Caissa Codex
C23

Bishop's Opening: Pratt Variation

Chess diagram: Bishop's Opening: Pratt Variation after 7…O-O

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Statistics from Lichess

4 games: White 25.0% / Draw 25.0% / Black 50.0%

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Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
44

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026

Engine evaluation

−3.28 Black is clearly better

Best play: 8. Qxc5 Re8+ 9. Ne2 d3 10. O-O dxe2 11. Re1 Nd7 12. Qd4 Nxf6

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

Overview

Bishop's Opening: Pratt Variation (ECO C23, Open Games) is a variation of the Bishop's Opening: Philidor Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Bc5 3. c3 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 d5 6. exf6 dxc4 7. Qh5 O-O (7 moves).

In 4 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 25.0%, Black 50.0% and 25.0% were drawn. White's most played move here is 8. Qxc5, in 100% of those games. That is too few games for the percentages to mean much.

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Other lines from the same position

Instead of 3…Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 d5 6. exf6 dxc4 7. Qh5 O-O, the position after Bishop's Opening: Philidor Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Bishop's Opening: Pratt Variation (C23)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/bishops-opening-pratt-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/bishops-opening-pratt-variation