	1.3%	51.7%	1.6
1200 to 1599	8,572	1.5%	49.9%	1.0
1600 to 1999	7,302	1.2%	51.5%	1.1

How does the Englund Gambit do in blitz, rapid and classical?

The time control changes who tends to win, because the clock matters more in faster games. Rows with fewer than 1,500 games are left out.

White's score in the Englund Gambit by time control, 1 September 2026.
Time control	Games	White score	Margin (points)
Blitz	15,542	50.5%	0.8
Rapid	4,859	52.2%	1.4

What are the most played lines of the Englund Gambit?

The most played named line is the Hartlaub-Charlick Gambit, with 5,193 games and a White score of 50.1%. The table lists the ten most played lines that reached 300 games; a line below that is counted in the last row.

Named lines of the Englund Gambit, most played first, 1 September 2026.
Line	Games	White score	Margin (points)
Hartlaub-Charlick Gambit	5,193	50.1%	1.3
Main Line	3,171	49.3%	1.7
Soller Gambit	1,144	53.3%	2.8
Felbecker Gambit	638	53.9%	3.8
Soller Gambit Deferred	359	52.8%	5.1
Main line and less played lines	9,992	51.3%	1.0

How were these opening statistics measured?

Rated Blitz, Rapid and Classical games on 1 September 2026 between players within 100 rating points, banded by the lower rating. A score is wins plus half the draws, with a 95 percent margin. The hub page explains the method in full.

Frequently asked questions

What is the win rate of the Englund Gambit?

White won 49.1%, drew 3.7% and lost 47.3% of 20,497 games, a White score of 50.9% with a margin of 0.7 points. These are games on Lichess on 1 September 2026.

Is the Englund Gambit good for White?

At these ratings White's score was no clear difference from White's score across all openings (51.9%): the gap of 1.0 points is larger than the margin of 0.7 points but under the 1 point treated as clear. A difference of a point or two is small, and the side that picks an opening also picks which games reach it, so the number describes what happened at these ratings and is not a ruling on the opening.

What is the most popular line of the Englund Gambit?

The Hartlaub-Charlick Gambit was the most played named line, with 5,193 games, which is 25.3% of the Englund Gambit games.

Sources

Lichess open database, standard rated games (CC0), file for September 2026, read 2026-10-22

Related guides and tools

Last updated 2026-10-22.

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