The Elephant Gambit starts 1. 2. : as Black you give up the d5 pawn to open the center right away instead of defending e5. In 113,670 Lichess games between players rated 900 and 1700 (data from September 2026), you score 49%. Your result improves with rating: at 900-1100 you score 46 out of 100, and at 1500-1700 you score 51. In games between online players rated over 2200, the gambit scores 52 out of 100.
Lichess games from September 2026 (30,577,162 rated 900 to 1700) and 31,791 over-the-board games rated 2300+ from the last 12 months. Data updated: October 14, 2026.
4 named lines in this family; 1 with their own page.
The opening's share in each Lichess rating band.
After , 57 out of 100 opponents at your level take with 3. and 18 out of 100 play 3.. Among online players rated over 2200, 3. rises to 35 out of 100. After 3. the public splits: 52 out of 100 push and 31 out of 100 recapture with . Strong players choose in 74 out of 100 games and in only 4. After you score 42 out of 100; after , 53. Against , your opponent plays 4. in 33 out of 100 games, 4. in 29 and 4. in 21. Against 3., watch f7 and your king's diagonal: three mistakes on this page start there.
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57.3% | 51.9% | 45.8% | no data | |
| 17.8% | 51.4% | 35.4% | no data | |
| 6.2% | 48.9% | 5.0% | no data | |
| 6.0% | 48.6% | 4.2% | no data | |
| 5.9% | 53.3% | 8.7% | no data | |
| 1.8% | 29.0% | 0.9% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51.6% | 47.0% | 74.1% | no data | |
| 31.4% | 57.7% | 3.7% | no data | |
| 5.7% | 53.3% | 18.4% | no data | |
| 4.0% | 55.0% | no data | no data | |
| 2.7% | 57.3% | no data | no data | |
| 2.3% | 52.9% | 3.7% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33.4% | 50.3% | 75.5% | no data | |
| 29.3% | 45.4% | 12.8% | no data | |
| 20.9% | 47.4% | 2.6% | no data | |
| 8.7% | 49.3% | 9.1% | no data | |
| 2.7% | 32.3% | no data | no data | |
| 2.6% | 39.9% | no data | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 66.2% | 48.4% | 78.5% | no data | |
| 12.7% | 59.1% | no data | no data | |
| 8.3% | 50.8% | 9.3% | no data | |
| 5.2% | 46.9% | 6.6% | no data | |
| 4.9% | 50.3% | 5.7% | no data | |
| 1.8% | 52.6% | no data | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42.2% | 51.4% | 52.2% | no data | |
| 33.5% | 47.8% | 46.8% | no data | |
| 12.1% | 47.7% | 1.0% | no data | |
| 5.9% | 40.4% | no data | no data | |
| 2.5% | 36.9% | no data | no data | |
| 1.2% | 36.6% | no data | no data |
The strong players' line is 3. 4. 5. 6. . Everything revolves around one pawn: yours on e4. It gains you a tempo on the knight, lets you win back the pawn you gave on d5, and buys time to develop while your opponent spends moves attacking it.
doesn't win anything back yet. It hits the f3 knight and forces it to move. Strong players answer 4. in 76 out of 100 games, attacking the e4 pawn down the e-file. That move costs your opponent something: the queen on e2 blocks the f1 bishop, which has no squares until the queen moves. There's no rush to take on d5 either: after 4. none of your opponent's pieces defends that pawn, so you can collect it later.
is the reply of nearly 4 out of 5 strong players. The knight defends e4 and also attacks d5, where the pawn you gave up still sits. Move order matters here: if you grab first with , 5. hits your queen and the e4 pawn at once, and the pawn drops.
At your level, half of your opponents skip 4. and play 4. or 4. instead. Against 4. you score 55 out of 100, and against 4., 53. In both cases nothing attacks e4, and your pawn keeps control of d3 and f3: it gets in the way of your opponent's development while you bring your pieces out.
5. adds a second attacker on e4. Now does two jobs in one move: it wins the pawn back and defends e4 from d5. At that point both sides have seven pawns.
6. is the move that separates strong players from your level: 48 out of 100 players rated over 2200 choose it, against only 3 out of 100 public opponents. The knight is a third attacker on e4, which still has just two defenders, the queen and the f6 knight. doesn't try to hold the pawn. It develops another piece and covers d4 and e5, the squares the f3 knight would like to jump to. Expect to give the e4 pawn back sooner or later. With accurate play your opponent ends up a pawn ahead, and the evaluation after gives them an edge of 1.1 pawns.
So the gambit's value is practical. Your opponent has to know what to do with the queen on e2 and the buried bishop. Between online players rated over 2200, the gambit scores 52 out of 100; at your level, 49.
| Move | Strong games | Chosen by |
|---|---|---|
| 2,649 | 45.8% | |
| 1,206 | 74.1% | |
| 890 | 75.5% | |
| 669 | 78.5% | |
| 523 | 52.2% | |
| 271 | 74.2% | |
| 194 | 47.9% | |
| 84 | 70.2% |
After 3. 4., the bishop and knight are aimed at f7. blocks the bishop, but 5. exposes your king: 6. 7. wins a pawn and hits the h8 rook. 51 out of 100 play it. At your level opponents often don't punish it: you score 40 out of 100 with it and 44 with .
51 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 3.1 pawns of advantage. It scores 40.1%; scores 43.8%.
After 4., your queen is attacked and has to move. On c6 it sits on the same diagonal as your king: 5. pins it, doesn't save it, and 6. costs you the queen for a bishop. 3 out of 100 players here fall for it. You score 22 out of 100 with and 41 with .
3 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 6.6 pawns of advantage. It scores 21.8%; scores 40.9%.
After 3. 4., the queen and the e5 knight both hit f7. attacks the queen but leaves f7 undefended, and 5. is mate. Check f7 before hitting the queen. 5 out of 100 players who reach this position fall for it. You score 9 out of 100 with and 61 with , which covers f7.
5 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 10 pawns of advantage. It scores 9.1%; scores 61.4%.
After 3., tries to kick the knight but opens the diagonal to your king. 4. 5. follows, and if you take with , 6. grabs the rook. You give a rook and pawn for a knight; 3 out of 100 try it. You score 39 out of 100 with and 56 with , hitting the e5 knight.
3 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 5.4 pawns of advantage. It scores 39.3%; scores 56.2%.
wants to win d5 back with a pawn but does nothing for the e5 pawn. 4. takes it, and after 5. you're still a pawn down with no pawns in the center. You score 45 out of 100 with and 53 with , which hits the knight before it can grab the pawn.
4 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 1.1 pawns of advantage. It scores 45.0%; scores 53.0%.
After 4., taking on d5 with the queen comes too early. 5. attacks the queen and the e4 pawn at once; after , 6. leaves you a pawn down. 13 out of 100 players in this position go for it. You score 41 out of 100 with and 52 with , which defends e4 first.
13 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 1.6 pawns of advantage. It scores 40.9%; scores 51.6%.
| White | Black | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 33,415 | ||
| Not castled | Not castled | 18,135 |
| Not castled | 16,955 | |
| 12,523 | ||
| Not castled | 12,478 | |
| 8,665 |
| White | Black | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | ||
| 1 |
1. 2. 3. · 33,720 amateur games · 2 over the board
hits the knight instead of regaining the pawn on d5. You score 53 out of 100.
1. 2. 3. · C40
1,520 amateur games · White's score: 53.0%
1. 2. 3. 4. · C40
153 amateur games · White's score: 45.1%