Scandinavian Defense: Portuguese Gambit, Banker Variation
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
181,910 games: White 37.0% / Draw 3.2% / Black 59.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 156,424156K | ||
| 22,65223K | ||
| 811811 | ||
| 523523 | ||
| 248248 | ||
| 217217 | ||
| 187187 | ||
| 186186 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.50 White is slightly better
Best play: 5... e6 6. Nc3 exd5 7. g4 Be6 8. g5 Ng8 9. Nge2 Ne7 10. Nf4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1,027 | |
| 1400–1799 | 25K | |
| 1800–2199 | 133K | |
| 2200 and up | 28K | |
| Masters, over the board | 83 |
Master games
- Vaibhav, S. – Carlsen, M.
- Bologan, V. – Shirov, A.
- Savchenko, B. – Moskalenko, A.
- Nolte, R. – Laylo, D.
- Almasi, Z. – Adorjan, A.
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
Overview
Scandinavian Defense: Portuguese Gambit, Banker Variation (ECO B01, Semi-Open Games) is a gambit in the Scandinavian Defense: Portuguese Gambit, reached after 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Bg4 4. f3 Bf5 5. c4 (5 moves).
In 181,910 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 37.0%, Black 59.8% and 3.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…e6, in 86% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to play against the Scandinavian Defense: Portuguese Gambit, Banker Variation
The most played answer, 5…e6, also scores best for Black: 63.4%, with Black winning 61.9% and White 35.1% of 156K games. Of the main answers, 5…c6 scores lowest: 50.1%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5…e6.
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 Scandinavian Defense: Portuguese Gambit, Banker Variation has gained ground since 2016: 0.008% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.0049%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0049% | 1,759 |
| 2017 | 0.0069% | 3,806 |
| 2018 | 0.0075% | 5,894 |
| 2019 | 0.0065% | 8,055 |
| 2020 | 0.0059% | 17,137 |
| 2021 | 0.0057% | 22,370 |
| 2022 | 0.0073% | 27,335 |
| 2023 | 0.0075% | 28,148 |
| 2024 | 0.0076% | 27,098 |
| 2025 | 0.008% | 27,919 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0086% | 9,472 |
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Scandinavian Defense: Portuguese Gambit, Banker Variation (B01)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/scandinavian-defense-portuguese-gambit-banker-variation