King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit
23K games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
White expected score · All ratings · All speeds
54.2%
the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. At best 54.8%.
Measured over 23K games at this level and clock.
A strong choice for White at this level and clock.
Outcomes for White
Draw 2.7 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 23K games
- Rank among the families White can choose here
- not ranked — this is a variation, not a family
- Games in this context
- 23K
- Best context
- 56.7% at 1400-1599 Bullet
- Worst context
- 51.9% at 1800-1999 Bullet
- Average game length
- 29 moves
- Games that end decisively
- 97.3%
- Draws
- 2.7%
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 · White score by rating × clock
Green is clearly ahead for White, grey is around even, red is behind. Tap a cell to measure there, and again to clear. It falls away as the rating rises: 45.9% at 0-999, 31.9% 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, Bullet: 51.5% expected score (33 games)
- 0-999 rating, Blitz: 64.6% expected score (26 games)
- 0-999 rating, Rapid: 21.5% expected score (2 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Bullet: 62.4% expected score (136 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 46.3% expected score (120 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Rapid: 42.4% expected score (18 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Bullet: 58.3% expected score (372 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 52.8% expected score (449 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 48.4% expected score (62 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Classical: 27.0% expected score (5 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 56.7% expected score (804 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 52.9% expected score (1,667 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 53.9% expected score (266 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Classical: 25.6% expected score (21 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 55.8% expected score (1,177 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 54.5% expected score (4,240 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 53.1% expected score (854 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Classical: 56.1% expected score (23 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 51.9% expected score (1,179 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 54.1% expected score (5,646 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 55.0% expected score (1,313 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 43.0% expected score (27 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 54.1% expected score (895 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 54.3% expected score (2,583 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 53.7% expected score (697 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Classical: 50.0% expected score (1 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 50.6% expected score (242 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 61.0% expected score (285 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 62.9% expected score (49 games)
- 2500+ rating, Bullet: 31.9% expected score (4 games)
Related Openings
Methodology
Across every rating and clock, the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit scores 54.2% for White — we are 90% confident the real figure is between 53.7% and 54.8% — from 23K 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
- 23K+ 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, Cotter Gambit win rate?
Playing the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit, White wins 52.8%, draws 2.7% and loses 44.5%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 54.2%. It rests on 23K rated games from Lichess.
At what rating does the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit perform best?
The King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit performs best for White at 1600-1799, with an Expected Score of 54.6% (6.3K games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read.
Is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit better in blitz or rapid?
For White, the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit scores about the same in both: an Expected Score of 54.2% in Blitz (15K games) against 54.0% in Rapid (3.3K games).
How sharp is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit?
The King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit has a sharpness score of 97.3 (very decisive), meaning 97.3% of games end decisively. Average game length is 29 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit win rate at 1000-1199?
At 1000-1199, White wins 53.2%, draws 1.6% and loses 45.2%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 54.0%. It rests on 274 Lichess games, which average 23 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit win rate at 1200-1399?
At 1200-1399, White wins 53.9%, draws 1.4% and loses 44.7%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 54.6%. It rests on 888 Lichess games, which average 25 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit win rate at 1400-1599?
At 1400-1599, White wins 52.5%, draws 2.7% and loses 44.8%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 53.9%. It rests on 2.8K Lichess games, which average 27 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit win rate at 1600-1799?
At 1600-1799, White wins 53.3%, draws 2.4% and loses 44.2%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 54.6%. It rests on 6.3K Lichess games, which average 28 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit win rate at 1800-1999?
At 1800-1999, White wins 52.4%, draws 2.8% and loses 44.7%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 53.9%. It rests on 8.2K Lichess games, which average 30 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit win rate at 2000-2199?
At 2000-2199, White wins 52.5%, draws 3.3% and loses 44.2%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 54.2%. It rests on 4.2K Lichess games, which average 31 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit win rate at 2200-2499?
At 2200-2499, White wins 55.3%, draws 3.0% and loses 41.6%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 56.9%. It rests on 576 Lichess games, which average 33 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit win rate in Bullet?
In Bullet, White wins 53.8%, draws 1.9% and loses 44.3%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 54.8%. It rests on 4.8K Lichess games.
What is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit win rate in Blitz?
In Blitz, White wins 52.7%, draws 2.9% and loses 44.4%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 54.2%. It rests on 15K Lichess games.
What is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit win rate in Rapid?
In Rapid, White wins 52.4%, draws 3.3% and loses 44.4%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 54.0%. It rests on 3.3K Lichess games.
Is the King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit a good opening?
The King's Gambit Accepted: Kieseritzky Gambit, Cotter Gambit is good for White. Across all ratings, White wins 52.8% of its games and loses 44.5%. It performs best at 1600-1799. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.