King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, de Riviere Variation
768 games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
Black expected score · All ratings · All speeds
58.2%
the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. At best 61.1%.
Measured over 768 games at this level and clock.
A strong choice for Black at this level and clock.
Outcomes for Black
Draw 3.4 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 768 games
- Rank among the families Black can choose here
- not ranked — this is a variation, not a family
- Games in this context
- 768
- Best context
- not measured yet
- Average game length
- 29 moves
- Games that end decisively
- 96.6%
- Draws
- 3.4%
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 falls away as the rating rises: 47.5% at 1000-1199, 37.1% 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
- 1000-1199 rating, Bullet: 30.0% expected score (1 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 42.4% expected score (5 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Rapid: 70.0% expected score (1 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Bullet: 86.4% expected score (4 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 76.7% expected score (6 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 68.2% expected score (4 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 58.7% expected score (10 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 70.8% expected score (25 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 79.5% expected score (7 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 61.1% expected score (21 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 60.7% expected score (78 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 55.7% expected score (25 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 58.1% expected score (42 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 58.1% expected score (178 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 44.6% expected score (17 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 70.0% expected score (1 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 49.0% expected score (47 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 49.0% expected score (151 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 75.4% expected score (34 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 70.5% expected score (18 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 61.4% expected score (69 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 62.2% expected score (15 games)
- 2500+ rating, Bullet: 31.9% expected score (4 games)
- 2500+ rating, Blitz: 42.4% expected score (5 games)
Related Openings
Methodology
Across every rating and clock, the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, de Riviere Variation scores 58.2% for Black — we are 90% confident the real figure is between 55.3% and 61.1% — from 768 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
- 768+ 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 King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, de Riviere Variation win rate?
Playing the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, de Riviere Variation, Black wins 56.5%, draws 3.4% and loses 40.1%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 58.2%. It rests on 768 rated games from Lichess.
At what rating does the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, de Riviere Variation perform best?
The King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, de Riviere Variation performs best for Black at 2200-2499, with an Expected Score of 63.5% (102 games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read.
Is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, de Riviere Variation better in blitz or rapid?
For Black, the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, de Riviere Variation scores higher in Rapid: an Expected Score of 57.0% in Blitz (517 games) against 64.8% in Rapid (103 games).
How sharp is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, de Riviere Variation?
The King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, de Riviere Variation has a sharpness score of 96.6 (very decisive), meaning 96.6% of games end decisively. Average game length is 29 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, de Riviere Variation win rate at 1600-1799?
At 1600-1799, Black wins 57.8%, draws 4.4% and loses 37.8%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 60.0%. It rests on 124 Lichess games, which average 26 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, de Riviere Variation win rate at 1800-1999?
At 1800-1999, Black wins 56.2%, draws 2.3% and loses 41.5%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 57.4%. It rests on 238 Lichess games, which average 28 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, de Riviere Variation win rate at 2000-2199?
At 2000-2199, Black wins 51.2%, draws 3.6% and loses 45.2%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 53.0%. It rests on 232 Lichess games, which average 31 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, de Riviere Variation win rate at 2200-2499?
At 2200-2499, Black wins 59.4%, draws 8.2% and loses 32.4%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 63.5%. It rests on 102 Lichess games, which average 32 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, de Riviere Variation win rate in Bullet?
In Bullet, Black wins 56.9%, draws 1.0% and loses 42.1%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 57.4%. It rests on 147 Lichess games.
What is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, de Riviere Variation win rate in Blitz?
In Blitz, Black wins 55.1%, draws 3.8% and loses 41.2%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 57.0%. It rests on 517 Lichess games.
What is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, de Riviere Variation win rate in Rapid?
In Rapid, Black wins 61.7%, draws 6.2% and loses 32.1%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 64.8%. It rests on 103 Lichess games.
Is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, de Riviere Variation a good opening?
The King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Berlin Defense, de Riviere Variation is good for Black. Across all ratings, Black wins 56.5% of its games and loses 40.1%. It performs best at 2200-2499. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.