Ruy Lopez: Open, Classical Defense 10. c3 Be7
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Statistics from Lichess
16,223 games: White 47.7% / Draw 10.4% / Black 41.9%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 14,51715K | ||
| 824824 | ||
| 520520 | ||
| 239239 | ||
| 6565 | ||
| 5353 | ||
| 22 | ||
| 11 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.23 The position is about equal
Best play: 11. Bc2 d4 12. Nb3 d3 13. Bb1 Nxb3 14. axb3 Bf5 15. b4 O-O
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
Ruy Lopez: Open, Classical Defense (ECO C83, Open Games) is a variation of the Ruy Lopez: Open, Bernstein Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Nbd2 Nc5 10. c3 Be7 (10 moves).
In 16,223 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.7%, Black 41.9% and 10.4% were drawn. White's most played move here is 11. Bc2, in 89% of those games.
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How to answer 10…Be7
The most played answer, 11. Bc2, also scores best for White: 53.1%, with White winning 47.8% and Black 41.7% of 15K games. Of the main answers, 11. Re1 scores lowest: 51.8%. Stockfish's first choice is also 11. Bc2.
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Open, Classical Defense (C83)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-open-classical-defense-2