C69

Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, Gligoric Variation

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Statistics from Lichess

344,589 games: White 47.6% / Draw 7.2% / Black 45.2%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	213,270213K
	27,37327K
	24,19224K
	23,25623K
	23,12623K
	14,45214K
	9,3269,326
	5,7885,788

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

Engine evaluation

+0.17 The position is about equal

Best play: 6. d4 exd4 7. Nxd4 c5 8. Ne2 Be6 9. Nbc3 Qd7 10. Qxd7+ Kxd7

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

By rating

Rating changes little here: Black scores 48% under 1400, 46% at 2200 and up and 44% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	72K
1400–1799	129K
1800–2199	202K
2200 and up	70K
Masters, over the board	3,036

Master games

Kamsky, G. – Carlsen, M. 0–1, 2013
Nakamura, H. – Ivanchuk, V. 0–1, 2012
Nakamura, H. – Anand, V. ½–½, 2018
Vachier Lagrave, M. – Ivanchuk, V. ½–½, 2008
Svidler, P. – Aronian, L. ½–½, 2007

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: Exchange Variation, Gligoric Variation (ECO C69, Open Games) is a variation of the Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, Normal Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O f6 (5 moves).

In 344,589 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.6%, Black 45.2% and 7.2% were drawn. White's most played move here is 6. d4, in 62% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, Gligoric Variation

The most played answer, 6. d4, also scores best for White: 53.8%, with White winning 49.5% and Black 41.9% of 213K games. Of the main answers, 6. d3 scores lowest: 44.2%. Stockfish's first choice is also 6. d4.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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: Exchange Variation, Gligoric Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.011% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.02%.

0.02%0.011%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.02%	7,322
2017	0.022%	12,319
2018	0.02%	15,775
2019	0.017%	21,640
2020	0.016%	46,164
2021	0.013%	50,253
2022	0.013%	47,104
2023	0.013%	47,383
2024	0.012%	41,815
2025	0.011%	36,849
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.011%	11,609

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: Exchange Variation, Gligoric Variation (C69)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-exchange-variation-gligoric-variation