Ruy Lopez: Closed, Lutikov 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. Bc2
The Ruy Lopez: Closed, Lutikov Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C90, 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. Bc2. 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 1 times by this move order. White won 100%, 0% were drawn and Black won 0%. The most popular continuation is 9… h6 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.04 (Stockfish, depth 32; best line 9… d5 10. d4 Nxe4 11. Nxe5 Nxe5 12. dxe5)
- ECO
- C90
- Moves
- 17 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/2p1bppp/p1np1n2/1p2p3/4P3/2P2N2/PPBP1PPP/RNBQR1K1 b - - 2 9- 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. Bc2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 1 | |
| All | 1 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 9… h6 | 1 (100%) |
Master games
2 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 0%, draw 100%, Black 0%). The strongest:
- GM Alexander Cherniaev (2333) – GM Alexey Khruschiov (2274) 1/2-1/2 · Ivi GP Chess 2024 · 2024-10-07
- Emir Rusyaidi Ahmad Nazari (1990) – Zaidan Zulkipli (2168) 1/2-1/2 · 1st Friday Masters March · 2018-03-07
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Closed, Lutikov Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- KingFisher3300 (2006) – lajewitsch (2025) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 600 + 5s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Closed (8. c3 O-O) 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
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.