C84

Ruy Lopez: Closed, Martinez Variation

Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.

Statistics from Lichess

258,899 games: White 50.5% / Draw 6.1% / Black 43.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	191,906192K
	41,23841K
	23,12223K
	1,7311,731
	418418
	206206
	120120
	3838

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.22 The position is about equal

Best play: 6... b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a4 Bd7 9. c3 O-O 10. Bc2 Rb8 11. h3

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 White: White scores 52% under 1400, 55% at 2200 and up and 57% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	14K
1400–1799	73K
1800–2199	147K
2200 and up	64K
Masters, over the board	5,580

Master games

Carlsen, M. – Ding Liren 0–1, 2019
Anand, V. – Carlsen, M. 1–0, 2015
Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L. 1–0, 2015
Carlsen, M. – Ding Liren 1–0, 2021
Nepomniachtchi, I. – Carlsen, M. ½–½, 2020

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, Martinez Variation (ECO C84, 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. d3 (6 moves).

In 258,899 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.5%, Black 43.4% and 6.1% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 6…b5, in 74% of those games.

Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.

Write a description or report a mistake

What would you like to send? A description of this line A mistake on this page (moves, name, statistics…)

Markdown supported (headings ###, bold, lists, links). Submissions are reviewed before publishing.

Your name (optional) Your email (optional, not published)

Description

How to play against the Ruy Lopez: Closed, Martinez Variation

6…d6 scores best for Black: 47.4%, with Black winning 44.3% and White 49.6% of 41K games. The most played, 6…b5, scores 46.8% in 192K games, and 6…O-O scores lowest: 42.7%. Stockfish's first choice is 6…b5.

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, Martinez Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.0076% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.013% (its peak: 0.015% in 2018).

0.013%0.0076%0.015%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.013%	4,670
2017	0.015%	8,239
2018	0.015%	11,886
2019	0.013%	15,594
2020	0.012%	36,531
2021	0.0096%	37,524
2022	0.0095%	35,687
2023	0.01%	38,411
2024	0.0087%	31,077
2025	0.0076%	26,312
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.0082%	9,039

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, Martinez Variation (C84)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-closed-martinez-variation