Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, Normal Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
2,085,462 games: White 50.9% / Draw 5.9% / Black 43.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, King's Bishop Variation | 751,310751K | |
| 715,406715K | ||
| Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, Gligoric Variation | 338,416338K | |
| 98,24998K | ||
| 59,30659K | ||
| Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, Bronstein Variation | 46,29946K | |
| 25,38025K | ||
| 16,62117K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.01 The position is about equal
Best play: 5... Bg4 6. h3 h5 7. d3 Qf6 8. Nbd2 g5 9. Nc4 Bxf3 10. Qxf3
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 54% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 53% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 616K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.3M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.1M | |
| 2200 and up | 256K | |
| Masters, over the board | 8,319 |
Master games
- Kamsky, G. – Carlsen, M.
- Firouzja, A. – Carlsen, M.
- Nakamura, H. – So, W.
- Nakamura, H. – Ivanchuk, V.
- Nakamura, H. – Aronian, L.
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 26, 2026
Overview
Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, Normal Variation (ECO C69, 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. O-O (5 moves).
In 2,085,462 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.9%, Black 43.3% and 5.9% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…Bd6, in 36% of those games.
It branches into 4 named variations; the most played are Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, King's Bishop Variation and Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, Gligoric 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, Normal Variation
5…Bg4 scores best for Black: 49.2%, with Black winning 46.3% and White 47.9% of 715K games. The most played answer, 5…Bd6, scores lowest: 42.6% in 751K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 5…Bg4.
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, Normal Variation is played less than half as often as in 2016: 0.061% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.13%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.13% | 46,346 |
| 2017 | 0.13% | 73,013 |
| 2018 | 0.12% | 95,191 |
| 2019 | 0.11% | 132,013 |
| 2020 | 0.097% | 284,517 |
| 2021 | 0.081% | 317,996 |
| 2022 | 0.078% | 291,752 |
| 2023 | 0.075% | 281,036 |
| 2024 | 0.069% | 247,012 |
| 2025 | 0.061% | 213,174 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.062% | 67,523 |
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 (4)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, Normal Variation (C69)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-exchange-variation-normal-variation