Ruy Lopez: Closed, Karpov 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 Nd7
The Ruy Lopez: Closed, Karpov Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C92, 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 Nd7. 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 9 times by this move order. White won 22%, 11% were drawn and Black won 67%. The most popular continuation is 10. d4 (89% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.53 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 10. d4 Nb6 11. Be3 Bf6 12. Nbd2 Na5)
- ECO
- C92
- Moves
- 18 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/2pnbppp/p1np4/1p2p3/4P3/1BP2N1P/PP1P1PP1/RNBQR1K1 w - - 1 10- 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 Nd7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 8 | |
| All | 9 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 10. d4 | 8 (89%) | |
| 10. a4 | 1 (11%) |
Master games
304 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 27%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- KomodoDragon 3.2 (3587) – Stockfish dev-20230903-b25d68f6 (3666) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 25 Premier 2023 · 2023-09-06
- Stockfish dev-20230903-b25d68f6 (3666) – KomodoDragon 3.2 (3587) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 25 Premier 2023 · 2023-09-06
- LCZero 0.30-dag-9a9c42d_784968 (3599) – Stockfish dev16_20221027 (3625) 1-0 · TCEC 23 Superfinal 2022 · 2022-11-13
- Stockfish dev16_20221027 (3625) – LCZero 0.30-dag-9a9c42d_784968 (3599) 1-0 · TCEC 23 Superfinal 2022 · 2022-11-13
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2828) – GM B. Adhiban (2689) 1-0 · PRO League Group Stage · 2019-02-20
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Closed, Karpov Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Dxf7 (2430) – MMM1965 (2430) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 300 + 0s
- GabsChess17 (2206) – Povalm (2338) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- LeonidSmirnov (2280) – Oakenshield1983 (2204) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Closed (8… O-O 9. h3) 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
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.