Scandinavian Defense: Portuguese Gambit, Lusophobe Variation
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Bg4 4. Bb5+ Nbd7 5. Be2
The Scandinavian Defense: Portuguese Gambit, Lusophobe Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B01, reached after 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Bg4 4. Bb5+ Nbd7 5. Be2. It is a line of the Scandinavian Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 29 times by this move order. White won 55%, 4% were drawn and Black won 41%. The most popular continuation is 5… Bxe2 (86% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.53 (Stockfish, depth 37; best line 5… Bxe2 6. Qxe2 Nxd5 7. c4 N5f6 8. Nf3)
- ECO
- B01
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
r2qkb1r/pppnpppp/5n2/3P4/3P2b1/8/PPP1BPPP/RNBQK1NR b KQkq - 4 5- PGN
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Bg4 4. Bb5+ Nbd7 5. Be2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 4 | |
| 2000+ | 24 | |
| All | 29 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… Bxe2 | 25 (86%) | |
| 5… h5 | 2 (7%) | |
| 5… Bf5 | 1 (3%) | |
| 5… Nxd5 | 1 (3%) |
Master games
117 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 50%, draw 20%, Black 30%). The strongest:
- GM Anton Demchenko (2619) – IM Nitish Belurkar (2479) 0-1 · 1st 3-0 Thu 5th Feb 2026 · 2026-02-05
- IM Alexander Reprintsev (2227) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2839) 0-1 · Titled Tue 5th Sep Late · 2023-09-05
- GM Sergei Zhigalko (2572) – IM Nitish Belurkar (2479) 1-0 · 1st 3-0 Thu 12th Mar 2026 · 2026-03-12
- GM Vladimir Kramnik (2753) – FM Deniel Causo (2224) 1-0 · Titled Tue 23rd Jan Early · 2024-01-23
- GM Sergei Zhigalko (2572) – IM Aleksandr Ostrovskiy (2400) 1-0 · Titled Tue 25th Jun Late · 2024-06-25
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Meatloaf927 (2726) – ALBING0 (2590) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- ex-champion (2524) – superatos (2408) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- swynwr (2440) – kissmemiau (2417) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Scandinavian Defense: Portuguese Gambit 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Bg4
More Scandinavian Defense lines (all)
- Scandinavian Defense (1. e4 d5) B01
- Scandinavian Defense (1… d5 2. b3) B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Anderssen Counterattack B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Anderssen Counterattack, Collijn Variation B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Anderssen Counterattack, Goteborg System B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Anderssen Counterattack, Orthodox Attack B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne Gambit B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne-Kloosterboer Gambit B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Boehnke Gambit B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Bronstein Variation B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Classical Variation B01
- Scandinavian Defense: Grünfeld Variation B01
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.