Ruy Lopez

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5

The Ruy Lopez is a chess opening classified as ECO C60, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5. Black is to move. 18 named lines continue from this position.

In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 259,246 times by this move order. White won 51%, 5% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 3… a6 (24% of games).

Engine evaluation: +0.15 (Stockfish, depth 65; best line 3… Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5)

ECO: C60
Moves: 5 plies
FEN: r1bqkbnr/pppp1ppp/2n5/1B2p3/4P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 3 3
PGN: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5

Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess

Results by rating

Average rating	Games	White / draw / Black
0-1499	115,246	52%44%
1500-1999	115,368	52%44%
2000+	28,632	49%44%
All	259,246	51%44%

Most played moves

Move	Games	White / draw / Black
3… a6 Morphy Defense (3. Bb5 a6)	61,746 (24%)	51%44%
3… d6 Steinitz Defense (3. Bb5 d6)	57,464 (22%)	52%43%
3… Nf6 Berlin Defense (3. Bb5 Nf6)	50,114 (19%)	52%43%
3… Bc5 Classical Variation	32,803 (13%)	50%46%
3… Nge7 Cozio Defense	15,041 (6%)	50%45%
3… Nd4 Bird Variation	13,414 (5%)	51%45%
3… Qf6	6,549 (3%)	51%45%
3… f5 Schliemann Defense	6,217 (2%)	46%50%

Master games

220 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 60%, draw 13%, Black 27%). The strongest:

GM Hikaru Nakamura (2810) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2775) 0-1 · Titled Tue 13th Jan 2026 · 2026-01-13
GM Viswanathan Anand (2743) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2775) 0-1 · Tata Steel India Blitz · 2026-01-10
GM Hans Moke Niemann (2687) – GM Samuel Sevian (2684) 1/2-1/2 · Chess.com RCC Wk24 Swiss · 2022-08-06
GM Olexandr Bortnyk (2604) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2745) 1/2-1/2 · 2nd 3-0 Thu 5th Mar 2026 · 2026-03-05
GM Alan Pichot (2630) – GM Jeffery Xiong (2709) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tuesday 29th Dec · 2020-12-29

Search all games of the Ruy Lopez and its sub-variations

Highest-rated Lichess games

GM gmbrewchess (2985) – Nana_jede_cevape (2884) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Sunrise34 (2861) – GM cutemouse83 (2967) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
GM gmbrewchess (2947) – Sunrise34 (2854) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s

Comes from

King's Knight Opening: Normal Variation 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6

Continuations

Ruy Lopez: Alapin Defense C60 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bb4
Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense (3. Bb5 Nf6) C65 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6
Ruy Lopez: Bird Variation C61 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4
Ruy Lopez: Brentano Gambit C60 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g5
Ruy Lopez: Bulgarian Variation C60 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a5
Ruy Lopez: Classical Variation C64 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bc5
Ruy Lopez: Cozio Defense C60 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nge7
Ruy Lopez: Fianchetto Defense C60 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6
Ruy Lopez: Lucena Variation C60 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Be7
Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense (3. Bb5 a6) C70 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6
Ruy Lopez: Nürnberg Variation C60 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 f6
Ruy Lopez: Pollock Defense C60 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Na5
Ruy Lopez: Retreat Variation C60 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nb8
Ruy Lopez: Rotary-Albany Gambit C60 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 b6
Ruy Lopez: Schliemann Defense C63 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 f5
Ruy Lopez: Spanish Countergambit C60 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d5
Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense (3. Bb5 d6) C62 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6
Ruy Lopez: Vinogradov Variation C60 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Qe7

More Ruy Lopez lines (all)

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.