C63

Ruy Lopez: Schliemann Defense, Exchange Variation

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Statistics from Lichess

378,227 games: White 40.9% / Draw 5.1% / Black 54.0%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	327,638328K
	46,26846K
	3,4163,416
	790790
	4141
	2020
	1515
	1111

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 25, 2026

Engine evaluation

0.00 The position is about equal

Best play: 4... dxc6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. exf5 e4 7. Ng5 Bxf5 8. O-O Be7 9. Qe2

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 51% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	110K
1400–1799	234K
1800–2199	220K
2200 and up	28K
Masters, over the board	197

Master games

Milos, G. – Carlsen, M. ½–½, 2014
Vallejo Pons, F. – Aronian, L. 0–1, 2007
Pavlovic, M. – Sokolov, I. ½–½, 2009
Zinchenko, Y. – Khalifman, A. ½–½, 2009
Landenbergue, C. – Sokolov, I. ½–½, 1994

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: Schliemann Defense, Exchange Variation (ECO C63, Open Games) is a variation of the Ruy Lopez: Schliemann Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 f5 4. Bxc6 (4 moves).

In 378,227 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 40.9%, Black 54.0% and 5.1% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…dxc6, in 87% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the Ruy Lopez: Schliemann Defense, Exchange Variation

The most played answer, 4…dxc6, also scores best for Black: 58.2%, with Black winning 55.5% and White 39.2% of 328K games. Of the main answers, 4…bxc6 scores lowest: 47.1%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4…dxc6.

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

The Ruy Lopez: Schliemann Defense, Exchange Variation dipped to 0.011% of Lichess games in 2021 and has recovered since: 0.016% in 2025.

0.016%0.016%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.016%	5,771
2017	0.018%	9,938
2018	0.017%	13,534
2019	0.015%	19,013
2020	0.012%	35,799
2021	0.011%	43,313
2022	0.014%	51,261
2023	0.016%	60,824
2024	0.016%	57,989
2025	0.016%	56,289
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.016%	17,681

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

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Schliemann Defense, Exchange Variation (C63)”. Lichess data as of 25 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-schliemann-defense-exchange-variation