Open games & French

Portuguese Opening

1.e4 e5 2.Bb5

The Portuguese Opening starts with 1.e4 e5 2.Bb5 and is catalogued under ECO C20, in the open games & french half of the book. The catalog indexes 3 lines inside it, grouped into 3 named variations, and the position after those moves has 1 playable continuation to walk from here.

Opening repertoire map

Root edges show how often each move is played around your Elo. Use the arrow on a position to reveal the next replies.

Current position
Portuguese Opening
5 plies
Miguel Gambit
Popularity by Elo
Share of Lichess blitz, rapid, and classical games that continued with each move.
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Current setup

Move ideas

  1. 1.e4

    Claims the center with a pawn and opens lines for the queen and king’s bishop.

    Idea: Build quick development and make early castling possible.

  2. 1…e5

    Meets White’s center directly and opens lines for Black’s queen and bishop.

    Idea: Fight for equal central space in a balanced, open position.

  3. 2.Bb5

    Develops the bishop to b5, bringing it into the game.

    Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.

  4. 2…Bc5

    Develops the bishop to c5, bringing it into the game.

    Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.

Book continuations

Waiting for Lichess game popularity.

1 move
b4Portuguese Opening: Miguel Gambit1 named lineAdvances the b-pawn to gain queenside space and control new squares.Idea: Prepare a fianchetto or discourage the opponent’s expansion on that wing.

Named variations

Each line below is an indexed entry under Portuguese Opening. Open one to load it on the board and keep exploring from that position.

Openings from the same volume

ECO groups openings by the structures they lead to, so these families tend to share plans with the Portuguese Opening.