Ruy Lopez: Closed, Anti-Marshall
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Statistics from Lichess
189,722 games: White 51.2% / Draw 6.2% / Black 42.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 73,19373K | ||
| 72,43472K | ||
| 31,52932K | ||
| 5,5915,591 | ||
| 2,5872,587 | ||
| 2,1422,142 | ||
| 1,9401,940 | ||
| 144144 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 28, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.11 The position is about equal
Best play: 8... Bb7 9. d3 d6 10. Bd2 Qd7 11. h3 Nd8 12. axb5 axb5 13. Rxa8
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 919 | |
| 1400–1799 | 14K | |
| 1800–2199 | 112K | |
| 2200 and up | 66K | |
| Masters, over the board | 4,991 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
- Caruana, F. – Ding Liren
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Carlsen, M.
- Giri, A. – Carlsen, M.
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, Anti-Marshall (ECO C88, 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 O-O 8. a4 (8 moves).
In 189,722 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.2%, Black 42.6% and 6.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 8…b4, in 39% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Ruy Lopez: Closed, Anti-Marshall
8…Rb8 scores best for Black: 47.2%, with Black winning 44.0% and White 49.6% of 32K games. The most played, 8…b4, scores 46.1% in 73K games, and 8…Bb7 scores lowest: 45.2%. Stockfish's first choice is 8…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
The Ruy Lopez: Closed, Anti-Marshall peaked in 2017 at 0.0085% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.0069% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0072% | 2,556 |
| 2017 | 0.0085% | 4,683 |
| 2018 | 0.0084% | 6,594 |
| 2019 | 0.0071% | 8,850 |
| 2020 | 0.0072% | 21,224 |
| 2021 | 0.0067% | 26,368 |
| 2022 | 0.008% | 30,169 |
| 2023 | 0.0078% | 29,284 |
| 2024 | 0.0069% | 24,625 |
| 2025 | 0.0069% | 23,829 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0073% | 8,047 |
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Closed, Anti-Marshall (C88)”. Lichess data as of 28 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-closed-anti-marshall