Ruy Lopez: Spanish Countergambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d5
The Ruy Lopez: Spanish Countergambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C60, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d5. It is a line of the Ruy Lopez. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1,268 times by this move order. White won 57%, 4% were drawn and Black won 39%. The most popular continuation is 4. exd5 (37% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.29 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 4. exd5 a6 5. Bxc6+ bxc6 6. Nxe5 cxd5)
- ECO
- C60
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/ppp2ppp/2n5/1B1pp3/4P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 933 | |
| 1500-1999 | 317 | |
| 2000+ | 18 | |
| All | 1,268 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. exd5 | 463 (37%) | |
| 4. Bxc6+ | 386 (30%) | |
| 4. Nxe5 | 246 (19%) | |
| 4. d3 | 52 (4%) | |
| 4. Nc3 | 47 (4%) | |
| 4. O-O | 33 (3%) | |
| 4. d4 | 19 (1%) | |
| 4. Qe2 | 11 (1%) |
Master games
10 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 90%, draw 0%, Black 10%). The strongest:
- Danis Fejzic (1460) – Ismir Beslija (1696) 1-0 · 48th Bosna Open 2018 · 2018-05-08
- Murat Sedat Isikli (1505) – Emre Lekealmaz (1255) 1-0 · TCh-TUR Clubs 2017 · 2017-07-10
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Spanish Countergambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Regan22 (2185) – slamet212 (2216) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 600 + 0s
- Nickeltellurid (2138) – AndreyAAAAA (2131) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 300 + 0s
- Gronk1487 (2126) – the_kingyono (2139) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5
Continuations
- Ruy Lopez: Spanish Countergambit, Harding Countergambit, Fricke Gambit C60 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d5 4. Nxe5 Qg5 5. O-O
- Ruy Lopez: Spanish Countergambit, Harding Gambit C60 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d5 4. Nxe5 Qg5 5. Nxc6
More Ruy Lopez lines (all)
- 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
- Ruy Lopez: Pollock Defense 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.