Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, Keres Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
414,086 games: White 48.5% / Draw 6.3% / Black 45.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 162,083162K | ||
| 95,50096K | ||
| 73,97474K | ||
| 31,38331K | ||
| 25,49825K | ||
| 6,9706,970 | ||
| 6,8646,864 | ||
| 6,2416,241 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.06 The position is about equal
Best play: 5... f6 6. d4 exd4 7. Qxd4 Qxd4 8. Nxd4 Bd7 9. h4 O-O-O 10. f3
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 53% under 1400, 56% at 2200 and up and 53% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 326K | |
| 1400–1799 | 459K | |
| 1800–2199 | 172K | |
| 2200 and up | 40K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,006 |
Master games
- Aronian, L. – Caruana, F.
- Harikrishna, P. – Ding Liren
- Duda, J. K. – Ragger, M.
- Karpov, A. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Gurel, E. – Keymer, 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: Exchange Variation, Keres Variation (ECO C68, Open Games) is a variation of the Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. Nc3 (5 moves).
In 414,086 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.5%, Black 45.2% and 6.3% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…Bd6, in 39% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, Romanovsky Variation.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, Keres Variation
5…Bc5 scores best for Black: 51.6%, with Black winning 49.1% and White 46.0% of 25K games. The most played, 5…Bd6, scores 47.0% in 162K games, and 5…Nf6 scores lowest: 44.9%. Stockfish's first choice is 5…f6.
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: Exchange Variation, Keres Variation is played less than half as often as in 2016: 0.013% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.026%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.026% | 9,196 |
| 2017 | 0.023% | 12,456 |
| 2018 | 0.019% | 14,573 |
| 2019 | 0.017% | 21,817 |
| 2020 | 0.019% | 56,289 |
| 2021 | 0.017% | 68,381 |
| 2022 | 0.016% | 61,135 |
| 2023 | 0.015% | 57,211 |
| 2024 | 0.014% | 49,214 |
| 2025 | 0.013% | 43,606 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.012% | 13,528 |
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)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, Keres Variation (C68)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-exchange-variation-keres-variation