Latvian Gambit: Mlotkowski Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. Nc3
The Latvian Gambit: Mlotkowski Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C40, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. Nc3. It is a line of the Latvian Gambit. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1,960 times by this move order. White won 51%, 4% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 3… fxe4 (32% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.05 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 3… Nf6 4. exf5 e4 5. Ng5 d5 6. d3)
- ECO
- C40
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pppp2pp/8/4pp2/4P3/2N2N2/PPPP1PPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 1 3- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. Nc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 827 | |
| 1500-1999 | 957 | |
| 2000+ | 176 | |
| All | 1,960 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… fxe4 | 625 (32%) | |
| 3… Nf6 | 576 (29%) | |
| 3… Nc6 | 290 (15%) | |
| 3… d6 | 259 (13%) | |
| 3… Bc5 | 66 (3%) | |
| 3… f4 | 37 (2%) | |
| 3… Bb4 | 34 (2%) | |
| 3… d5 | 25 (1%) |
Master games
45 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 13%, Black 49%). The strongest:
- GM Johan-Sebastian Christiansen (2664) – CM Matfey Rogov (2291) 1-0 · Titled Tue 28th Jan Late · 2025-01-28
- FM Mike Ivanov (2307) – GM Alexandr Fier (2573) 1-0 · Titled Tue 5th Apr Early · 2022-04-05
- IM Polina Shuvalova (2493) – IM David Pruess (2321) 1-0 · I'M Not A GM Speed Chess · 2022-05-25
- FM Niranjan Navalgund (2289) – IM Artyom Zubritskiy (2442) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 6th July · 2021-07-06
- IM Fy Antenaina Rakotomaharo (2467) – FM Florent Samoun (2241) 0-1 · ch-FRA Blitz 2022 · 2022-05-28
Search all games of the Latvian Gambit: Mlotkowski Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- MityshevS (2433) – CM Asatryan_Gor (2583) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- FM santyaga2020 (2442) – SugarMagnolia (2500) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- uhumbuheev (2515) – Fishuana (2426) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Latvian Gambit 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5
More Latvian Gambit lines (all)
- Latvian Gambit: Behting Variation C40
- Latvian Gambit: Corkscrew Countergambit C40
- Latvian Gambit: Corkscrew Gambit C40
- Latvian Gambit: Diepstraten Countergambit C40
- Latvian Gambit: Fraser Defense C40
- Latvian Gambit: Greco Variation C40
- Latvian Gambit: Lobster Gambit C40
- Latvian Gambit: Mason Countergambit C40
- Latvian Gambit: Mayet Attack C40
- Latvian Gambit: Mayet Attack, Morgado Defense C40
- Latvian Gambit: Mayet Attack, Poisoned Pawn Variation C40
- Latvian Gambit: Mayet Attack, Polerio-Svedenborg Variation C40
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.