Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, Alapin Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O Bg4 6. h3 h5
The Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, Alapin Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C69, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O Bg4 6. h3 h5. 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 407 times by this move order. White won 47%, 4% were drawn and Black won 49%. The most popular continuation is 7. d3 (71% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.01 (Stockfish, depth 69; best line 7. d3 Qf6 8. Nbd2 Ne7 9. Re1 Ng6)
- ECO
- C69
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
r2qkbnr/1pp2pp1/p1p5/4p2p/4P1b1/5N1P/PPPP1PP1/RNBQ1RK1 w kq - 0 7- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O Bg4 6. h3 h5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 28 | |
| 1500-1999 | 191 | |
| 2000+ | 188 | |
| All | 407 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. d3 | 291 (71%) | |
| 7. hxg4 | 45 (11%) | |
| 7. d4 | 20 (5%) | |
| 7. Re1 | 20 (5%) | |
| 7. c3 | 16 (4%) | |
| 7. Nc3 | 12 (3%) | |
| 7. Qe2 | 2 (0%) | |
| 7. b3 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
1,381 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 34%, draw 44%, Black 22%). The strongest:
- GM Rauf Mamedov (2709) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2799) 1/2-1/2 · 2nd IMSA Blitz 2017 · 2017-12-13
- GM Teimour Radjabov (2734) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2765) 1/2-1/2 · SportAccord Blitz 2014 · 2014-12-13
- GM Jon Ludvig Hammer (2677) – GM Levon Aronian (2780) 0-1 · 3rd Norway Blitz 2015 · 2015-06-15
- GM Richard Rapport (2717) – GM Vincent Keymer (2738) 1/2-1/2 · 6th Prague Masters 2024 · 2024-03-01
- GM Dragan Solak (2641) – GM Liren Ding (2783) 1/2-1/2 · 11th World Teams 2017 · 2017-06-21
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, Alapin Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- winx_m (2947) – Chess1Love0 (2798) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- IM liczner (2723) – Chess1Love0 (2799) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- IM liczner (2733) – IM MassterofMayhem (2648) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, Normal Variation 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. 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.