Vienna Game · Chess.com blitz ·
How top-50 Chess.com blitz players play the Vienna Game
267 blitz games where a top-50 Chess.com player had White and played the Vienna Game, 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3. See which third move each player chooses, what they play after 2…Nf6 and how it scores. 35 of the top 50 play it.
Vienna games
267
Bishop (3.Bc4)
42%
most played system
Top players' score
70%
vs ~3,000 avg opponents
Key findings
- 35 of the top 50 play the Vienna as White. Denis Lazavik, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Parham Maghsoodloo and 12 others have no games in it. Arjun Erigaisi, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Alireza Firouzja and 21 others have fewer than 10 games in it.
- The 3.Bc4 system is the most common system. 42% of 267 games are 3.Bc4 lines. The chart below breaks the rest down by system.
- After 2…Nf6, 3.Bc4 leads. It was played in 64 of the 165 games after 2…Nf6 (39%), ahead of 3.f4 Vienna Gambit (35 games, 21%).
What White plays on move 3 of the Vienna
Share of each player's games in the Vienna. Tap or hover a segment for the count and the score.
- Bishop (3.Bc4)
- Vienna Gambit (3.f4)
- Knight (3.Nf3)
- Fianchetto (3.g3)
- Other systems
Faded rows: fewer than 20 games.
Table view
| Player | Bishop (3.Bc4) | Vienna Gambit (3.f4) | Knight (3.Nf3) | Fianchetto (3.g3) | Other systems |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All 35 players with games | 111 · 42% · 69% | 53 · 20% · 77% | 52 · 19% · 66% | 24 · 9% · 54% | 27 · 10% · 78% |
| Hikaru Nakamura | 15 · 94% · 87% | – | 1 · 6% · 0% | – | – |
| Magnus Carlsen | 1 · 4% · 100% | 10 · 36% · 80% | 1 · 4% · 100% | 9 · 32% · 61% | 7 · 25% · 86% |
| Ediz Gürel | – | 21 · 91% · 93% | 2 · 9% · 25% | – | – |
| Nihal Sarin | 24 · 77% · 65% | 4 · 13% · 62% | 2 · 6% · 100% | – | 1 · 3% · 0% |
| Pranesh M | 12 · 60% · 58% | – | 6 · 30% · 42% | 1 · 5% · 0% | 1 · 5% · 100% |
| Dmitry Andreikin | 2 · 20% · 100% | – | 5 · 50% · 80% | 2 · 20% · 100% | 1 · 10% · 100% |
| Faustino Oro | 7 · 70% · 43% | 1 · 10% · 100% | – | – | 2 · 20% · 100% |
| Wesley So | – | 2 · 20% · 75% | 1 · 10% · 100% | 3 · 30% · 67% | 4 · 40% · 63% |
| Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | 3 · 30% · 100% | – | 6 · 60% · 33% | – | 1 · 10% · 100% |
| Pranav V | 14 · 82% · 68% | – | 2 · 12% · 100% | – | 1 · 6% · 50% |
| System | Games | Share | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop (3.Bc4) | 111 | 42% | 69% |
| Vienna Gambit (3.f4) | 53 | 20% | 77% |
| Knight (3.Nf3) | 52 | 19% | 66% |
| Fianchetto (3.g3) | 24 | 9% | 54% |
| Other systems | 27 | 10% | 78% |
Player by player
The third move each player chose most often, and what they play after 2…Nf6.
Hikaru Nakamura
16 games in the Vienna · score 81%
Main choice: Bishop (3.Bc4), 15 games (94%)
Next: Knight (3.Nf3), 1 game (6%)
Meets 2…Nf6 in 6 games; always 3.Bc4
Magnus Carlsen
28 games in the Vienna · score 77%
Main choice: Vienna Gambit (3.f4), 10 games (36%)
Next: Fianchetto (3.g3), 9 games (32%)
Meets 2…Nf6 in 17 games and varies the third move: none more than 7 times
Ediz Gürel
23 games in the Vienna · score 87%
Main choice: Vienna Gambit (3.f4), 21 games (91%)
Next: Knight (3.Nf3), 2 games (9%)
Meets 2…Nf6 in 14 games; most often 3.f4 (Vienna Gambit), 13 games
Nihal Sarin
31 games in the Vienna · score 65%
Main choice: Bishop (3.Bc4), 24 games (77%)
Next: Vienna Gambit (3.f4), 4 games (13%)
Meets 2…Nf6 in 19 games; most often 3.Bc4 (14 games)
Pranesh M
20 games in the Vienna · score 53%
Main choice: Bishop (3.Bc4), 12 games (60%)
Next: Knight (3.Nf3), 6 games (30%)
Meets 2…Nf6 in 14 games; most often 3.Bc4 (8 games)
Dmitry Andreikin
10 games in the Vienna · score 90%
Main choice: Knight (3.Nf3), 5 games (50%)
Next: Bishop (3.Bc4), 2 games (20%)
Faustino Oro
10 games in the Vienna · score 60%
Main choice: Bishop (3.Bc4), 7 games (70%)
Next: Vienna Gambit (3.f4), 1 game (10%)
Meets 2…Nf6 in 6 games and varies the third move: none more than 3 times
Wesley So
10 games in the Vienna · score 70%
Spreads the games across many systems.
