Ruy Lopez: Closed, Basque Gambit
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
853 games: White 42.8% / Draw 6.7% / Black 50.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Ruy Lopez: Closed, Center Attack, Basque Gambit | 631631 | |
| 6464 | ||
| 6262 | ||
| 3434 | ||
| 3434 | ||
| 2727 | ||
| 11 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 22, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.49 Black is slightly better
Best play: 8... dxc3 9. Nxc3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 O-O 11. Bf4 d6 12. exd6 Bxd6 13. Bxd6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
Ruy Lopez: Closed, Basque Gambit (ECO C84, Open Games) is a gambit in the Ruy Lopez: Closed, Center Attack, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d4 exd4 7. e5 Ne4 8. c3 (8 moves).
In 853 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 42.8%, Black 50.5% and 6.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 8…dxc3, in 74% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Ruy Lopez: Closed, Center Attack, Basque Gambit.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
Variations (1)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Closed, Basque Gambit (C84)”. Lichess data as of 22 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-closed-basque-gambit