Ruy Lopez: Closed
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7
What Is The Closed?
5...Be7 declines the e4 pawn and holds the centre together, so instead of the tactics of the Open Ruy you get a long manoeuvring game. After 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3, White has prepared the ideal pawn centre, with c3 backing the coming d4 and h3 ruling out ...Bg4, and Black's knight on c6 is the piece with a problem.
That knight defines every main line: ...Na5 hitting b3 in the Chigorin, ...Nb8 and ...Nbd7 in the Breyer, ...Re8 with ...Bb7 against e4 in the Zaitsev. White regroups with Nbd2-f1-g3 and plays on the kingside; Black counters with ...c5 against d4. Closed does not mean drawish: in the Marshall Attack Black plays ...d5 instead of ...d6 and gives up a pawn for a lasting attack.
How Should You Respond To The Ruy Lopez: Closed?
79% play 8.Re1 and the game settles into the Closed Ruy Lopez, the slowest and most strategic opening in this whole section. Both sides manoeuvre for twenty moves before anything is decided, and the plans matter far more than the move order.
White plays on the kingside and in the centre, Black plays on the queenside, and whoever executes a plan rather than reacting to one wins. The standard White setup is c3, d4, Nbd2, Nf1 and Ng3, bringing the knight to the kingside the long way around. Black counters with ...Na5, ...c5 and pressure on d4. White scores 48% to 42% over 326 games, a small sample for such a well known variation.
What Do Players Choose At The Decision Point?
| Move | Share | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Be7 | 39% | 385 | |
| b5 | 34% | 339 | |
| Bc5 | 9% | 91 | |
| d6 | 9% | 88 |
How Does Play Continue From Here?
| Move | Share | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Re1 | 79% | 317 | |
| c3 | 6% | 26 | |
| d3 | 5% | 20 | |
| Bxc6 | 3% | 14 |
The Named Lines Of The Closed
| Line | Moves |
|---|---|
| Center Attack | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d4 |
| Martinez Variation | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 |
| Morphy Attack | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Nc3 |
| Worrall Attack | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Qe2 |
| Delayed Exchange | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Bxc6 |
| Averbakh Variation | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 d6 |
| Worrall Attack, Delayed Castling Line | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Qe2 b5 7.Bb3 d6 |
| Worrall Attack, Castling Line | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.Qe2 Be7 6.O-O b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.c3 d5 9.d3 |
| Trajkovic Counterattack | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 Bb7 |
| Rosen Attack | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.d4 |
| Basque Gambit | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d4 exd4 7.e5 Ne4 8.c3 |
| Anti-Marshall | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.a4 |
| Center Attack, Basque Gambit | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d4 exd4 7.e5 Ne4 8.c3 dxc3 |
| Pilnik Variation | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.d3 d6 9.c3 |
| Suetin Variation | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.a3 |
| Yates Variation | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.d4 |
| Lutikov Variation | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.Bc2 |
| Smyslov Defense | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 h6 |
| Bogoljubow Variation | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.d4 Bg4 |
| Flohr System | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Bb7 |
| Karpov Variation | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Nd7 |
| Kholmov Variation | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Be6 |
| Zaitsev System | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Re8 |
| Breyer Defense | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Nb8 |
| Chigorin Defense | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 |
| Kecskemet Variation | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.O-O Bd7 6.c3 Nf6 7.d4 Be7 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.Re1 Be8 |
| Yates Variation, Short Attack | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.d4 Bg4 10.a4 |
| Breyer Defense, Quiet Variation | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Nb8 10.d3 |
| Breyer | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Nb8 10.d4 |
| Chigorin Defense, Gajewski Gambit | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 d5 |
| Breyer Defense, Zaitsev Hybrid | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Nb8 10.d4 Nbd7 |
| Balla Variation | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 Na5 9.Bc2 c5 10.d4 Qc7 11.a4 |