The Ruy Lopez starts 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5. The bishop on b5 does not threaten the pawn on e5 at once, because taking on c6 and then on e5 lets Black win the pawn back with a queen move. Instead it puts lasting pressure on the knight that defends e5. White aims for d4 later, and the game is often a slow fight over the centre.
How often it is played, and how it scores
These numbers come from 1,872,138 rated blitz, rapid and classical games played on Lichess in March, July, August and September 2026, grouped by the players' average rating. The share is of the games that reached the position before 3.Bb5, where White chose it; the score is White's, counting a draw as half.
- under 800: 304 games, 9.8% of the games after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6; White scored 48.5%, with 5.6% draws
- 800 to 1,199: 5,733 games, 14.7% of the games after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6; White scored 53.7%, with 3.8% draws
- 1,200 to 1,599: 14,875 games, 18.6% of the games after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6; White scored 53.4%, with 4.0% draws
- 1,600 to 1,999: 13,330 games, 21.8% of the games after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6; White scored 53.9%, with 4.6% draws
- 2,000 and above: 4,840 games, 36.2% of the games after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6; White scored 52.4%, with 12.2% draws
The Ruy Lopez grows more popular at every step up in rating, from 9.8% of those games among players rated under 800 to 36.2% among players rated 2,000 and above.
What else White plays there
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6, players rated 1,200 to 1,599 chose:
- 3.Bc4: 43.3% of games, White scored 52.5%
- 3.d4: 19.8% of games, White scored 55.4%
- 3.Bb5 (the Ruy Lopez): 18.6% of games, White scored 53.4%
- 3.Nc3: 11.1% of games, White scored 50.4%
The replies Black chooses
Among players rated 1,200 to 1,599, the most common answers to 3.Bb5 were:
- 3...d6: 25.9% of games, White scored 53.5%
- 3...Nf6: 19.6% of games, White scored 53.4%
- 3...a6: 17.6% of games, White scored 55.0%
- 3...Bc5: 11.8% of games, White scored 52.2%
Among players rated 2,000 and above, the first choice was 3...a6, in 47.4% of games, and White scored 53.4% after it.
Where it scores more than its position deserves
GreyChess compared each opening's results with what the engine's evaluation after move 6 and the players' rating difference predict, in 2,509,936 rated Lichess games from June 2024 to September 2026. Here a game counts under the opening name Lichess gives it, the deepest named line it reached, so the counts are not the same as those above. These lines stood out:
- Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6), players rated 1,600 to 1,999: White scored 62.8% in 4,080 games, 8.4 percentage points more than the evaluation predicts.
Learn it
The lesson The Ruy Lopez walks through the main ideas with positions to play, and its first steps are free to read. If you play it, GreyChess's opening repertoire builds your lines from the moves you actually play, so you practise what comes up in your own games.