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Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5)
How do Ruy Lopez games actually end? Across 73,519 Lichess games that reached the position after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5, White won 52.1%, 4.7% were drawn and Black won 43.2%. Below: the main line move by move, the most played continuations (the favorite is 3...a6), the rating effect and the opening's history.
The main line, move by move
| Move | Position name | Games | White | Draws | Black |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.e4 | King's Pawn Game | 1,601,410 | 49.2% | 4.3% | 46.4% |
| 1...e5 | King's Pawn Game | 597,216 | 52.1% | 4.1% | 43.7% |
| 2.Nf3 | King's Knight Opening | 369,885 | 52.3% | 4.3% | 43.4% |
| 2...Nc6 | King's Knight Opening: Normal Variation | 233,946 | 50.9% | 4.4% | 44.7% |
| 3.Bb5 | Ruy Lopez | 73,519 | 52.1% | 4.7% | 43.2% |
| 3...a6 | Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense | 25,797 | 49.1% | 5.1% | 45.8% |
| 4.Ba4 | - | 17,254 | 50.4% | 4.8% | 44.7% |
| 4...Nf6 | - | 11,246 | 48.0% | 5.3% | 46.7% |
The 5 most common continuations (for Black)
| Move | Variation | Games | White | Draws | Black |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3...a6 | Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense | 25,797 | 49.1% | 5.1% | 45.8% |
| 3...d6 | - | 15,158 | 55.7% | 4.8% | 39.6% |
| 3...Nf6 | - | 10,264 | 52.6% | 4.3% | 43.1% |
| 3...Bc5 | - | 7,435 | 51.2% | 4.1% | 44.7% |
| 3...Nge7 | - | 4,797 | 54.5% | 4.4% | 41.1% |
How rating changes the same position
| Rating band (average of the pair) | Games | White | Draws | Black |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1600-1799 | 43,571 | 52.3% | 4.2% | 43.5% |
| 2200-2499 | 1,427 | 45.1% | 7.2% | 47.7% |
The story of the opening
Few openings have such a precise birth certificate: the Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura analyzed 3.Bb5 in his 1561 book, one of the first chess treatises in history, which is why the opening is also called the Spanish. The logic is steel: the bishop pressures the knight that defends the e5 pawn, and White plays for a small, everlasting edge. For four centuries it was the supreme test of 1...e5.
The modern chapter has a name and a year: the Berlin Defense, London, 2000. Vladimir Kramnik dug up the old 3...Nf6 with its early queen trade endgame, and Garry Kasparov, the most feared attacker on the planet, failed to break the Berlin Wall a single time in the match that cost him the world title. Ever since, the Berlin has been a synonym for solidity at the top, and much of the Italian Game fashion exists precisely to avoid it.
Compare it with every other opening in the opening statistics archive, or visit its neighbors: Scandinavian Defense and Pirc Defense. Nerd aside: chess notation is a 64 square code, cousin to the ones living next door, like binary and Morse.
Source: the Lichess open game database (database.lichess.org, CC0 data), months 2014-06, 2015-01, 2016-01, snapshot of 2026-07-09: blitz, rapid and classical games with the players' average rating between 1600 and 2199, aggregated by move sequence. Variation names and ECO codes: lichess-org/chess-openings (CC0).
Last updated: · Methodology and sources