Vienna Game: Stanley Variation
C26 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4
Black scores 42.2% here across 592 club games — but the 16.0% who answer Bb4 score 36.8%, 5 points worse.
What Black actually plays here
Across 592 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, Black scores 42.2% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.
| Reply | Games | Share | Black scores | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bc5 | 168 | 28.4% | 40.8% | holds up |
| Nc6 | 104 | 17.6% | 50.0% | holds up |
| Bb4 | 95 | 16.0% | 36.8% | below the line |
| c6 | 94 | 15.9% | 38.3% | below the line |
| d6 | 44 | 7.4% | 40.9% | holds up |
| Be7 | 32 | 5.4% | 56.2% | holds up |
"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.