Ruy Lopez: Open
The Open Defence of the Ruy Lopez, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4, takes the e4-pawn: Black tries to use the time White needs to regain it to establish a foothold in the centre. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
462,225 games: White 46.9% / Draw 7.0% / Black 46.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 229,357229K | ||
| 206,401206K | ||
| 16,21516K | ||
| Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Tartakower Variation | 4,9414,941 | |
| 2,0112,011 | ||
| 1,5681,568 | ||
| 1,2431,243 | ||
| Knorre Variation | 171171 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 21, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.16 The position is about equal
Best play: 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Nbd2 Nc5 10. c3 d4
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 Black: Black scores 39% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 44% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 105K | |
| 1400–1799 | 173K | |
| 1800–2199 | 262K | |
| 2200 and up | 109K | |
| Masters, over the board | 7,720 |
Master games
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
- Vachier Lagrave, M. – Carlsen, M.
- Vachier Lagrave, M. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Kasparov, G. – Kramnik, 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
Description
The Open Defence of the Ruy Lopez, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4, takes the e4-pawn: Black tries to use the time White needs to regain it to establish a foothold in the centre. Its ECO codes are C80–C83.
The idea
Play usually continues 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 (main line). 8.dxe5 attacks the d5-pawn with two pieces, all but forcing 8...Be6, the only way both to defend the pawn and to develop a new piece. White then has a variety of ninth moves, including 9.c3, 9.Be3, 9.Qe2 and 9.Nbd2.
Main lines
- 9.c3 (the Classical Variation): Black chooses between the traditional 9...Be7 (the Classical Defense in this database) and the more aggressive 9...Bc5 (the Italian Variation), after which 10.Nbd2 O-O 11.Bc2 is White's most common line. Black must meet the attack on e4: 11...f5 and 11...Bf5 aim to keep the strongpoint on e4, or Black can play the forcing 11...Nxf2, the Dilworth Variation, introduced by the English amateur Vernon Dilworth. After 12.Rxf2 f6 13.exf6 Bxf2+ 14.Kxf2 Qxf6 it has scored well for Black, with many traps for an ill-prepared opponent; the main line leads to unbalanced endgames with a strong drawing tendency. Artur Yusupov is one of the few grandmasters who has adopted the Dilworth repeatedly.
- 9.Nbd2, the Bernstein Variation, was Anatoly Karpov's preferred move. In his 1978 World Championship match against Viktor Korchnoi, after 9...Nc5 10.c3 d4, Karpov introduced the surprising 11.Ng5!?, suggested by his trainer Igor Zaitsev; if 11...Qxg5, White regains the material with 12.Qf3. The line played a decisive role in the 1995 World Championship match between Garry Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand, when Anand was unable to defend it successfully as Black.
- 9.Qe2, the Howell Attack, aims for play against d5 after Rd1. Paul Keres played it against Max Euwe and Samuel Reshevsky at the 1948 World Championship tournament.
- 6...exd4, the Riga Variation, is considered inferior: its main line leads to an endgame that is considered to favour White, as in the famous game Capablanca–Edward Lasker, New York 1915.
Famous games
After 9.c3 Bc5 10.Nbd2 O-O 11.Bc2 f5 12.Nb3 Bb6 13.Nfd4 Nxd4 14.Nxd4 Bxd4, the sharp La Grande Variation, 15.cxd4 f4, has unclear consequences. Perhaps the most famous game in it is Smyslov–Reshevsky from the 1945 USSR–USA radio match. An analysis of the line had just been published in a Russian chess magazine; Smyslov followed it and quickly obtained a winning position, while Reshevsky, who had not seen it, struggled in vain to solve the position over the board.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- Black gets active piece play and a foothold in the centre.
- The Dilworth has scored well for Black and sets many traps.
Weaknesses
- The d5-pawn often needs defending.
- Some lines, such as the Riga Variation, are considered inferior.
Who should play it
The Open Defence suits Black players who prefer active piece play and concrete lines to the slow manoeuvring of the Closed Defence.
The numbers
In 462,225 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 and 2500, White won 46.9%, Black 46.2%, and 7.0% were drawn. The results change sharply with rating: White wins 59.7% against 37.3% under 1400 and 57.2% against 38.9% at 1400–1799, while Black is ahead at 1800–2199, 47.7% against 45.6%, and from 2200 up, 46.7% against 43.5%. In about 7,700 master games 55.5% were drawn, White won 28.6% and Black 15.9%.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Ruy Lopez: Open
The most played answer, 6. d4, also scores best for White: 51.6%, with White winning 47.7% and Black 44.6% of 229K games. Of the main answers, 6. Re1 scores lowest: 49.0%. 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: Open has lost ground since 2016: 0.016% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.022% (its peak: 0.025% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.022% | 7,881 |
| 2017 | 0.024% | 13,400 |
| 2018 | 0.025% | 19,795 |
| 2019 | 0.022% | 27,267 |
| 2020 | 0.02% | 57,733 |
| 2021 | 0.017% | 66,852 |
| 2022 | 0.017% | 65,188 |
| 2023 | 0.017% | 63,779 |
| 2024 | 0.016% | 58,860 |
| 2025 | 0.016% | 55,768 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.016% | 17,208 |
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)
All 33 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- C80 Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Tartakower Variation 6 moves
- C80 Open 6 moves
- C80 Knorre Variation 6 moves
- C80 Skipworth Gambit 6 moves
- C80 Open 7 moves
- C83 Classical Defense, Main Line 10 moves
- C80 Friess Attack 7 moves
- C80 Richter Variation 7 moves
- C80 Riga Variation 6 moves
- C80 Open 8 moves
- C80 Harksen Gambit 8 moves
- C80 Schlechter Defense 8 moves
- C80 Ruy Lopez: Open, Berger Variation 10 moves
- C80 Main Line 8 moves
- C80 Zukertort Variation 8 moves
- C82 Ruy Lopez: Open 9 moves
- C80 Ruy Lopez: Open, Bernstein Variation 9 moves
- C81 Ruy Lopez: Open, Howell Attack 9 moves
- C82 Berlin Variation 9 moves
- C80 Luther Line 10 moves
- C83 Ruy Lopez: Open, Classical Defense 10 moves
- C83 Classical Defense 9 moves
- C81 Howell Attack 10 moves
- C81 Ekstrom Variation 12 moves
- C82 Italian Variation 9 moves
- C80 Ruy Lopez: Open, Karpov Gambit 11 moves
- C83 Ruy Lopez: Open, Breslau Variation 11 moves
- C83 Ruy Lopez: Open, Malkin Variation 11 moves
- C82 Ruy Lopez: Open, Motzko Attack 10 moves
- C82 Ruy Lopez: Open, St. Petersburg Variation 10 moves
- C83 Ruy Lopez: Open, Tarrasch Trap 13 moves
- C82 Ruy Lopez: Open, Dilworth Variation 11 moves
- C82 Nenarokov Variation 10 moves
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Ruy Lopez, version of 26 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Open (C80)”. Lichess data as of 21 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-open