Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
367,658 games: White 49.5% / Draw 5.9% / Black 44.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| C96 | 361,477361K | |
| 5,6025,602 | ||
| 338338 | ||
| 167167 | ||
| 3131 | ||
| 2323 | ||
| 88 | ||
| 33 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 23, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.46 White is slightly better
Best play: 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 exd4 12. cxd4 cxd4 13. Nxd4 Bd7 14. Nc3 Re8
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 better this line does for Black: Black scores 44% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up and 40% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 2,111 | |
| 1400–1799 | 48K | |
| 1800–2199 | 231K | |
| 2200 and up | 98K | |
| Masters, over the board | 9,881 |
Master games
- So, W. – Carlsen, M.
- Anand, V. – Ivanchuk, V.
- Kasparov, G. – Ponomariov, R.
- Topalov, V. – Ivanchuk, V.
- Topalov, V. – Ivanchuk, V.
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, Chigorin Defense (ECO C97, 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 Na5 (9 moves).
In 367,658 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.5%, Black 44.5% and 5.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 10. Bc2, in 98% of those games.
It continues into one named variation. In all, 11 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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Popularity by year
The Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense is played less than half as often as in 2016: 0.011% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.023% (its peak: 0.027% in 2017).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.023% | 8,052 |
| 2017 | 0.027% | 14,848 |
| 2018 | 0.025% | 19,900 |
| 2019 | 0.022% | 27,508 |
| 2020 | 0.019% | 55,914 |
| 2021 | 0.013% | 52,241 |
| 2022 | 0.012% | 46,467 |
| 2023 | 0.012% | 46,976 |
| 2024 | 0.011% | 39,858 |
| 2025 | 0.011% | 37,282 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.011% | 11,801 |
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 (1)
All 11 named lines that continue from here
- C96 Chigorin Defense 10 moves
- C96 Chigorin Defense 10 moves
- C96 Gajewski Gambit 10 moves
- C96 Ruy Lopez: Closed, Rossolimo Defense 11 moves
- C96 Ruy Lopez: Closed, Borisenko Variation 11 moves
- C97 Chigorin Defense 11 moves
- C96 Ruy Lopez: Closed, Keres Defense 11 moves
- C98 Chigorin Defense 12 moves
- C99 Panov System 13 moves
- C97 Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin, Yugoslav System 14 moves
- C98 Chigorin Defense 13 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense (C97)”. Lichess data as of 23 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-closed-chigorin-defense