Caissa Codex
C23

Bishop's Opening: Lopez Variation, Lopez Gambit

Chess diagram: Bishop's Opening: Lopez Variation, Lopez Gambit after 4. f4

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

325 games: White 45.8% / Draw 2.8% / Black 51.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
148148
7676
4848
2020
1919
99
33
22

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026

Engine evaluation

−1.97 Black is clearly better

Best play: 4... d5 5. exd5 e4 6. d4 Bxd4 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Be3 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

Bishop's Opening: Lopez Variation, Lopez Gambit (ECO C23, Open Games) is a gambit in the Bishop's Opening: Lopez Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Bc5 3. Qe2 Nf6 4. f4 (4 moves).

In 325 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 45.8%, Black 51.4% and 2.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…d6, in 46% of those games.

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Other lines from the same position

Instead of 3…Nf6 4. f4, the position after Bishop's Opening: Lopez Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Bishop's Opening: Lopez Variation, Lopez Gambit (C23)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/bishops-opening-lopez-variation-lopez-gambit

https://chesscodex.org/openings/bishops-opening-lopez-variation-lopez-gambit