Ruy Lopez: Open, Classical Defense (9. c3 Be7)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Be7
The Ruy Lopez: Open, Classical Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO C83, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Be7. It is a line of the Ruy Lopez. White is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 54 times by this move order. White won 44%, 10% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 10. Nbd2 (80% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.36 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 10. Nbd2 Nc5 11. Bc2 d4 12. Nb3 d3)
- ECO
- C83
- Moves
- 18 plies
- FEN
r2qk2r/2p1bppp/p1n1b3/1p1pP3/4n3/1BP2N2/PP3PPP/RNBQ1RK1 w kq - 1 10- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Be7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2 | |
| 1500-1999 | 16 | |
| 2000+ | 36 | |
| All | 54 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 10. Nbd2 | 43 (80%) | |
| 10. Be3 | 5 (9%) | |
| 10. Re1 | 3 (6%) | |
| 10. Bc2 | 1 (2%) | |
| 10. h3 | 1 (2%) | |
| 10. a4 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
663 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 35%, Black 23%). The strongest:
- LCZero 0.31-dag-e429eeb-BT3-2790000 (3642) – Stockfish dev-20231010-00263636 (3673) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 25 Superfinal 2023 · 2023-10-12
- Stockfish dev-20231010-00263636 (3673) – LCZero 0.31-dag-e429eeb-BT3-2790000 (3642) 1-0 · TCEC 25 Superfinal 2023 · 2023-10-12
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2843) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2808) 1/2-1/2 · 6th Norway Chess 2018 · 2018-06-06
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2789) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2847) 1/2-1/2 · Magnus Carlsen Inv KO · 2021-03-18
- GM Alexander Grischuk (2761) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2800) 1-0 · GCT Rapid Paris 2017 · 2017-06-23
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Open, Classical Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- petergo (2484) – Byvshev22 (2454) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Rikstov88 (2432) – Byvshev22 (2430) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- aram67-shag (2467) – Banjan (2325) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Open (8… Be6 9. c3) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3
Continuations
- Ruy Lopez: Open, Malkin Variation C83 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Be7 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. Qe2
- Ruy Lopez: Open, Breslau Variation C83 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Be7 10. Re1 O-O 11. Nd4 Nxe5
- Ruy Lopez: Open, Tarrasch Trap C83 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Be7 10. Re1 O-O 11. Nd4 Qd7 12. Nxe6 fxe6 13. Rxe4
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.