Meets 2…Nf6 in 6 games; most often 3.d4 (4 games)
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu
10 games in the Vienna · score 60%
Main choice: Knight (3.Nf3), 6 games (60%)
Next: Bishop (3.Bc4), 3 games (30%)
Meets 2…Nf6 in 5 games; most often 3.Nf3 (3 games)
Pranav V
17 games in the Vienna · score 71%
Main choice: Bishop (3.Bc4), 14 games (82%)
Next: Knight (3.Nf3), 2 games (12%)
Meets 2…Nf6 in 11 games; most often 3.Bc4 (8 games)
Fabiano Caruana
12 games in the Vienna · score 71%
Spreads the games across many systems.
Meets 2…Nf6 in 7 games and varies the third move: none more than 3 times
After 2…Nf6: move 3
165 games reached 2…Nf6 (1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6). White's third move, player by player.
- 3.Bc4
- Vienna Gambit (3.f4)
- 3.Nf3
- 3.g3
- 3.d4
- 3.a3
- Other third moves
Faded rows: fewer than 20 2…Nf6 games.
Table view
| Player | 3.Bc4 | Vienna Gambit (3.f4) | 3.Nf3 | 3.g3 | 3.d4 | 3.a3 | Other third moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All 35 players with games | 64 · 39% · 70% | 35 · 21% · 83% | 32 · 19% · 64% | 13 · 8% · 46% | 12 · 7% · 67% | 8 · 5% · 88% | 1 · 1% · 100% |
| Hikaru Nakamura | 6 · 100% · 83% | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Magnus Carlsen | 1 · 6% · 100% | 7 · 41% · 86% | 1 · 6% · 100% | 4 · 24% · 63% | 1 · 6% · 0% | 2 · 12% · 100% | 1 · 6% · 100% |
| Ediz Gürel | – | 13 · 93% · 100% | 1 · 7% · 0% | – | – | – | – |
| Nihal Sarin | 14 · 74% · 68% | 3 · 16% · 83% | 1 · 5% · 100% | – | 1 · 5% · 0% | – | – |
| Pranesh M | 8 · 57% · 56% | – | 4 · 29% · 38% | 1 · 7% · 0% | 1 · 7% · 100% | – | – |
| Faustino Oro | 3 · 50% · 33% | 1 · 17% · 100% | – | – | 2 · 33% · 100% | – | – |
| Wesley So | – | 1 · 17% · 50% | – | 1 · 17% · 0% | 4 · 67% · 63% | – | – |
| Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | 2 · 40% · 100% | – | 3 · 60% · 33% | – | – | – | – |
| Pranav V | 8 · 73% · 75% | – | 2 · 18% · 100% | – | 1 · 9% · 50% | – | – |
| Fabiano Caruana | 1 · 14% · 100% | 1 · 14% · 100% | – | – | 2 · 29% · 100% | 3 · 43% · 67% | – |
Move explorer
Starts after 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3. Pick all 35 players or one of them, then click a move to go deeper. Rarer moves are grouped as other moves.
- 1.e4
- e5
- 2.Nc3
Vienna Game
267 games · top players scored 70%
Questions people ask
- What do top players play in the Vienna?
- In Chess.com blitz, the top 50 players go into the 3.Bc4 system in 42% of 267 games. Here the 3.Bc4 system means 3.Bc4, whatever Black played on move 2. The rest: the 3.f4 Vienna Gambit 20%, the 3.Nf3 system 19%, the 3.g3 fianchetto 9%, other systems 10%, spread over many smaller lines; the biggest is 2…Nf6 3.d4, with 12 games.
- What is the second most common system in the Vienna?
- The next most played system is the 3.f4 Vienna Gambit, in 20% of games. Here that means 3.f4, whatever Black played on move 2. Next: the 3.Nf3 system at 19%, the 3.g3 fianchetto at 9%.
- What does Nihal Sarin play in the Vienna?
- In 31 blitz games as White in the Vienna (1.e4 e5 2.Nc3), Black's most common second moves were 2…Nf6 (19 games), 2…Nc6 (12 games). Nihal Sarin's main choice was the 3.Bc4 system, 24 games (77%); then the 3.f4 Vienna Gambit, 4 games (13%).
- What do top players play after 2…Nf6?
- In the 165 games that reached 2…Nf6 (1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6), the most common third move is 3.Bc4 (64 games, 39%), followed by 3.f4 Vienna Gambit (35 games, 21%).
- Does a high score mean the opening is good?
- Not by itself. Scores also reflect the rating gap between the top players and their opponents. Compare lines by how often the top players choose them, and use the scores as context.
- Where do these numbers come from?
- From up to 1,000 Chess.com blitz games as White of each of the top 50 players on the leaderboard. 267 of them start 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3. A win counts as 1 and a draw as ½, from the top player's side. The games were last refreshed on 30 Oct 2026.
How we counted
We took the Chess.com blitz games as White of each of the top 50 players on the leaderboard, up to 1,000 each, and kept the ones that start 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3. Each game counts under the first rule below that fits it:
- Bishop (3.Bc4): 3.Bc4, whatever Black played on move 2.
- Vienna Gambit (3.f4): 3.f4, whatever Black played on move 2.
- Knight (3.Nf3): 3.Nf3, whatever Black played on move 2.
- Fianchetto (3.g3): 3.g3, whatever Black played on move 2.
- Other systems: everything else, such as 3.d4, 3.d3 and 3.a3.
A win counts as 1 and a draw as ½, from the top player's side. Scores also reflect the rating gap: opponents average about 3,000.
The system is White’s third move, whichever reply Black chose: 2…Nf6 3.Bc4 and 2…Nc6 3.Bc4 count together. 3.Nf3 often reaches the Four Knights Game after 3…Nc6 or 3…Nf6; here it counts as a Vienna game. A row or a card built on fewer than 20 games is faded. Players with fewer than 10 games in the opening have no card or row; their games count in the totals.
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