Ruy Lopez: Classical Variation, Central Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bc5 4. c3
The Ruy Lopez: Classical Variation, Central Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C64, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bc5 4. c3. It is a line of the Ruy Lopez. Black is to move. 4 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 7,186 times by this move order. White won 54%, 4% were drawn and Black won 42%. The most popular continuation is 4… Nf6 (29% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.34 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 4… Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. e5 Nd5 7. cxd4)
- ECO
- C64
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/pppp1ppp/2n5/1Bb1p3/4P3/2P2N2/PP1P1PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bc5 4. c3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,771 | |
| 1500-1999 | 4,364 | |
| 2000+ | 1,051 | |
| All | 7,186 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Nf6 | 2,058 (29%) | |
| 4… d6 | 1,942 (27%) | |
| 4… a6 | 1,365 (19%) | |
| 4… Nge7 | 1,033 (14%) | |
| 4… Qf6 | 305 (4%) | |
| 4… Bb6 Classical Variation, Charousek Variation | 112 (2%) | |
| 4… Qe7 Classical Defense, Boden Variation | 87 (1%) | |
| 4… f5 Classical Variation, Cordel Gambit | 72 (1%) |
Master games
727 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 52%, draw 22%, Black 26%). The strongest:
- GM Viswanathan Anand (2753) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) 1/2-1/2 · Legends of Chess Prelim · 2020-07-22
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2804) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2782) 1-0 · 13th Norway Armageddon · 2025-06-05
- GM Yi Wei (2758) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2782) 0-1 · 13th Norway Armageddon · 2025-05-26
- GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2730) – GM Anish Giri (2780) 0-1 · chess.com Speed 2019 · 2019-09-06
- GM Viswanathan Anand (2779) – GM Francisco Vallejo Pons (2711) 1-0 · World Rapid 2016 · 2016-12-26
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Classical Variation, Central Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- puziko52 (2695) – IM filolog (2718) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- SouthWind06 (2602) – IM filolog (2707) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- Master1970 (2724) – IM Angelicanmade (2575) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Classical Variation 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bc5
Continuations
- Ruy Lopez: Classical Defense, Boden Variation C64 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bc5 4. c3 Qe7
- Ruy Lopez: Classical Variation, Charousek Variation C64 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bc5 4. c3 Bb6
- Ruy Lopez: Classical Variation, Cordel Gambit C64 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bc5 4. c3 f5
- Ruy Lopez: Classical Variation, Konikowski Gambit C64 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bc5 4. c3 d5
More Ruy Lopez lines (all)
- Ruy Lopez C60
- Ruy Lopez: Alapin Defense C60
- Ruy Lopez: Alapin Defense, Alapin Gambit 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
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.