Caissa Codex
C99

Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense, Panov System

Chess diagram: Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense, Panov System after 13. cxd4

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Statistics from Lichess

35,485 games: White 46.5% / Draw 6.5% / Black 47.0%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
17,03117K
7,2137,213
5,8865,886
1,3671,367
1,1491,149
1,0091,009
687687
642642

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 26, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.26 The position is about equal

Best play: 13... Nc6 14. a3 exd4 15. Nb3 Re8 16. Nbxd4 Nxd4 17. Nxd4 Bb7 18. Bf4

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

Overview

Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense, Panov System (ECO C99, Open Games) is a variation of the Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin 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 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 cxd4 13. cxd4 (13 moves).

In 35,485 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.5%, Black 47.0% and 6.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 13…Nc6, in 48% of those games.

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How to play against the Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense, Panov System

The most played answer, 13…Nc6, also scores best for Black: 52.1%, with Black winning 48.8% and White 44.7% of 17K games. Of the main answers, 13…Bb7 scores lowest: 47.6%. Stockfish's first choice is also 13…Nc6.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 12. Nbd2 cxd4 13. cxd4, the position after Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense, Panov System (C99)”. Lichess data as of 26 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-closed-chigorin-defense-panov-system

https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-closed-chigorin-defense-panov-system