Vienna Game: Max Lange Defense
C25 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6
White scores 45.9% here across 439 club games — but the 7.7% who answer a3 score 41.2%, 5 points worse.
What White actually plays here
Across 439 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, White scores 45.9% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.
| Reply | Games | Share | White scores | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nf3 | 178 | 40.5% | 46.1% | holds up |
| Bc4 | 131 | 29.8% | 45.0% | holds up |
| f4 | 55 | 12.5% | 53.6% | holds up |
| a3 | 34 | 7.7% | 41.2% | below the line |
"Below the line" means the reply scores at least three points worse than the position does overall. Replies played fewer than 25 times are left out: the sample is too small to read.
Is this costing you anything?
A table of averages cannot tell you whether you go wrong here — only your own games can. Opening Leak Lab reads your Chess.com or Lichess archive, finds the decisions you repeat, and checks each one against this book and a bundled Stockfish.
Related openings
- Vienna Game C25