Ruy Lopez: Lucena Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Be7
The Ruy Lopez: Lucena Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C60, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Be7. 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 524 times by this move order. White won 48%, 5% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 4. O-O (37% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.46 (Stockfish, depth 42; best line 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. O-O Bd6 6. Re1 O-O)
- ECO
- C60
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/ppppbppp/2n5/1B2p3/4P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 4 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Be7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 206 | |
| 1500-1999 | 237 | |
| 2000+ | 81 | |
| All | 524 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. O-O | 195 (37%) | |
| 4. Bxc6 | 161 (31%) | |
| 4. c3 | 66 (13%) | |
| 4. Nc3 | 39 (7%) | |
| 4. d3 | 34 (6%) | |
| 4. d4 | 24 (5%) | |
| 4. h3 | 3 (1%) | |
| 4. a3 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
28 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 64%, draw 7%, Black 29%). The strongest:
- GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac (2683) – GM Raunak Sadhwani (2619) 0-1 · Titled Tue 28th Jun Late · 2022-06-28
- GM Dmitry Kokarev (2608) – IM Vladislav Nozdrachev (2485) 1-0 · RUS Rapid GP Serpukhov · 2018-02-24
- IM Filip Haring (2441) – GM Jergus Pechac (2596) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-CZE Extraliga 2023-24 · 2023-10-14
- IM Theo Stijve (2337) – IM Zurab Tqebuchava (2303) 1-0 · Titled Tue 26th Sep Early · 2023-09-26
- IM Leon Mazi (2327) – IM Zurab Tqebuchava (2303) 1-0 · Titled Tue 9th Jan Late · 2024-01-09
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Lucena Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- hierasousse (2592) – ISEECOMPENSATION (2619) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- CM DiverseOpening (2444) – ISEECOMPENSATION (2613) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- sophiaknowthatuandi (2502) – Ismailrekikoss (2432) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5
More Ruy Lopez lines (all)
- 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: Nürnberg Variation C60
- Ruy Lopez: Pollock Defense C60
- Ruy Lopez: Retreat 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.