As Black

Latvian Gambit

The Latvian Gambit is a chess opening for Black that starts with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5.

Very aggressive: Black goes for a wild game of exchanges in the centre.

Reviewed on November 6, 2026 · Prepared by Josep Serrano Ballestero

Basic · Elo 400 – 600

Train this level

  1. Opponent's mistake · 4.Ng5

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.exf5 e4 4.Ng5 Qxg5

  2. Opponent's mistake · 5.Neg5

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Nc3 fxe4 4.Nxe4 d5 5.Neg5 e4 6.Ne5 Qxg5

  3. Opponent's mistake · 6.Bg5

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Nxe5 Qf6 4.d4 d6 5.Nf3 fxe4 6.Bg5 Qf5 7.Qe2 Be7 8.Bxe7 exf3 9.Qe3 Nxe7 10.Nc3 Nc6

  4. Opponent's mistake · 5.Qh5+

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Nxe5 Qf6 4.d4 d6 5.Qh5+ g6 6.Nxg6 hxg6 7.Qf3 Nc6 8.Bb5 Qxd4

  5. Opponent's mistake · 5.d3

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.exf5 e4 4.Qe2 Qe7 5.d3 exf3 6.Qxe7+ Bxe7

  6. Opponent's mistake · 5.Nc3

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.exf5 e4 4.Qe2 Qe7 5.Nc3 exf3 6.Qxe7+ Nxe7

  7. 4...Nf6 5.Bc4

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.exf5 e4 4.Ne5 Nf6 5.Bc4 d5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.Ba4 a5

  8. 5...c5 6.Nb3

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.exf5 e4 4.Nd4 Nf6 5.d3 c5 6.Nb3 exd3 7.cxd3 Nc6

  9. 4...Nf6 5.d3

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.exf5 e4 4.Ne5 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Nc4 Bxf5

  10. Bilguer Variation

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Nxe5 Qf6 4.d4 d6 5.Nc4 fxe4 6.Nc3 Qg6

  11. 5...c5 6.Ne2

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.exf5 e4 4.Nd4 Nf6 5.d3 c5 6.Ne2 exd3

  12. 5...c5 6.Nb5

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.exf5 e4 4.Nd4 Nf6 5.d3 c5 6.Nb5 a6

Intermediate · Elo 800 – 1000

Train this level

  1. Opponent's mistake · 3.Bc4

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Bc4 fxe4 4.Nxe5 d5

  2. 6...exd3 7.Qxd3

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.exf5 e4 4.Nd4 Nf6 5.d3 c5 6.Nb3 exd3 7.Qxd3 d5

  3. 6...exd3 7.Bxd3

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.exf5 e4 4.Nd4 Nf6 5.d3 c5 6.Nb3 exd3 7.Bxd3 d5 8.Bb5+ Nc6 9.O-O Be7 10.Re1 O-O

  4. 4...Nf6 5.Nc3

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.exf5 e4 4.Qe2 Nf6 5.Nc3 d5 6.d3 Bb4 7.Bd2 O-O

  5. 3...e4 4.Ng1

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.exf5 e4 4.Ng1 Nf6 5.Nc3 d5 6.d3 Bxf5 7.dxe4 Nxe4 8.Nxe4 Bxe4

  6. 4...Nf6 5.Ng5

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.exf5 e4 4.Qe2 Nf6 5.Ng5 d5 6.d3 Bxf5 7.dxe4 Bxe4

  7. 4...Nf6 5.d3

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.exf5 e4 4.Qe2 Nf6 5.d3 d5 6.dxe4 dxe4 7.Bg5 Bxf5

  8. 5...c5 6.Ne2

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.exf5 e4 4.Nd4 Nf6 5.d3 c5 6.Ne2 exd3 7.Qxd3 d5

  9. Bilguer Variation

    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Nxe5 Qf6 4.d4 d6 5.Nc4 fxe4 6.Nc3 Qg6 7.Qe2 Nf6

Frequently asked questions

Is the Latvian Gambit good for beginners?

Yes. On OpeningCraft you learn it in these levels: Basic (Elo 400 – 600), Intermediate (Elo 800 – 1000). It suits players who like attacks, gambits and open positions.

What traps are there in the Latvian Gambit?

OpeningCraft teaches 7 traps and opponent mistakes in this opening, for example: Opponent's mistake (4.Ng5); Opponent's mistake (5.Neg5); Opponent's mistake (6.Bg5).

How many lines of the Latvian Gambit do you need to learn?

OpeningCraft teaches 21, in blocks of 5. They come from real Lichess games at each rating band, and the traps and opponent mistakes most common at your level come first.

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