Latvian Gambit Accepted: Main Line
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Statistics from Lichess
363,206 games: White 48.1% / Draw 3.7% / Black 48.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 330,066330K | ||
| 18,30818K | ||
| 12,34012K | ||
| 565565 | ||
| 552552 | ||
| 485485 | ||
| 271271 | ||
| 163163 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+1.71 White is clearly better
Even so, Black scores 50.1% here in practice: wins plus half the draws in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500.
Best play: 4... d6 5. Nc4 fxe4 6. Nc3 Qg6 7. f3 Be7 8. Nxe4 d5 9. Ne5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 52% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 21K | |
| 1400–1799 | 104K | |
| 1800–2199 | 247K | |
| 2200 and up | 43K | |
| Masters, over the board | 152 |
Master games
- Apicella, M. – Sokolov, I.
- Ivanovic, B. – Hector, J.
- Noomen, J. – Simmelink, J.
- Kosten, A. C. – Hector, J.
- Caron, S. V. – Ruggeri Laderchi, G.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026
Overview
Latvian Gambit Accepted: Main Line (ECO C40, Open Games) is a gambit in the Latvian Gambit, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. Nxe5 Qf6 4. d4 (4 moves).
In 363,206 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.1%, Black 48.2% and 3.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…d6, in 91% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Latvian Gambit Accepted: Bilguer Variation. In all, 4 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Latvian Gambit Accepted: Main Line
The most played answer, 4…d6, also scores best for Black: 51.2%, with Black winning 49.4% and White 46.9% of 330K games. Of the main answers, 4…fxe4 scores lowest: 33.4%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4…d6.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
The Latvian Gambit Accepted: Main Line has lost ground since 2016: 0.013% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.017% (its peak: 0.021% in 2017).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.017% | 6,043 |
| 2017 | 0.021% | 11,559 |
| 2018 | 0.02% | 15,892 |
| 2019 | 0.017% | 21,424 |
| 2020 | 0.015% | 44,928 |
| 2021 | 0.014% | 56,192 |
| 2022 | 0.013% | 48,293 |
| 2023 | 0.012% | 45,192 |
| 2024 | 0.013% | 45,195 |
| 2025 | 0.013% | 43,913 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.015% | 16,623 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (1)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Latvian Gambit Accepted: Main Line (C40)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/latvian-gambit-accepted-main-line