Rubinstein Opening
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 c5 4. Bd3 d5 5. b3
The Rubinstein Opening is a chess opening classified as ECO D05, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 c5 4. Bd3 d5 5. b3. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 46 times by this move order. White won 43%, 7% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 5… Nc6 (39% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 5… cxd4 6. exd4 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. Qe2)
- ECO
- D05
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pp3ppp/4pn2/2pp4/3P4/1P1BPN2/P1P2PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 c5 4. Bd3 d5 5. b3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 19 | |
| 2000+ | 27 | |
| All | 46 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… Nc6 | 18 (39%) | |
| 5… Be7 | 6 (13%) | |
| 5… a6 | 5 (11%) | |
| 5… cxd4 | 4 (9%) | |
| 5… Bd7 | 4 (9%) | |
| 5… b6 | 2 (4%) | |
| 5… Bd6 | 2 (4%) | |
| 5… Qc7 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
247 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 30%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2800) – GM So, W. (2812) 1/2-1/2 · GCT Blitz Paris 2017 · 2017-06-24
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2759) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2847) 1/2-1/2 · Magnus Carlsen Inv Prelim · 2021-03-13
- GM Chithambaram VR. Aravindh (2698) – GM Vladislav Artemiev (2701) 0-1 · 10th Gashimov Mem Blitz · 2024-09-28
- GM Leinier Dominguez Perez (2763) – GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2608) 1/2-1/2 · Chess24 Banter Blitz Cup · 2020-03-24
- GM Leon Luke Mendonca (2640) – GM Dmitry Andreikin (2729) 1/2-1/2 · Chess.com Classic Play-In · 2024-05-08
Search all games of the Rubinstein Opening and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Nakaruananas (2645) – Tactic_Turtle (2551) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- vasilalex (2506) – VoinTeka (2518) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
- CM gus_fring (2449) – IM www68 (2522) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Yusupov-Rubinstein System 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3
Continuations
- Rubinstein Opening: Bogoljubow Defense D05 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 c5 4. Bd3 d5 5. b3 Nc6 6. O-O Bd6 7. Bb2 O-O
- Rubinstein Opening: Classical Defense D05 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 c5 4. Bd3 d5 5. b3 Nc6 6. O-O Be7 7. Bb2 O-O
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.