Source Lichess
Black isn't shown winning more often than losing at this level
how far wins run ahead of losses, 90% confident
At All Ratings, Vienna Game: Max Lange Defense keeps Black's wins running −4.4% ahead of its losses at worst, 90% confident, from 4.8M Lichess games. The games don't show this gambit paying at this level. Win rate, draw rate and loss rate come from games played December 2023 to November 2025.
| Rating | Edge at worst | Black Win | Draw | Black Loss | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-999 | −4.1% | 46.3% | 3.7% | 50.1% | 267K |
| 1000-1199 | −2.8% | 47.1% | 3.2% | 49.7% | 455K |
| 1200-1399 | −3.9% | 46.6% | 3.1% | 50.3% | 726K |
| 1400-1599 | −4.9% | 46.0% | 3.3% | 50.7% | 982K |
| 1600-1799 | −5.2% | 45.7% | 3.6% | 50.7% | 1.0M |
| 1800-1999 | −4.9% | 45.6% | 4.0% | 50.4% | 792K |
| 2000-2199 | −4.8% | 45.6% | 4.4% | 50.1% | 407K |
| 2200-2499 | −3.7% | 46.0% | 4.7% | 49.3% | 159K |
| 2500+ | +0.6% | 47.7% | 6.4% | 45.9% | 18K |
At some ratings. Black comes out ahead at 2500+; at the other ratings we can see, the games do not show it paying.
Black wins 46.1% of Vienna Game: Max Lange Defense games, draws 3.6% and loses 50.3%. That rests on 4.8M games from Lichess.
2500+. There Black wins at least 0.6 more of every 100 games than it loses (90% confident), its highest Edge at worst.
Rapid. For Black, the Edge at worst — how far wins run ahead of losses, 90% confident — is −4.6% in Blitz (2.1M games) and −3.5% in Rapid (539K games). In neither do the games show Black winning more than losing.
No. The first rating where the games do not show Black coming out ahead is 0-999 in Bullet, 0-999 in Blitz, 0-999 in Rapid and 0-999 in Classical.
The Vienna Game: Max Lange Defense is extremely sharp: 3.6% of its games are drawn, so 96.4% end with a winner.
At 2500+, where Black comes out ahead. At the other ratings we can see, the games do not show it paying.
As White, take the material, then develop fast, castle early, and trade pieces. Give the material back when doing so kills the attack. At 2500+, Black still comes out ahead in these games; at the other ratings we can see, the games do not show the gambit paying.
This rests on 4.8M games from Lichess. Every figure carries the range it is in, 90% confident, and the table above shows how many games sit behind each rating and each clock — the fewer there are, the wider that range.