Ruy Lopez: Open, Italian Variation
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 Bc5
The Ruy Lopez: Open, Italian Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C82, 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 Bc5. It is a line of the Ruy Lopez. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 81 times by this move order. White won 62%, 6% were drawn and Black won 32%. The most popular continuation is 10. Nbd2 (78% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.34 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. Bc2 Nxf2 12. Rxf2 Bxf2+)
- ECO
- C82
- Moves
- 18 plies
- FEN
r2qk2r/2p2ppp/p1n1b3/1pbpP3/4n3/1BP2N2/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 Bc5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 14 | |
| 2000+ | 67 | |
| All | 81 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 10. Nbd2 Open, St. Petersburg Variation | 63 (78%) | |
| 10. Qe2 | 4 (5%) | |
| 10. Qd3 Open, Motzko Attack | 3 (4%) | |
| 10. Bf4 | 3 (4%) | |
| 10. a4 | 3 (4%) | |
| 10. Nd4 | 2 (2%) | |
| 10. Bc2 | 2 (2%) |
Master games
119 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 27%, Black 30%). The strongest:
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2757) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2782) 1/2-1/2 · 2nd UzChess Cup Masters · 2025-06-21
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2760) – GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac (2692) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 30th Apr Early · 2024-04-30
- GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2674) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2770) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 27th Oct · 2020-10-27
- GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2704) – GM Jorden Van Foreest (2714) 1-0 · Chess.com Rapid Wk5 Swiss · 2022-03-12
- GM Sergei Movsesian (2627) – GM Pentala Harikrishna (2719) 0-1 · FIDE Grand Swiss 2021 · 2021-10-30
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Open, Italian Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- TwilightX6M2200Magic (2556) – IM Ural_bogatyr (2595) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- naturedragon99 (2440) – LE_BON_BELGE (2427) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- lsir19985 (2445) – COCOChessman (2360) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 600 + 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, Motzko Attack C82 · 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 Bc5 10. Qd3
- Ruy Lopez: Open, St. Petersburg Variation C82 · 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 Bc5 10. Nbd2
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.