Rubinstein Opening: Classical Defense
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 c5 4. Bd3 d5 5. b3 Nc6 6. O-O Be7 7. Bb2 O-O
The Rubinstein Opening: Classical Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO D05, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 c5 4. Bd3 d5 5. b3 Nc6 6. O-O Be7 7. Bb2 O-O. It is a line of the Rubinstein Opening. White is to move.
This exact move order didn't appear in our sample of 12.6 million Lichess games: it's a rare line.
Engine evaluation: +0.06 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 8. Nbd2 b6 9. Ne5 Bb7 10. Nxc6 Bxc6)
- ECO
- D05
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/pp2bppp/2n1pn2/2pp4/3P4/1P1BPN2/PBP2PPP/RN1Q1RK1 w - - 5 8- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 c5 4. Bd3 d5 5. b3 Nc6 6. O-O Be7 7. Bb2 O-O
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Master games
8 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 25%, draw 0%, Black 75%). The strongest:
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2808) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2769) 0-1 · GCT Blitz Paris 2018 · 2018-06-24
- IM Gustavo Kanefsck (2358) – GM Krikor Sevag Mekhitarian (2503) 0-1 · 7th Americas Continental 2012 · 2012-10-17
- IM Mai Narva (2415) – FM Liwia Jarocka (2267) 0-1 · Swiss Queens Wed #40 2024 · 2024-10-30
- WGM Nguyen Thi Mai Hung (2254) – WFM Anastasia Dubnikova (2197) 0-1 · Women's Speed Chess Q1 · 2021-05-28
- Jens Hartung-Nielsen (2241) – Kresten Skytte Hagen (2186) 1-0 · TCh-DEN XtraCon 2012-13 · 2013-01-12
Search all games of the Rubinstein Opening: Classical Defense and its sub-variations
Comes from
Rubinstein Opening 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 c5 4. Bd3 d5 5. b3
More Rubinstein Opening lines (all)
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.