Ruy Lopez: Closed, Pilnik Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. d3 d6 9. c3
The Ruy Lopez: Closed, Pilnik 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 O-O 8. d3 d6 9. c3. 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 47 times by this move order. White won 51%, 6% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 9… Na5 (51% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 9… Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. h3 Re8 12. Nbd2)
- ECO
- C90
- Moves
- 17 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/2p1bppp/p1np1n2/1p2p3/4P3/1BPP1N2/PP3PPP/RNBQR1K1 b - - 0 9- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. d3 d6 9. c3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 9 | |
| 2000+ | 37 | |
| All | 47 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 9… Na5 | 24 (51%) | |
| 9… h6 | 7 (15%) | |
| 9… Bg4 | 5 (11%) | |
| 9… Nb8 | 3 (6%) | |
| 9… Be6 | 3 (6%) | |
| 9… Bb7 | 3 (6%) | |
| 9… Re8 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
302 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 39%, draw 32%, Black 29%). The strongest:
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2785) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2852) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 28th Feb Late · 2023-02-28
- GM Michael Adams (2745) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2829) 1-0 · 6th London Classic 2014 · 2014-12-10
- GM Sanan Sjugirov (2712) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2852) 1-0 · Titled Tue 21st Mar Late · 2023-03-21
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2793) – GM Veselin Topalov (2728) 1/2-1/2 · SuperUnited Blitz 2022 · 2022-07-23
- GM Awonder Liang (2690) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2792) 0-1 · Saint Louis Rapid 2026 · 2026-08-04
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Closed, Pilnik Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- angel4204 (2589) – KM2200 (2541) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- SagarSisodia (2531) – KM2200 (2530) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- bobbystruk (2439) – Gambitsever (2547) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Closed (7. Bb3 O-O) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 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.