Mexican Defense: Horsefly Gambit
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 Nc6 3. d5 Ne5 4. f4
The Mexican Defense: Horsefly Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO A50, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 Nc6 3. d5 Ne5 4. f4. It is a line of the Mexican Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 19 times by this move order. White won 58%, 0% were drawn and Black won 42%. The most popular continuation is 4… Nxc4 (74% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.44 (Stockfish, depth 30; best line 4… Nxc4 5. e4 Nb6 6. Nc3 e6 7. dxe6)
- ECO
- A50
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pppppppp/5n2/3Pn3/2P2P2/8/PP2P1PP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 Nc6 3. d5 Ne5 4. f4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 4 | |
| 1500-1999 | 11 | |
| 2000+ | 4 | |
| All | 19 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Nxc4 | 14 (74%) | |
| 4… Ng6 | 4 (21%) | |
| 4… e6 | 1 (5%) |
Master games
4 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 50%, draw 0%, Black 50%). The strongest:
- IM Mohamed Ezat (2396) – IM Kirill Klukin (2390) 0-1 · Titled Tue 13th Jun Early · 2023-06-13
- IM Roman Pyrih (2399) – CM Kacper Klys (2196) 1-0 · Titled Tue 12th May 2026 · 2026-05-12
- FM Guillermo Di Benedetto (2289) – FM Roman Goldin (2296) 0-1 · Titled Tue 10th Feb 2026 · 2026-02-10
- WIM Ruotong Chu (2207) – WIM Rakshitta Ravi (2190) 1-0 · Women's Speed Chess Q2 · 2021-05-29
Search all games of the Mexican Defense: Horsefly Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Ives76 (2403) – Urumu (2296) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- adeyemoabiola99 (2044) – chrisprolls22 (2030) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Andy512 (2077) – Smog98 (1949) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Mexican Defense 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 Nc6
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.