Ruy Lopez: Alapin Defense, Alapin Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bb4 4. c3 Ba5 5. Bxc6 dxc6
The Ruy Lopez: Alapin Defense, Alapin Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C60, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bb4 4. c3 Ba5 5. Bxc6 dxc6. It is a line of the Ruy Lopez. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 13 times by this move order. White won 62%, 15% were drawn and Black won 23%. The most popular continuation is 6. Nxe5 (54% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.57 (Stockfish, depth 34; best line 6. O-O Bg4 7. a4 Bb6 8. a5 Bc5)
- ECO
- C60
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/ppp2ppp/2p5/b3p3/4P3/2P2N2/PP1P1PPP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 0 6- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bb4 4. c3 Ba5 5. Bxc6 dxc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 7 | |
| 1500-1999 | 4 | |
| 2000+ | 2 | |
| All | 13 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. Nxe5 | 7 (54%) | |
| 6. O-O | 3 (23%) | |
| 6. b4 | 1 (8%) | |
| 6. d4 | 1 (8%) | |
| 6. d3 | 1 (8%) |
Master games
3 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 33%, draw 0%, Black 67%). The strongest:
- Thomas Claudius Thomsen (1780) – IM Mark A Berkovich (2326) 0-1 · Gran Canaria Online Blitz · 2021-02-16
- Aleksander Jankowski (1825) – Pawel Podzorski (1781) 0-1 · Ustron Open A 2024 · 2024-08-11
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Alapin Defense, Alapin Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Kazdyden10 (2430) – EYTHBHDTR (2366) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- Karen1303 (2219) – Pafku (2158) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- qeehQtbRO (1850) – mg56master (1814) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-02 · 600 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Alapin Defense 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bb4
More Ruy Lopez lines (all)
- Ruy Lopez C60
- Ruy Lopez: Brentano Gambit C60
- Ruy Lopez: Bulgarian Variation C60
- Ruy Lopez: Cozio Defense C60
- Ruy Lopez: Cozio Defense, Paulsen Variation C60
- Ruy Lopez: Cozio Defense, Tartakower Gambit C60
- Ruy Lopez: Fianchetto Defense C60
- Ruy Lopez: Fianchetto Defense, Kevitz Gambit C60
- Ruy Lopez: Lucena Variation C60
- Ruy Lopez: Nürnberg Variation C60
- Ruy Lopez: Pollock Defense C60
- Ruy Lopez: Retreat Variation C60
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.