Caissa Codex
C80

Ruy Lopez: Open 5…Nxe4 6. d4

Chess diagram: Ruy Lopez: Open after 6. d4

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Statistics from Lichess

238,122 games: White 48.1% / Draw 7.5% / Black 44.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
168,309168K
Riga Variation 33,77034K
16,13216K
10,42810K
2,7252,725
2,0932,093
1,3351,335
1,1691,169

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 2, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.36 White is slightly better

Best play: 6... Be7 7. Re1 b5 8. Rxe4 d5 9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. Bxb5+ axb5 11. Rxe5

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 worse this line does for White: White scores 66% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 57% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 24K
1400–1799 56K
1800–2199 128K
2200 and up 78K
Masters, over the board 7,605

Master games

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: Open (ECO C80, Open Games) is a variation of the Ruy Lopez: Open, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 (6 moves).

In 238,122 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.1%, Black 44.4% and 7.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 6…b5, in 71% of those games.

It branches into 5 named variations; the most played are Ruy Lopez: Open, Riga Variation and Ruy Lopez: Open, Classical Defense, Main Line. In all, 29 named lines continue from it.

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How to answer 6. d4

6…Be7 scores best for Black: 50.1%, with Black winning 45.8% and White 45.6% of 16K games. The most played answer, 6…b5, scores lowest: 49.1% in 168K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 6…Be7.

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

This line has lost ground since 2016: 0.0083% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.011% (its peak: 0.013% in 2018).

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.011%3,987
20170.012%6,791
20180.013%10,545
20190.011%14,028
20200.01%30,332
20210.0086%33,820
20220.009%33,854
20230.0087%32,575
20240.0083%29,812
20250.0083%28,921
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.0081%8,929

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 (5)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 6. d4, the position after Ruy Lopez: Open also goes on to:

Transpositions

This position is also reached from these lines, by another move order:

All 29 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Open (C80)”. Lichess data as of 2 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-open-2

https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-open-2