Ruy Lopez: Open, Malkin 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 Be7 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. Qe2
The Ruy Lopez: Open, Malkin Variation 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 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. Qe2. It is a line of the Ruy Lopez. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1 times by this move order. White won 0%, 100% were drawn and Black won 0%. The most popular continuation is 11… Nc5 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 11… Nc5 12. Nd4 Qd7 13. Nxc6 Qxc6 14. Bc2)
- ECO
- C83
- Moves
- 21 plies
- FEN
r2q1rk1/2p1bppp/p1n1b3/1p1pP3/4n3/1BP2N2/PP1NQPPP/R1B2RK1 b - - 4 11- 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 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. Qe2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 1 | |
| All | 1 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 11… Nc5 | 1 (100%) |
Master games
10 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 20%, draw 70%, Black 10%). The strongest:
- IM Anastasia Bodnaruk (2456) – GM Anna Muzychuk (2563) 1/2-1/2 · European ACP w Rapid 2018 · 2018-03-30
- IM Mohamed Ezat (2312) – GM Dennis Wagner (2617) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 29th Oct Late · 2024-10-29
- GM Kateryna Lagno (2515) – IM Anna M. Sargsyan (2361) 1/2-1/2 · World Blitz Women 2024 · 2024-12-30
- IM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya (2368) – IM Leya Garifullina (2438) 1/2-1/2 · Swiss Queens Wed #38 2024 · 2024-10-16
- FM Arkadiusz Skawinski (2340) – IM Petro Golubka (2407) 1/2-1/2 · 13th Vasylyshyn IM · 2016-12-09
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Open, Malkin Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Emadfawziawadullah (2074) – Mephisto-Addict (2077) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 300 + 3s
Comes from
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
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.