Vienna Game:Frankenstein-Dracula Variation

A wild line full of sacrifices in which both kings come under fire; the chess writer Tim Harding gave it its name.

It is reached after 6 moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4. It is a line of the Vienna Game.

White is to move and has 37 legal moves. Over the next four moves — two for each side — the game can branch into 1,503,561 different games. Those games reach 487,128 different positions: most positions can be reached in more than one way, 3.1 on average.

The Lichess opening list names 4 further lines after this position, such as Stanley Variation, Monster Declined (4. Qh5 Nd6 5. Bb3 Be7) and Adams' Gambit (4. Qh5 Nd6 5. Bb3 Nc6 6. d4).

The same moves can be played in 9 different legal orders that all reach this position. For example 1. Nc3 e5 2. e4 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4, which starts as the Van Geet Opening.