Tree path 9 levels King's Pawn Game › King's Knight Opening › Normal Variation › Ruy Lopez › Morphy Defense › Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense › Ruy Lopez: Closed › Center Attack › Ruy Lopez: Closed, Basque Gambit
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game C20
- King's Knight Opening C40
- Normal Variation C44
- Ruy Lopez C60
- Morphy Defense C70
- Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense C78
- Ruy Lopez: Closed C84
- Center Attack C84
- Ruy Lopez: Closed, Basque Gambit C84 you are here
Ruy Lopez: Closed, Basque Gambit
Overview
Ruy Lopez: Closed, Basque Gambit is a sacrificial opening line filed under ECO C84 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.
It is reached after 15 plies of play, with the move sequence 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d4 exd4 7. e5 Ne4 8. c3.
In the opening tree, this line branches off from Ruy Lopez: Closed, Center Attack, part of the broader King's Pawn Game system.
It continues primarily into one named line, Ruy Lopez: Closed, Center Attack, Basque Gambit.
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
- C84
- Group
- Open Games (C)
- Plies
- 15
- Direct variations
- 1
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
853 games · White 42.8% / Draw 6.7% / Black 50.5%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| dxc3 | 631 | |
| d3 | 64 | |
| Nc5 | 62 | |
| O-O | 34 | |
| b5 | 34 | |
| d5 | 27 | |
| Nxc3 | 1 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 03:06:32
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Submissions are reviewed before publishing.