Tree path 6 levels King's Pawn Game › King's Knight Opening › Normal Variation › Ruy Lopez › Alapin Defense › Alapin Gambit

C60

Ruy Lopez: Alapin Defense, Alapin Gambit

Open in Lichess

Play from here → Click pieces to play, or use ← / → arrows.

Overview

Ruy Lopez: Alapin Defense, Alapin Gambit is a sacrificial opening line filed under ECO C60 in the Open Games group. The defining idea is the early concession of material to seize the initiative and unbalance the position.

The Open Games group covers open games — classical 1.e4 e5 openings where both sides contest the centre directly with pawns.

The line arises from 10 plies — specifically the moves 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bb4 4. c3 Ba5 5. Bxc6 dxc6.

In the opening tree, this line branches off from Ruy Lopez: Alapin Defense, part of the broader King's Pawn Game system.

Use the board to walk through every move, check how the position has scored on Lichess, or take it head-to-head against Stockfish.

ECO code: C60
Group: Open Games (C)
Plies: 10
Parent: Ruy Lopez: Alapin Defense

This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.

Statistics from Lichess

2,303 games · White 52.0% / Draw 5.1% / Black 42.9%

Moves	Games	W / D / B
Nxe5	1,346
O-O	415
d4	182
b4	177
d3	83
h3	37
a4	30
Qa4	9

Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 02:18:33

Write a description

Markdown supported (headings ###, bold, lists, links). Submissions are reviewed before publishing.