Vienna Game
36 variations · 27M games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
White expected score · Overall
53.3%
the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. Its best is the same figure — the band is too tight to plot.
Measured over 27M games at this level and clock.
A strong opening choice for White at this level and clock.
Outcomes for White
Draw 3.6 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 27M games
- Rank among the families White can choose here
- #11 of 56
- Games in this context
- 27M
- Best context
- 59.7% at 2000-2199 Classical
- Worst context
- 47.9% at 0-999 UltraBullet
- Variations measured
- 36
- Average game length
- 32 moves
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.
What to play from here
White · OverallThese are the moves players actually choose from here, ranked by how they score. A higher score is a better bet on the numbers alone — familiarity and playstyle still matter.
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: 50.3% at 0-999, 54.7% 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, UltraBullet: 47.9% expected score (2,958 games)
- 0-999 rating, Bullet: 51.4% expected score (444,508 games)
- 0-999 rating, Blitz: 51.5% expected score (1,059,091 games)
- 0-999 rating, Rapid: 51.6% expected score (600,709 games)
- 0-999 rating, Classical: 49.0% expected score (5,422 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, UltraBullet: 51.9% expected score (8,352 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Bullet: 52.8% expected score (811,447 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 53.2% expected score (1,491,924 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Rapid: 53.2% expected score (667,975 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Classical: 51.7% expected score (17,083 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, UltraBullet: 52.7% expected score (21,754 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Bullet: 52.7% expected score (1,257,150 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 53.3% expected score (2,188,098 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 53.7% expected score (848,242 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Classical: 52.6% expected score (34,424 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, UltraBullet: 54.7% expected score (30,150 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 52.7% expected score (1,633,897 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 53.4% expected score (2,764,543 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 53.4% expected score (1,007,914 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Classical: 52.7% expected score (54,898 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, UltraBullet: 54.9% expected score (26,371 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 52.8% expected score (1,747,853 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 53.6% expected score (2,631,056 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 54.4% expected score (869,402 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Classical: 54.7% expected score (40,215 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, UltraBullet: 56.7% expected score (12,739 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 53.0% expected score (1,546,776 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 54.0% expected score (1,803,143 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 54.8% expected score (503,221 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 56.8% expected score (17,458 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, UltraBullet: 58.9% expected score (4,012 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 53.2% expected score (1,012,390 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 54.7% expected score (751,499 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 56.2% expected score (149,412 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Classical: 59.7% expected score (3,344 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, UltraBullet: 56.3% expected score (1,021 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 54.3% expected score (549,840 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 55.9% expected score (233,451 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 56.8% expected score (24,410 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Classical: 60.4% expected score (477 games)
- 2500+ rating, UltraBullet: 56.6% expected score (233 games)
- 2500+ rating, Bullet: 55.9% expected score (106,629 games)
- 2500+ rating, Blitz: 57.1% expected score (17,502 games)
- 2500+ rating, Rapid: 56.1% expected score (624 games)
- 2500+ rating, Classical: 48.0% expected score (47 games)
36 variations · ranked by floor
Floor — the worst score you would still get, 90% confident.
Methodology
Across every rating and clock, the Vienna Game family scores 53.3% for White — we are 90% confident it is 53.3% — from 27M Lichess games across 36 variations. 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
- 27M+ 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 Vienna Game win rate?
Across the Vienna Game's 36 variations, White wins 51.5%, draws 3.6% and loses 44.9%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 53.3%. It rests on 27M rated games from Lichess.
How many Vienna Game variations are there?
36 Vienna Game variations have a page of their own, each broken down by rating and by clock.
At what rating does the Vienna Game perform best?
The Vienna Game family performs best for White at 2500+, with an Expected Score of 56.1% (125K games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read. Performance may vary by specific variation.
Is the Vienna Game better in blitz or rapid?
For White, the Vienna Game scores about the same in both: an Expected Score of 53.4% in Blitz (13M games) against 53.6% in Rapid (4.7M games).
How sharp is the Vienna Game?
Vienna Game games are 96.4% decisive (non-draws), with an average length of 32 moves. Sharpness varies by specific variation.
Is the Vienna Game a good opening family?
The Vienna Game family is good for White overall. Across its games, White wins 51.5% and loses 44.9%. Results differ between its 36 variations, so open the one you play for its own figures.