Latvian Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5
The Latvian Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C40, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5. White is to move. 12 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 16,462 times by this move order. White won 49%, 4% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 3. exf5 (34% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.39 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 3. Nxe5 Nf6 4. Bc4 Qe7 5. d4 Nc6)
- ECO
- C40
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
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1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 6,169 | |
| 1500-1999 | 8,398 | |
| 2000+ | 1,895 | |
| All | 16,462 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. exf5 Latvian Gambit Accepted | 5,592 (34%) | |
| 3. Nxe5 | 4,029 (24%) | |
| 3. d3 | 2,231 (14%) | |
| 3. Nc3 Mlotkowski Variation | 1,960 (12%) | |
| 3. d4 Mason Countergambit | 1,280 (8%) | |
| 3. Bc4 Mayet Attack | 1,038 (6%) | |
| 3. Bd3 | 120 (1%) | |
| 3. c3 | 77 (0%) |
Master games
183 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 49%, draw 5%, Black 46%). The strongest:
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2762) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2732) 1-0 · chess.com SpeedChess 2025 · 2025-11-20
- GM Erigaisi Arjun (2751) – FM Semyon Puzyrevsky (2364) 1-0 · 1st 3-0 Thu 14th May 2026 · 2026-05-14
- GM Chithambaram VR. Aravindh (2677) – FM Semyon Puzyrevsky (2383) 1-0 · Titled Tue 28th Jul 2026 · 2026-07-28
- GM Alexander Grischuk (2654) – FM Matfey Rogov (2356) 1-0 · Titled Tue 25th Nov 2025 · 2025-11-25
- Radoslaw Psyk (2438) – GM Leon Livaic (2572) 0-1 · European Blitz 2022 · 2022-12-16
Search all games of the Latvian Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM Guary1 (2853) – GladiatorDefence (2795) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- tsnylsw (2745) – CM Sc0rch4dEarth (2676) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- Meatloaf927 (2724) – CM Asatryan_Gor (2585) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
King's Knight Opening 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3
Continuations
- Latvian Gambit Accepted C40 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. exf5
- Latvian Gambit: Diepstraten Countergambit C40 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. c4
- Latvian Gambit: Lobster Gambit C40 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. g4
- Latvian Gambit: Mason Countergambit C40 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. d4
- Latvian Gambit: Mayet Attack C40 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. Bc4
- Latvian Gambit: Mlotkowski Variation C40 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. Nc3
- Latvian Gambit: Senechaud Gambit C40 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. b4
- Latvian Gambit: Fraser Defense C40 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. Nxe5 Nc6
- Latvian Gambit: Greco Variation C40 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. Nxe5 Qe7
- Latvian Gambit Accepted: Foltys-Leonhardt Variation C40 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. Nxe5 Qf6 4. Nc4
- Latvian Gambit Accepted: Main Line C40 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. Nxe5 Qf6 4. d4
- Latvian Gambit: Corkscrew Gambit C40 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. Nxe5 Nf6 4. Bc4 fxe4 5. Nf7 Qe7 6. Nxh8 d5
More Latvian Gambit lines (all)
- Latvian Gambit: Behting Variation C40
- Latvian Gambit: Corkscrew Countergambit C40
- Latvian Gambit: Mayet Attack, Morgado Defense C40
- Latvian Gambit: Mayet Attack, Poisoned Pawn Variation C40
- Latvian Gambit: Mayet Attack, Polerio-Svedenborg Variation C40
- Latvian Gambit: Mayet Attack, Strautins Gambit C40
- Latvian Gambit: Clam Gambit C44
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.