Ruy Lopez: Closed, Borisenko Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Nc6
The Ruy Lopez: Closed, Borisenko Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C96, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Nc6. 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 3 times by this move order. White won 67%, 0% were drawn and Black won 33%. The most popular continuation is 12. Be3 (33% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.72 (Stockfish, depth 34; best line 12. d5 Na5 13. b3 Qc7 14. Kh2 g6)
- ECO
- C96
- Moves
- 22 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/4bppp/p1np1n2/1pp1p3/3PP3/2P2N1P/PPB2PP1/RNBQR1K1 w - - 1 12- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Nc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 3 | |
| All | 3 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 12. Be3 | 1 (33%) | |
| 12. d5 | 1 (33%) | |
| 12. Nbd2 | 1 (33%) |
Master games
20 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 25%, Black 30%). The strongest:
- WIM Filiz Osmanodja (2299) – IM Boguslavskyy, O. (2435) 1-0 · Bundesliga 2016-17 · 2017-05-01
- Stepan Osinovsky (2241) – FM Valerio Carnicelli (2427) 0-1 · Titled Tue 9th Jan Early · 2024-01-09
- IM Aleksandar Savanovic (2424) – Sham Bratkovic (2207) 1-0 · 17th Spilimbergo Open · 2019-08-10
- Sofiya Krasnokutskaya (2255) – FM Marco Dietmayer-Kraeutler (2328) 1/2-1/2 · 28th Cracovia Open A · 2018-01-03
- FM Aron Pasti (2325) – Zoran S Nikolic (2167) 1-0 · 13th Paracin Summer Open · 2020-07-08
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Closed, Borisenko Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- NewOpeningsCH (2345) – Nikita_Gilyazitdinov (2319) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- Zdenda86 (2135) – nestorcorral (2057) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- SAYMOXXX (2055) – ale805 (1993) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense (10. Bc2 c5) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5
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.