Ruy Lopez: Exchange, Alekhine Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. d4 exd4 6. Qxd4 Qxd4 7. Nxd4 Bd7
The Ruy Lopez: Exchange, Alekhine Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C68, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. d4 exd4 6. Qxd4 Qxd4 7. Nxd4 Bd7. 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 180 times by this move order. White won 41%, 12% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 8. Be3 (39% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.16 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 8. f3 O-O-O 9. Nc3 Re8 10. Kf2 b6)
- ECO
- C68
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
r3kbnr/1ppb1ppp/p1p5/8/3NP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNB1K2R w KQkq - 1 8- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. d4 exd4 6. Qxd4 Qxd4 7. Nxd4 Bd7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 8 | |
| 1500-1999 | 41 | |
| 2000+ | 131 | |
| All | 180 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. Be3 | 71 (39%) | |
| 8. Nc3 | 60 (33%) | |
| 8. O-O | 23 (13%) | |
| 8. Bf4 | 14 (8%) | |
| 8. Bg5 | 5 (3%) | |
| 8. f3 | 3 (2%) | |
| 8. Nb3 | 2 (1%) | |
| 8. h3 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
369 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 23%, draw 38%, Black 39%). The strongest:
- GM Parham Maghsoodloo (2656) – GM Santosh Gujrathi Vidit (2703) 1/2-1/2 · 52nd Biel GM Blitz 2019 · 2019-07-27
- GM Ngoc Truong Son Nguyen (2641) – IM Pablo Glavina (2410) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 25th May · 2021-05-25
- Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (2463) – GM Julio Becerra Rivero (2555) 1-0 · US Chess League 2012 · 2012-09-12
- IM Camilo Ernesto Gomez Garrido (2553) – GM Aramis Alvarez Pedraza (2464) 1/2-1/2 · ch-CUB Absoluto 2016 · 2016-01-28
- IM Jesus Garrido Dominguez (2413) – GM Yannick Gozzoli (2600) 1/2-1/2 · European Online CC GpE · 2021-03-28
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Exchange, Alekhine Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- kasparik_garik (2632) – Zashibeatles_Chess (2666) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- IM nooartur (2572) – Akula_Krakula (2645) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- IM nooartur (2592) – chess_tiger15 (2581) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6
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.