Ruy Lopez: Closed, Delayed Exchange
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Bxc6
The Ruy Lopez: Closed, Delayed Exchange is a chess opening classified as ECO C85, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Bxc6. It is a line of the Ruy Lopez. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 156 times by this move order. White won 51%, 13% were drawn and Black won 36%. The most popular continuation is 6… dxc6 (93% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 42; best line 6… dxc6 7. d3 Nd7 8. Nc3 O-O 9. a4)
- ECO
- C85
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/1pppbppp/p1B2n2/4p3/4P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQ1RK1 b kq - 0 6- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Bxc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 10 | |
| 1500-1999 | 52 | |
| 2000+ | 94 | |
| All | 156 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… dxc6 | 145 (93%) | |
| 6… bxc6 | 10 (6%) | |
| 6… b5 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
1,538 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 40%, draw 33%, Black 27%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2870) – GM Liren Ding (2801) 0-1 · Tata Steel India Blitz · 2019-11-25
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2789) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2839) 0-1 · Clutch Chess: Champions · 2025-10-29
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2776) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2837) 1/2-1/2 · 13th Norway Chess 2025 · 2025-05-31
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2795) – GM Liren Ding (2788) 1/2-1/2 · WCh 2023 · 2023-04-09
- GM Anish Giri (2763) – GM Liren Ding (2805) 1-0 · FIDE Candidates 2020 · 2021-04-23
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Closed, Delayed Exchange and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GladiatorDefence (2802) – GM cutemouse83 (2917) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- GM sillyMASTER (2850) – NM Andrey11976 (2813) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- GladiatorDefence (2783) – kuhmft (2862) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Closed (5. O-O Be7) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7
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.