Ruy Lopez: Closed, Zaitsev System
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 Re8
The Ruy Lopez: Closed, Zaitsev System 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 Re8. 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 12 times by this move order. White won 58%, 0% were drawn and Black won 42%. The most popular continuation is 10. d4 (75% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.29 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 10. Ng5 Rf8 11. d4 Bb7 12. Nf3 Re8)
- ECO
- C92
- Moves
- 18 plies
- FEN
r1bqr1k1/2p1bppp/p1np1n2/1p2p3/4P3/1BP2N1P/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 Re8
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 2 | |
| 2000+ | 10 | |
| All | 12 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 10. d4 | 9 (75%) | |
| 10. a4 | 1 (8%) | |
| 10. Ng5 | 1 (8%) | |
| 10. d3 | 1 (8%) |
Master games
579 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 25%, draw 59%, Black 16%). The strongest:
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2780) – GM Liren Ding (2801) 1-0 · 11th London Classic 2019 · 2019-12-08
- GM Anish Giri (2798) – GM Liren Ding (2782) 1/2-1/2 · 8th Grand Slam Masters · 2015-10-31
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2819) – GM Peter Svidler (2751) 1/2-1/2 · 4th Sinquefield Cup 2016 · 2016-08-08
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2807) – GM Liren Ding (2755) 1/2-1/2 · 4th Sinquefield Cup 2016 · 2016-08-12
- GM Viswanathan Anand (2757) – GM Liren Ding (2801) 1/2-1/2 · Tata Steel India Blitz · 2019-11-26
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Closed, Zaitsev System and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- smhx9 (2569) – GM second_life (2504) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- Mohikanac (2481) – GM second_life (2509) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
- e4e5bc4bc5 (2507) – RubinsteinZR (2418) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
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.