Ruy Lopez: Classical Variation, Zukertort Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Bc5 5. c3
The Ruy Lopez: Classical Variation, Zukertort Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C65, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Bc5 5. c3. It is a line of the Ruy Lopez. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1,699 times by this move order. White won 59%, 4% were drawn and Black won 37%. The most popular continuation is 5… O-O (39% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.25 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 5… O-O 6. d4 Bb6 7. Bg5 d6 8. a4)
- ECO
- C65
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/1Bb1p3/4P3/2P2N2/PP1P1PPP/RNBQ1RK1 b kq - 0 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Bc5 5. c3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 583 | |
| 1500-1999 | 923 | |
| 2000+ | 193 | |
| All | 1,699 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… O-O | 655 (39%) | |
| 5… d6 | 407 (24%) | |
| 5… a6 | 285 (17%) | |
| 5… Nxe4 | 179 (11%) | |
| 5… Bb6 | 46 (3%) | |
| 5… d5 | 32 (2%) | |
| 5… Ng4 | 32 (2%) | |
| 5… Qe7 | 22 (1%) |
Master games
79 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 75%, draw 11%, Black 14%). The strongest:
- GM Rausis, I. (2632) – GM Luke J McShane (2640) 1/2-1/2 · European Blitz 2017 · 2017-12-15
- GM Evgeny Alekseev (2677) – GM Nikolai Kabanov (2496) 1-0 · 65th ch-RUS HL · 2012-06-16
- GM Robin Van Kampen (2606) – GM Winants, L. (2534) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-BEL 2013-14 · 2013-09-22
- IM Thore Perske (2453) – GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2619) 1-0 · Titled Tue 11th Feb Early · 2025-02-11
- CM Damir Bulgak (2204) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2775) 1-0 · Titled Tue 16th Dec 2025 · 2025-12-16
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Classical Variation, Zukertort Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM AdamCollins (2596) – Beth_Harmon1958 (2512) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- sophiaknowthatuandi (2567) – TCromwell (2517) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Chepika8 (2480) – benga77 (2424) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Beverwijk Variation 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Bc5
Continuations
- Ruy Lopez: Classical Defense, Benelux Variation C64 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. d4 Bb6
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.