Englund Gambit
26 variations · 39M games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
Black expected score · Overall
49.5%
the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. Its best is the same figure — the band is too tight to plot.
Measured over 39M games at this level and clock.
Roughly even — the middlegame decides more than this opening choice does.
Outcomes for Black
Draw 3.3 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 39M games
- Rank among the families Black can choose here
- #14 of 62
- Games in this context
- 39M
- Best context
- 54.3% at 0-999 UltraBullet
- Worst context
- 40.9% at 2000-2199 Classical
- Variations measured
- 26
- Average game length
- 31 moves
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.
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 falls away as the rating rises: 49.6% at 0-999, 35.9% at 2500+.
| 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, UltraBullet: 54.3% expected score (8,461 games)
- 0-999 rating, Bullet: 51.2% expected score (776,411 games)
- 0-999 rating, Blitz: 48.4% expected score (1,125,489 games)
- 0-999 rating, Rapid: 45.9% expected score (531,388 games)
- 0-999 rating, Classical: 48.0% expected score (5,023 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, UltraBullet: 49.3% expected score (22,857 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Bullet: 50.3% expected score (1,475,167 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 49.4% expected score (1,719,670 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Rapid: 47.3% expected score (558,671 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Classical: 43.1% expected score (11,967 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, UltraBullet: 48.0% expected score (50,829 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Bullet: 50.3% expected score (2,318,746 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 50.1% expected score (2,761,051 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 49.2% expected score (777,783 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Classical: 45.2% expected score (22,314 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, UltraBullet: 46.8% expected score (82,896 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 50.0% expected score (2,966,286 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 50.2% expected score (3,564,974 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 50.3% expected score (1,033,563 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Classical: 47.5% expected score (37,006 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, UltraBullet: 45.8% expected score (84,480 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 49.7% expected score (3,299,831 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 50.0% expected score (3,475,858 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 49.7% expected score (966,946 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Classical: 47.5% expected score (31,701 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, UltraBullet: 44.3% expected score (48,944 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 49.5% expected score (3,008,847 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 49.4% expected score (2,537,693 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 48.6% expected score (582,264 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 45.7% expected score (16,764 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, UltraBullet: 43.8% expected score (20,495 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 49.0% expected score (2,113,781 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 47.3% expected score (997,826 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 46.0% expected score (157,046 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Classical: 40.9% expected score (2,615 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, UltraBullet: 45.9% expected score (8,334 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 47.8% expected score (1,197,205 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 44.1% expected score (186,120 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 41.9% expected score (16,797 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Classical: 37.1% expected score (177 games)
- 2500+ rating, UltraBullet: 42.1% expected score (522 games)
- 2500+ rating, Bullet: 46.1% expected score (195,704 games)
- 2500+ rating, Blitz: 42.1% expected score (7,486 games)
- 2500+ rating, Rapid: 31.5% expected score (433 games)
- 2500+ rating, Classical: 17.9% expected score (56 games)
26 variations · ranked by floor
Floor — the worst score you would still get, 90% confident.
Methodology
Across every rating and clock, the Englund Gambit family scores 49.5% for Black — we are 90% confident it is 49.5% — from 39M Lichess games across 26 variations. 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
- 39M+ 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 Englund Gambit win rate?
Across the Englund Gambit's 26 variations, Black wins 47.8%, draws 3.3% and loses 48.9%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 49.5%. It rests on 39M rated games from Lichess.
How many Englund Gambit variations are there?
26 Englund Gambit variations have a page of their own, each broken down by rating and by clock.
At what rating does the Englund Gambit perform best?
The Englund Gambit family performs best for Black at 1200-1399, with an Expected Score of 50.0% (5.9M games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read. Performance may vary by specific variation.
Is the Englund Gambit better in blitz or rapid?
For Black, the Englund Gambit scores about the same in both: an Expected Score of 49.5% in Blitz (16M games) against 48.7% in Rapid (4.6M games).
How sharp is the Englund Gambit?
Englund Gambit games are 96.7% decisive (non-draws), with an average length of 31 moves. Sharpness varies by specific variation.
Is the Englund Gambit a good opening family?
The Englund Gambit family is about level overall. Across its games, Black wins 47.8% and loses 48.9%. Results differ between its 26 variations, so open the one you play for its own figures.