Bishop's Opening: Thorold Gambit
389 games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
Black expected score · All ratings · All speeds
48.6%
the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. At best 52.8%.
Measured over 389 games at this level and clock.
Roughly even — the middlegame decides more than this opening choice does.
Outcomes for Black
Draw 1.7 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 389 games
- Rank among the families Black can choose here
- not ranked — this is a variation, not a family
- Games in this context
- 389
- Best context
- not measured yet
- Average game length
- 31 moves
- Games that end decisively
- 98.3%
- Draws
- 1.7%
Best and worst are the strongest and weakest squares with at least 500 games behind them. The table further down shows every square, including thinner ones.
Extra Analysis
Deep-dive datasets for this opening
Where it holds · Black score by rating × clock
Green is clearly ahead for Black, grey is around even, red is behind. Tap a cell to measure there, and again to clear. It holds about the same all the way up, near 40.9%.
| Rating | UB | Bulle | Blitz | Rapid | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-999 | — | — | — | ||
| 1000-1199 | — | — | |||
| 1200-1399 | — | — | — | ||
| 1400-1599 | — | — | |||
| 1600-1799 | — | — | |||
| 1800-1999 | — | ||||
| 2000-2199 | — | — | |||
| 2200-2499 | — | — | |||
| 2500+ | — | — | — |
Expected score matrix by rating bracket and time control
- 0-999 rating, Blitz: 44.7% expected score (8 games)
- 0-999 rating, Rapid: 37.0% expected score (10 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 39.5% expected score (8 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Rapid: 50.0% expected score (2 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Classical: 30.0% expected score (1 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 45.3% expected score (9 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 64.3% expected score (9 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 50.0% expected score (2 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 84.8% expected score (10 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 46.6% expected score (13 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 57.7% expected score (5 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 55.6% expected score (34 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 46.8% expected score (91 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 42.4% expected score (5 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 43.3% expected score (66 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 53.6% expected score (26 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 70.0% expected score (1 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 37.8% expected score (23 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 61.1% expected score (21 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 50.0% expected score (2 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 32.9% expected score (19 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 57.0% expected score (20 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 70.0% expected score (1 games)
- 2500+ rating, Bullet: 50.0% expected score (2 games)
- 2500+ rating, Blitz: 30.0% expected score (1 games)
Related Openings
Methodology
Across every rating and clock, the Bishop's Opening: Thorold Gambit scores 48.6% for Black — we are 90% confident the real figure is between 44.5% and 52.8% — from 389 Lichess games. Win rate, draw rate and loss rate come from games played December 2023 to November 2025.
How the figures are made
- Whose games these are
- 389+ rated games played on Lichess (2023-12 to 2025-11). The games are Lichess’s and free for anyone to use. What is ours is the reading of them. Last rebuilt January 2026.
- Which games we count
- Rated games only — nothing casual.
- Both players within 200 rating points of each other. A mismatch tells you about the gap, not about the opening.
- At least 2 moves played.
- A game is filed under White’s rating.
- Why every number comes with a range
- A number off a few hundred games is a guess. The same number off millions is a fact. The range is what tells them apart, and it is what the lists rank on — so an opening cannot reach the top on a lucky run of forty games. The more games behind a figure, the narrower its range.
- How much we need before we say anything
- An opening page needs 100 games. A gambit needs 50 games at a rating before we will say whether it pays there. The chaos and trap lists need 500 games overall and 250 games at one rating or clock.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Bishop's Opening: Thorold Gambit win rate?
Playing the Bishop's Opening: Thorold Gambit, Black wins 47.8%, draws 1.7% and loses 50.6%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 48.6%. It rests on 389 rated games from Lichess.
At what rating does the Bishop's Opening: Thorold Gambit perform best?
The Bishop's Opening: Thorold Gambit performs best for Black at 1600-1799, with an Expected Score of 49.6% (130 games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read.
Is the Bishop's Opening: Thorold Gambit better in blitz or rapid?
For Black, the Bishop's Opening: Thorold Gambit scores higher in Blitz: an Expected Score of 51.7% in Blitz (177 games) against 48.7% in Rapid (154 games).
How sharp is the Bishop's Opening: Thorold Gambit?
The Bishop's Opening: Thorold Gambit has a sharpness score of 98.3 (very decisive), meaning 98.3% of games end decisively. Average game length is 31 moves.
What is the Bishop's Opening: Thorold Gambit win rate at 1600-1799?
At 1600-1799, Black wins 49.0%, draws 1.1% and loses 49.8%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 49.6%. It rests on 130 Lichess games, which average 32 moves.
What is the Bishop's Opening: Thorold Gambit win rate in Blitz?
In Blitz, Black wins 50.7%, draws 2.0% and loses 47.3%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 51.7%. It rests on 177 Lichess games.
What is the Bishop's Opening: Thorold Gambit win rate in Rapid?
In Rapid, Black wins 47.9%, draws 1.6% and loses 50.5%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 48.7%. It rests on 154 Lichess games.
Is the Bishop's Opening: Thorold Gambit a good opening?
The Bishop's Opening: Thorold Gambit is hard work for Black — it favours White. Across all ratings, Black wins 47.8% of its games and loses 50.6%. It performs best at 1600-1799. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.