King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Morphy Defense
11K games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
Black expected score · All ratings · All speeds
59.5%
the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. At best 60.3%.
Measured over 11K games at this level and clock.
A strong choice for Black at this level and clock.
Outcomes for Black
Draw 3.7 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 11K games
- Rank among the families Black can choose here
- not ranked — this is a variation, not a family
- Games in this context
- 11K
- Best context
- 63.7% at 1600-1799 Blitz
- Worst context
- 53.4% at 2200-2499 Blitz
- Average game length
- 31 moves
- Games that end decisively
- 96.3%
- Draws
- 3.7%
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.
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 gets better as the rating rises: 45.8% at 0-999, 52.0% 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: 21.5% expected score (2 games)
- 0-999 rating, Rapid: 70.0% expected score (1 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Bullet: 50.0% expected score (8 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 63.4% expected score (6 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Rapid: 86.4% expected score (4 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Bullet: 58.0% expected score (36 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 60.2% expected score (23 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 93.5% expected score (10 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 61.7% expected score (127 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 60.3% expected score (164 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 75.5% expected score (24 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Classical: 70.0% expected score (1 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 62.1% expected score (409 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 63.7% expected score (943 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 65.8% expected score (141 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Classical: 61.2% expected score (3 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 58.1% expected score (735 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 59.7% expected score (2,773 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 60.4% expected score (491 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 64.0% expected score (20 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 57.4% expected score (640 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 60.8% expected score (2,506 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 58.4% expected score (452 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Classical: 65.2% expected score (15 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 53.4% expected score (447 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 53.4% expected score (746 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 52.6% expected score (78 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Classical: 50.0% expected score (6 games)
- 2500+ rating, Bullet: 49.4% expected score (71 games)
- 2500+ rating, Blitz: 56.7% expected score (21 games)
- 2500+ rating, Rapid: 50.0% expected score (2 games)
Related Openings
Methodology
Across every rating and clock, the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Morphy Defense scores 59.5% for Black — we are 90% confident the real figure is between 58.8% and 60.3% — from 11K 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
- 11K+ 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 Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Morphy Defense win rate?
Playing the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Morphy Defense, Black wins 57.7%, draws 3.7% and loses 38.7%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 59.5%. It rests on 11K rated games from Lichess.
At what rating does the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Morphy Defense perform best?
The King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Morphy Defense performs best for Black at 1600-1799, with an Expected Score of 63.5% (1.5K games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read.
Is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Morphy Defense better in blitz or rapid?
For Black, the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Morphy Defense scores about the same in both: an Expected Score of 60.0% in Blitz (7.2K games) against 60.6% in Rapid (1.2K games).
How sharp is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Morphy Defense?
The King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Morphy Defense has a sharpness score of 96.3 (very decisive), meaning 96.3% of games end decisively. Average game length is 31 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Morphy Defense win rate at 1400-1599?
At 1400-1599, Black wins 61.3%, draws 2.0% and loses 36.7%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 62.3%. It rests on 316 Lichess games, which average 26 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Morphy Defense win rate at 1600-1799?
At 1600-1799, Black wins 62.2%, draws 2.6% and loses 35.2%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 63.5%. It rests on 1.5K Lichess games, which average 28 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Morphy Defense win rate at 1800-1999?
At 1800-1999, Black wins 57.9%, draws 3.1% and loses 39.0%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 59.5%. It rests on 4.0K Lichess games, which average 30 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Morphy Defense win rate at 2000-2199?
At 2000-2199, Black wins 57.7%, draws 4.4% and loses 37.9%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 59.9%. It rests on 3.6K Lichess games, which average 32 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Morphy Defense win rate at 2200-2499?
At 2200-2499, Black wins 50.6%, draws 5.4% and loses 44.0%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 53.3%. It rests on 1.3K Lichess games, which average 36 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Morphy Defense win rate in Bullet?
In Bullet, Black wins 56.8%, draws 1.6% and loses 41.6%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 57.6%. It rests on 2.5K Lichess games.
What is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Morphy Defense win rate in Blitz?
In Blitz, Black wins 57.8%, draws 4.2% and loses 37.9%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 60.0%. It rests on 7.2K Lichess games.
What is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Morphy Defense win rate in Rapid?
In Rapid, Black wins 58.3%, draws 4.5% and loses 37.2%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 60.6%. It rests on 1.2K Lichess games.
Is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Morphy Defense a good opening?
The King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Morphy Defense is good for Black. Across all ratings, Black wins 57.7% of its games and loses 38.7%. It performs best at 1600-1799. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.