Tree path 4 levels King's Pawn Game › King's Knight Opening › Normal Variation › Ruy Lopez
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game C20
- King's Knight Opening C40
- Normal Variation C44
- Ruy Lopez C60 you are here
Ruy Lopez
Overview
Ruy Lopez is a specific line in the Open Games family (ECO C60), arising from a recognised theoretical position.
The Open Games group covers open games — classical 1.e4 e5 openings where both sides contest the centre directly with pawns.
It begins with 5 plies and takes 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 to reach the canonical position.
The line refines King's Knight Opening: Normal Variation, which traces back to the root opening King's Pawn Game.
The line has 18 documented children — Alapin Defense, Berlin Defense, Bird Variation, and others being widely played.
Across every depth of the tree this branch holds 232 documented sub-variations, reflecting decades of analytical work.
Explore the position on the interactive board, study its real-world results from Lichess, and challenge the engine when you are ready.
- ECO code
- C60
- Group
- Open Games (C)
- Plies
- 5
- Direct variations
- 18
- Total in subtree
- 232
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
59,739,606 games · White 51.1% / Draw 5.0% / Black 43.9%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| a6 | 18,876,572 | |
| d6 | 12,877,644 | |
| Nf6 | 9,659,578 | |
| Bc5 | 7,593,326 | |
| Nge7 | 3,076,819 | |
| Nd4 | 2,855,364 | |
| f5 | 1,728,718 | |
| Qf6 | 1,047,534 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 01:13:34
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Variations (18)
- C60 Alapin Defense
- C65 Berlin Defense
- C61 Bird Variation
- C60 Brentano Gambit
- C60 Bulgarian Variation
- C64 Classical Variation
- C60 Cozio Defense
- C60 Fianchetto Defense
- C60 Lucena Variation
- C70 Morphy Defense
- C60 Nürnberg Variation
- C60 Pollock Defense
- C60 Retreat Variation
- C60 Rotary-Albany Gambit
- C63 Schliemann Defense
- C60 Spanish Countergambit
- C62 Steinitz Defense
- C60 Vinogradov Variation
Show all 232 sub-variations (full subtree)
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