Tree path 13 levels King's Pawn Game › King's Knight Opening › Normal Variation › Ruy Lopez › Morphy Defense › Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense › Ruy Lopez: Open › Ruy Lopez: Open › Ruy Lopez: Open › Ruy Lopez: Open › Main Line › Ruy Lopez: Open, Bernstein Variation › Ruy Lopez: Open, Karpov 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: Open C80
- Ruy Lopez: Open C80
- Ruy Lopez: Open C80
- Ruy Lopez: Open C80
- Main Line C80
- Ruy Lopez: Open, Bernstein Variation C80
- Ruy Lopez: Open, Karpov Gambit C80 you are here
Ruy Lopez: Open, Karpov Gambit
Overview
Ruy Lopez: Open, Karpov Gambit is a gambit, classified under ECO code C80 within the Open Games family. As with all gambits, one side sacrifices material early — usually a pawn — in exchange for development, open lines, or initiative.
The Open Games group covers open games — classical 1.e4 e5 openings where both sides contest the centre directly with pawns.
It begins with 21 plies and takes 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Nbd2 Nc5 10. c3 d4 11. Ng5 to reach the canonical position.
It is a variation of Ruy Lopez: Open, Bernstein Variation, which itself descends from the root opening King's Pawn Game.
Step through the moves on the interactive board below, review the live Lichess statistics, or play this position against Stockfish at one of six difficulty levels.
- ECO code
- C80
- Group
- Open Games (C)
- Plies
- 21
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
821 games · White 49.3% / Draw 7.3% / Black 43.4%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Qxg5 | 677 | |
| dxc3 | 57 | |
| Bxb3 | 47 | |
| Bd5 | 16 | |
| Nxb3 | 16 | |
| Be7 | 7 | |
| h6 | 1 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 03:27:49
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