C95

Ruy Lopez: Closed, Breyer

Chess diagram: Ruy Lopez: Closed, Breyer after 10. d4

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

124,548 games: White 47.1% / Draw 6.8% / Black 46.1%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Ruy Lopez: Closed, Breyer Defense, Zaitsev Hybrid 121,077121K
1,5711,571
802802
693693
122122
9494
4343
4141

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 3, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.34 White is slightly better

Best play: 10... Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Ng3 a5 15. Bd2

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

Overview

Ruy Lopez: Closed, Breyer (ECO C95, Open Games) is a variation of the Ruy Lopez: Closed, Breyer Defense, 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 Nb8 10. d4 (10 moves).

In 124,548 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.1%, Black 46.1% and 6.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 10…Nbd7, in 97% of those games.

It continues into one named variation, Ruy Lopez: Closed, Breyer Defense, Zaitsev Hybrid. In all, 3 named lines continue from it.

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Variations (1)

All 3 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Closed, Breyer (C95)”. Lichess data as of 3 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-closed-breyer