Portuguese Opening
The Portuguese Opening (1.e4 e5 2.Bb5) is an uncommon opening in which White brings the king's bishop to b5 before developing the king's knight. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
464,415 games: White 47.2% / Draw 3.9% / Black 48.9%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 140,443140K | ||
| 135,178135K | ||
| 59,75760K | ||
| 58,69959K | ||
| 44,80645K | ||
| 5,9935,993 | ||
| 3,6223,622 | ||
| 2,7282,728 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 21, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.09 The position is about equal
Best play: 2... c6 3. Be2 Nf6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nxe5 d5 6. d3 Nf6 7. d4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the better this line does for White: White scores 40% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1.6M | |
| 1400–1799 | 771K | |
| 1800–2199 | 158K | |
| 2200 and up | 4,351 | |
| Masters, over the board | 62 |
Master games
- Vescovi, G. P. – Sokolov, I.
- Chernyshov, K. – Belozerov, A.
- Rocha, S. – Almasi, Z.
- Damaso, R. – Pinter, J.
- Jovanovic, Z. – Stojanovic, D.
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
Description
The Portuguese Opening (1.e4 e5 2.Bb5) is an uncommon opening in which White brings the king's bishop to b5 before developing the king's knight. Compared with the Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5), White delays Nf3: the f-pawn stays free to move and f2–f4 remains possible, but e5 is not under pressure, which leaves Black with a freer hand.
The idea
White develops the bishop at once and keeps f2–f4 in reserve, at the cost of leaving e5 alone. Graham Burgess remarks that it looks like a Ruy Lopez in which White has forgotten to play 2.Nf3. Even so, the Portuguese is not as bad as it first appears, and Black should proceed carefully.
Main lines
- 2...c6, more popular than 2...Nc6, kicks the bishop at once. The game might continue 3.Ba4 Nf6, and now White can play 4.Nc3 or 4.Qe2.
- 2...Nf6 allows White to try a gambit with 3.d4, the Portuguese Gambit.
- 2...Nc6 lets White transpose into the Ruy Lopez with 3.Nf3.
- 2...Bc5 3.b4 is the Miguel Gambit.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- The f-pawn is not blocked by a knight on f3, so f2–f4 stays possible.
Weaknesses
- There is no pressure on e5, which gives Black a freer hand.
- Black can kick the bishop straight away with 2...c6.
The numbers
On Lichess it is rare: it appears in fewer than one in a thousand games that start 1.e4 e5. Its results change with the rating. Under 1400 Black wins 57.2% and White 37.1%, and at 1400–1799 Black still leads, 51.7% against 44.4%. At 1800–2199 it is nearly level, 48.2% for Black against 47.7% for White, and from 2200 up White is ahead, 49.0% against 45.1%. There are only 62 master games, too few to draw conclusions. Stockfish rates the position after 2.Bb5 as about equal (−0.09).
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Portuguese Opening
2…Bc5 scores best for Black: 51.8%, with Black winning 50.1% and White 46.5% of 45K games. The most played, 2…c6, scores 51.3% in 140K games, and 2…a6 scores lowest: 49.2%. Stockfish's first choice is 2…c6.
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 Portuguese Opening has lost ground since 2016: 0.015% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.025%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.025% | 9,049 |
| 2017 | 0.02% | 10,954 |
| 2018 | 0.02% | 16,001 |
| 2019 | 0.02% | 25,135 |
| 2020 | 0.021% | 61,520 |
| 2021 | 0.02% | 79,349 |
| 2022 | 0.018% | 65,883 |
| 2023 | 0.017% | 62,569 |
| 2024 | 0.017% | 60,585 |
| 2025 | 0.015% | 51,594 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.014% | 15,720 |
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 (2)
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Portuguese Opening, version of 26 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Portuguese Opening (C20)”. Lichess data as of 21 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/portuguese-opening