Rubinstein Opening
Overview
Rubinstein Opening sits at the top of the Closed & Semi-Closed Games tree, indexed as ECO D05.
The Closed & Semi-Closed Games group covers closed and semi-closed games — 1.d4 systems characterised by long strategic manoeuvring rather than early tactics.
It begins with 9 plies and takes 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 c5 4. Bd3 d5 5. b3 to reach the canonical position.
It branches into 2 notable variations — Bogoljubow Defense, Classical Defense.
Step through the moves on the interactive board below, review the live Lichess statistics, or play this position against Stockfish at one of six difficulty levels.
- ECO code
- D05
- Group
- Closed & Semi-Closed Games (D)
- Plies
- 9
- Direct variations
- 2
This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.
Statistics from Lichess
433,753 games · White 51.9% / Draw 5.1% / Black 43.0%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Nc6 | 260,215 | |
| cxd4 | 67,103 | |
| a6 | 25,922 | |
| Be7 | 21,146 | |
| Bd6 | 17,515 | |
| b6 | 13,640 | |
| Nbd7 | 10,487 | |
| Bd7 | 5,377 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 02:08:00
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