Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense (12. Nbd2 Nc6)
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 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Nc6
The Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO C98, 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 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Nc6. It is a line of the Ruy Lopez. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 13 times by this move order. White won 38%, 0% were drawn and Black won 62%. The most popular continuation is 13. d5 (62% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.03 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 13. d5 Na7 14. a4 Rb8 15. Nf1 Bd7)
- ECO
- C98
- Moves
- 24 plies
- FEN
r1b2rk1/2q1bppp/p1np1n2/1pp1p3/3PP3/2P2N1P/PPBN1PP1/R1BQR1K1 w - - 3 13- 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 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Nc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 3 | |
| 2000+ | 10 | |
| All | 13 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 13. d5 | 8 (62%) | |
| 13. Nf1 | 2 (15%) | |
| 13. b3 | 1 (8%) | |
| 13. dxe5 | 1 (8%) | |
| 13. dxc5 Closed, Chigorin Defense (12… Nc6 13. dxc5) | 1 (8%) |
Master games
158 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 37%, Black 22%). The strongest:
- LCZero 0.31-dag-e429eeb-BT3-2790000 (3642) – Stockfish dev-20231010-00263636 (3673) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 25 Superfinal 2023 · 2023-10-12
- Stockfish dev-20231010-00263636 (3673) – LCZero 0.31-dag-e429eeb-BT3-2790000 (3642) 1-0 · TCEC 25 Superfinal 2023 · 2023-10-12
- KomodoDragon 3.2 (3569) – LCZero 0.30-dag-8092b376-BT2-3 (3573) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 24 Premier P/O 2023 · 2023-04-06
- LCZero 0.30-dag-8092b376-BT2-3 (3573) – KomodoDragon 3.2 (3569) 1-0 · TCEC 24 Premier P/O 2023 · 2023-04-06
- Berserk 20230311 (3476) – Stockfish dev-20230308-39da50e (3607) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 24 Premier P/O 2023 · 2023-04-06
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Denccik (2452) – Gromphawk (2480) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- ultra_mega (2396) – Gromphawk (2499) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- aram67-shag (2458) – ikey80 (2350) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense (11. d4 Qc7) 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 Qc7
Continuations
- Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense (12… Nc6 13. dxc5) C98 · 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 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Nc6 13. dxc5
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.