Caissa Codex
C80

Ruy Lopez: Open, Friess Attack

Chess diagram: Ruy Lopez: Open, Friess Attack after 7. Nxe5

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Statistics from Lichess

122 games: White 49.2% / Draw 9.8% / Black 41.0%

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Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
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3131
66
22
11

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

Engine evaluation

−0.24 The position is about equal

Best play: 7... bxa4 8. Qe2 Qh4 9. Nxc6 dxc6 10. f3 Be6 11. Qxe4 Qxe4 12. fxe4

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

Ruy Lopez: Open, Friess Attack (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 b5 7. Nxe5 (7 moves).

In 122 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.2%, Black 41.0% and 9.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…Nxe5, in 67% of those games.

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Other lines from the same position

Instead of 6…b5 7. Nxe5, the position after Ruy Lopez: Open also goes on to:

Cite this page

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

https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-open-friess-attack