Ruy Lopez: Marshall Attack, Steiner Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 9. exd5 e4
The Ruy Lopez: Marshall Attack, Steiner Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C89, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 9. exd5 e4. 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 43 times by this move order. White won 30%, 0% were drawn and Black won 70%. The most popular continuation is 10. dxc6 (77% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.13 (Stockfish, depth 32; best line 10. dxc6 exf3 11. g3 Bg4 12. d4 Re8)
- ECO
- C89
- Moves
- 18 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/2p1bppp/p1n2n2/1p1P4/4p3/1BP2N2/PP1P1PPP/RNBQR1K1 w - - 0 10- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 9. exd5 e4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 18 | |
| 2000+ | 24 | |
| All | 43 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 10. dxc6 | 33 (77%) | |
| 10. Ng5 | 6 (14%) | |
| 10. Nd4 | 1 (2%) | |
| 10. d3 | 1 (2%) | |
| 10. Rxe4 | 1 (2%) | |
| 10. Ne5 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
23 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 30%, draw 31%, Black 39%). The strongest:
- IM Bogdanovich, S. (2515) – GM Kozakov, M. (2481) 1-0 · Mukachevo Summer Open · 2012-06-28
- IM Babaev, T. (2405) – GM Sarunas Sulskis (2567) 1-0 · Nakhchivan Open A 2013 · 2013-05-01
- IM Mukhiddin Madaminov (2533) – IM Mohamed Ezat (2307) 1-0 · Titled Tue 20th Aug Late · 2024-08-20
- IM Khazar Babazada (2460) – IM Vahe Danielyan (2346) 1/2-1/2 · AimChess Rapid Play-In · 2023-06-12
- FM Maksim Tsaruk (2302) – FM Semen Mitusov (2306) 0-1 · BLR-UKR U16 Team Battle · 2020-06-03
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Marshall Attack, Steiner Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- ponysaltarin (2292) – donidali (2293) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
- RafinhaGOD (2214) – MorbMorb (2273) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- tardigrafo (2168) – TomoaNarasakiFan (2246) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Marshall Attack (8. c3 d5) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5
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.