King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Old Line
7.2K games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
White expected score · All ratings · All speeds
48.9%
the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. At best 49.9%.
Measured over 7.2K games at this level and clock.
Roughly even — the middlegame decides more than this opening choice does.
Outcomes for White
Draw 3.6 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 7.2K games
- Rank among the families White can choose here
- not ranked — this is a variation, not a family
- Games in this context
- 7.2K
- Best context
- 52.2% at 2000-2199 Blitz
- Worst context
- 45.1% at 1600-1799 Blitz
- Average game length
- 32 moves
- Games that end decisively
- 96.4%
- Draws
- 3.6%
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 gets better as the rating rises: 44.5% at 0-999, 48.9% 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: 50.0% expected score (10 games)
- 0-999 rating, Blitz: 38.9% expected score (3 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Bullet: 53.1% expected score (47 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 26.4% expected score (26 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Rapid: 36.7% expected score (6 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Bullet: 45.6% expected score (100 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 48.3% expected score (84 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 42.2% expected score (24 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 45.5% expected score (196 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 43.5% expected score (434 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 42.4% expected score (70 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Classical: 70.0% expected score (1 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 47.5% expected score (304 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 45.1% expected score (1,230 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 46.1% expected score (252 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Classical: 26.0% expected score (11 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 53.4% expected score (463 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 50.6% expected score (1,590 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 48.5% expected score (333 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 58.6% expected score (16 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 47.1% expected score (334 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 52.2% expected score (942 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 52.9% expected score (121 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Classical: 50.0% expected score (2 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 48.5% expected score (202 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 59.0% expected score (255 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 43.1% expected score (13 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Classical: 30.0% expected score (1 games)
- 2500+ rating, Bullet: 64.1% expected score (27 games)
- 2500+ rating, Blitz: 52.7% expected score (55 games)
- 2500+ rating, Rapid: 30.0% expected score (1 games)
Related Openings
Methodology
Across every rating and clock, the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Old Line scores 48.9% for White — we are 90% confident the real figure is between 47.9% and 49.9% — from 7.2K 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
- 7.2K+ 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, Old Line win rate?
Playing the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Old Line, White wins 47.1%, draws 3.6% and loses 49.3%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 48.9%. It rests on 7.2K rated games from Lichess.
At what rating does the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Old Line perform best?
The King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Old Line performs best for White at 2200-2499, with an Expected Score of 53.9% (471 games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read.
Is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Old Line better in blitz or rapid?
For White, the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Old Line scores higher in Blitz: an Expected Score of 49.1% in Blitz (4.6K games) against 47.4% in Rapid (820 games).
How sharp is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Old Line?
The King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Old Line has a sharpness score of 96.4 (very decisive), meaning 96.4% of games end decisively. Average game length is 32 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Old Line win rate at 1200-1399?
At 1200-1399, White wins 45.6%, draws 1.2% and loses 53.2%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 46.2%. It rests on 208 Lichess games, which average 27 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Old Line win rate at 1400-1599?
At 1400-1599, White wins 42.6%, draws 2.6% and loses 54.7%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 44.0%. It rests on 701 Lichess games, which average 30 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Old Line win rate at 1600-1799?
At 1600-1799, White wins 43.8%, draws 3.5% and loses 52.7%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 45.6%. It rests on 1.8K Lichess games, which average 31 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Old Line win rate at 1800-1999?
At 1800-1999, White wins 49.2%, draws 3.3% and loses 47.5%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 50.9%. It rests on 2.4K Lichess games, which average 32 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Old Line win rate at 2000-2199?
At 2000-2199, White wins 48.9%, draws 4.2% and loses 46.9%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 51.0%. It rests on 1.4K Lichess games, which average 33 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Old Line win rate at 2200-2499?
At 2200-2499, White wins 50.7%, draws 6.5% and loses 42.9%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 53.9%. It rests on 471 Lichess games, which average 36 moves.
What is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Old Line win rate in Bullet?
In Bullet, White wins 48.2%, draws 2.1% and loses 49.7%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 49.3%. It rests on 1.7K Lichess games.
What is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Old Line win rate in Blitz?
In Blitz, White wins 47.1%, draws 4.0% and loses 48.9%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 49.1%. It rests on 4.6K Lichess games.
What is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Old Line win rate in Rapid?
In Rapid, White wins 45.3%, draws 4.1% and loses 50.6%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 47.4%. It rests on 820 Lichess games.
Is the King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Old Line a good opening?
The King's Gambit Declined: Falkbeer Countergambit, Charousek Gambit, Old Line is hard work for White — it favours Black. Across all ratings, White wins 47.1% of its games and loses 49.3%. It performs best at 2200-2499. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.