Ruy Lopez: Closed, Worrall Attack
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Qe2
The Ruy Lopez: Closed, Worrall Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO C86, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Qe2. It is a line of the Ruy Lopez. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 31 times by this move order. White won 61%, 10% were drawn and Black won 29%. The most popular continuation is 6… b5 (90% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.04 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 6… b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. d3 d6 9. a4)
- ECO
- C86
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/1pppbppp/p1n2n2/4p3/B3P3/5N2/PPPPQPPP/RNB2RK1 b kq - 5 6- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Qe2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 12 | |
| 2000+ | 18 | |
| All | 31 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… b5 | 28 (90%) | |
| 6… d6 | 2 (6%) | |
| 6… O-O | 1 (3%) |
Master games
30 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 37%, draw 20%, Black 43%). The strongest:
- GM Narayanan S L (2647) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2831) 0-1 · Tata Steel India Rapid · 2024-11-14
- GM Vladimir Baklan (2655) – IM Pierre Bailet (2484) 0-1 · Sunway Sitges Open 2014 · 2014-12-15
- GM Robert Hess (2579) – GM Alexander Ivanov (2524) 1/2-1/2 · US Chess League 2013 · 2013-10-29
- IM Bortnik, N. (2433) – IM Bogdanovich, S. (2588) 0-1 · Mukachevo Summer · 2016-07-01
- GM Toms Kantans (2513) – IM Maciej Klekowski (2506) 1/2-1/2 · Katowice Festival GM 2019 · 2019-04-09
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Closed, Worrall Attack and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- orhanilu (2551) – siete7729 (2562) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- smitty77 (2357) – marsa29 (2377) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- smitty77 (2354) – AMMEXAILA (2349) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
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
Continuations
- Ruy Lopez: Closed, Worrall Attack, Castling Line (7. Bb3 O-O) C86 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Qe2 b5 7. Bb3 O-O
- Ruy Lopez: Closed, Worrall Attack, Delayed Castling Line C86 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Qe2 b5 7. Bb3 d6
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.