Caissa Codex
C80

Ruy Lopez: Open, Knorre Variation

Chess diagram: Ruy Lopez: Open, Knorre Variation after 6. Nc3

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Statistics from Lichess

173 games: White 38.7% / Draw 2.3% / Black 59.0%

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Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
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Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 4, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.44 Black is slightly better

Best play: 6... Nxc3 7. bxc3 Be7 8. Bxc6 dxc6 9. Nxe5 Be6 10. Re1 O-O 11. d3

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

Overview

Ruy Lopez: Open, Knorre Variation (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. Nc3 (6 moves).

In 173 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 38.7%, Black 59.0% and 2.3% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 6…Nxc3, in 73% of those games.

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Other lines from the same position

Instead of 6. Nc3, the position after Ruy Lopez: Open also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Open, Knorre Variation (C80)”. Lichess data as of 4 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-open-knorre-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-open-knorre-variation