Ruy Lopez: Spanish Countergambit, Harding Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d5 4. Nxe5 Qg5 5. Nxc6
The Ruy Lopez: Spanish Countergambit, Harding Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C60, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d5 4. Nxe5 Qg5 5. Nxc6. It is a line of the Ruy Lopez. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 6 times by this move order. White won 50%, 0% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 5… Qxg2 (83% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.43 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 5… Qxg2 6. Nd4+ c6 7. Qf3 Qxf3 8. Nxf3)
- ECO
- C60
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
r1b1kbnr/ppp2ppp/2N5/1B1p2q1/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d5 4. Nxe5 Qg5 5. Nxc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 3 | |
| 1500-1999 | 3 | |
| All | 6 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… Qxg2 | 5 (83%) | |
| 5… bxc6 | 1 (17%) |
Highest-rated Lichess games
- walobeta (1957) – Coyhia (1817) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 600 + 0s
- chivotaro (1831) – jaran_goyang17 (1834) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 300 + 0s
- vstanciu83 (1678) – Asmirithi_18 (1684) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 1800 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Spanish Countergambit 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d5
More Ruy Lopez lines (all)
- Ruy Lopez C60
- Ruy Lopez: Alapin Defense C60
- Ruy Lopez: Alapin Defense, Alapin Gambit C60
- Ruy Lopez: Brentano Gambit C60
- Ruy Lopez: Bulgarian Variation C60
- Ruy Lopez: Cozio Defense C60
- Ruy Lopez: Cozio Defense, Paulsen Variation C60
- Ruy Lopez: Cozio Defense, Tartakower Gambit C60
- Ruy Lopez: Fianchetto Defense C60
- Ruy Lopez: Fianchetto Defense, Kevitz Gambit C60
- Ruy Lopez: Lucena Variation C60
- Ruy Lopez: Nürnberg Variation C60
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.