Caissa Codex
C92

Ruy Lopez: Closed 8…O-O 9. h3

Chess diagram: Ruy Lopez: Closed after 9. h3

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Statistics from Lichess

795,532 games: White 50.3% / Draw 6.1% / Black 43.7%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Chigorin Defense 367,099367K
Breyer Defense 137,654138K
Flohr System 118,402118K
Kholmov Variation 65,83566K
Smyslov Defense 54,92255K
Zaitsev System 23,74924K
Karpov Variation 7,6377,637
6,6786,678

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 28, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.25 The position is about equal

Best play: 9... Bb7 10. d4 Re8 11. Nbd2 Bf8 12. d5 Nb8 13. Nh2 c6 14. Ng4

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

By rating

The stronger the players, the worse this line does for White: White scores 58% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 58% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 8,695
1400–1799 132K
1800–2199 474K
2200 and up 220K
Masters, over the board 29K

Master games

Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026

Overview

Ruy Lopez: Closed (ECO C92, Open Games) is a variation of the Ruy Lopez: Closed, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 (9 moves).

In 795,532 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.3%, Black 43.7% and 6.1% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 9…Na5, in 46% of those games.

It branches into 7 named variations; the most played are Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense and Ruy Lopez: Closed, Breyer Defense. In all, 24 named lines continue from it.

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How to answer 9. h3

9…Nb8 (Breyer Defense) scores best for Black: 49.4%, with Black winning 46.0% and White 47.2% of 138K games. The most played, 9…Na5, scores 47.5% in 367K games, and 9…Be6 scores lowest: 41.2%. Stockfish's first choice is 9…Bb7.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings

Popularity by year

This line has lost ground since 2016: 0.024% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.046% (its peak: 0.055% in 2017).

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.046%16,461
20170.055%30,433
20180.054%42,365
20190.045%56,307
20200.04%117,567
20210.029%114,769
20220.027%102,468
20230.027%103,181
20240.024%87,399
20250.024%83,199
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.025%27,023

Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling

Variations (7)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 9. h3, the position after Ruy Lopez: Closed also goes on to:

All 24 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Closed (C92)”. Lichess data as of 28 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-closed-5

https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-closed-5