How to beat the Ruy Lopez, by the numbers (488 top-player games)
Quick answer
How do you beat the Ruy Lopez as Black? Top players held their normal level against it: as Black they scored 68% in 134 games on Chess.com (+1 vs their 67% Black average) and 63% in 122 on Lichess (+1 vs 62%), so the Ruy wasn't a problem opening for Black in fast games. Between the two main replies there's no clean winner: the Berlin (3...Nf6) scored 74% in 50 on Chess.com vs 66% in 70 for 3...a6, but on Lichess it was 58% in 33 vs 60% in 68. Pick the one you know. One consistent hint: the Exchange (Bxc6 by move 5) did badly for White on both sites (58% in 12 on Chess.com, 59% in 23 on Lichess), so don't fear it. Fast games and small samples, so read it as a strong hint, not proof.
The Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5), also called the Spanish, is the classical test of 1...e5: White's bishop hits the knight that guards e5, and White plays for a long squeeze rather than a quick attack. We sorted every Ruy Lopez in our two samples by the moves actually played (any move order): 264 games among the top 50 Chess.com blitz players and 224 among the top 100 titled Lichess players. It was about 30% of the 1.e4 e5 games the Chess.com players had as Black, and 23% on Lichess. Score means points per game for the top player (win 1, draw ½). Compare with their averages (73% with White and 67% with Black on Chess.com, 67% and 62% on Lichess), not with 50%.
Short answer
- The Ruy wasn't hard to face for top players. As Black against it, top Chess.com blitz players scored 68% in 134 games (+1 vs their 67% average); titled Lichess players 63% in 122 games (+1 vs their 62% average). Playing it as White they scored 59% in 149 games (-14 vs their 73% average) on Chess.com (well under their average: in 3-minute games the slow Spanish squeeze often didn't pay off) and 68% in 108 games (+1 vs their 67% average) on Lichess. (Our Ruy Lopez page groups games by the site's opening name instead of the moves, so its numbers differ slightly.)
- Berlin or 3...a6: no clean winner. Black side on Chess.com: 74% in 50 games (+7 vs their 67% average) with the Berlin vs 66% in 70 games (-1 vs their 67% average) with 3...a6. On Lichess: 58% in 33 games (-4 vs their 62% average; under 50 games, a hint) vs 60% in 68 games (-2 vs their 62% average). White facing the Berlin scored 57% in 28 on Chess.com and 73% in 22 on Lichess (hints), against 61% in 108 and 70% in 66 vs 3...a6. The two sites point opposite ways, so it comes down to which you know better.
- 3...a6 mostly means the Closed Ruy. After 3...a6, most games went 4.Ba4 without the Open 5...Nxe4; the Open and the early 4.Bxc6 Exchange were too rare in these samples to score on their own (see table 2).
- The Exchange (Bxc6) was a bad deal for White on both sites. With Bxc6 by move 5 (any defence), White scored 58% in 12 on Chess.com and 59% in 23 on Lichess; Black facing it scored 100% in 9 and 73% in 13. All hints, but every number points the same way.
- The slow d3 set-up splits the sites. Black scored 61% in 42 games (-6 vs their 67% average; under 50 games, a hint) against it on Chess.com and 62% in 32 games (±0 vs their 62% average; under 50 games, a hint) on Lichess; White with it scored 56% in 49 on Chess.com but 72% in 48 on Lichess. No clear verdict.
1. Morphy, Berlin, Schliemann or Classical?
Black's third move, read from the moves. Each cell is the top player's score and the gap to their average; under 50 games is a hint, under 8 is too few to read.
| Black's 3rd move | Chess.com top 50 facing the Ruy as Black (avg 67%) | Chess.com top 50 playing it as White (avg 73%) | Lichess titled facing it as Black (avg 62%) | Lichess titled playing it as White (avg 67%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morphy (3...a6) | 66% in 70 (-1) | 61% in 108 (-12) | 60% in 68 (-2) | 70% in 66 (+3) |
| Berlin (3...Nf6) | 74% in 50 (+7) | 57% in 28 (-16), hint | 58% in 33 (-4), hint | 73% in 22 (+6), hint |
| Other 3rd moves | 4 games, too few | 3 games, too few | 68% in 14 (+6), hint | 7 games, too few |
| Schliemann (3...f5) | 2 games, too few | 6 games, too few | 7 games, too few | 6 games, too few |
| Classical (3...Bc5) | 62% in 8 (-5), hint | 4 games, too few | – | 7 games, too few |
2. Inside 3...a6: Closed, Open or Exchange
After 3...a6: 4.Bxc6 is the Exchange Variation; 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 is the Open Ruy; everything else after 4.Ba4 (mostly 5...Be7, the Closed main line, plus 4...d6 and other 4th/5th moves) is grouped together. The Open and the early Exchange are too rare in these samples for a verdict.
| After 3...a6 | Chess.com top 50 facing the Ruy as Black (avg 67%) | Chess.com top 50 playing it as White (avg 73%) | Lichess titled facing it as Black (avg 62%) | Lichess titled playing it as White (avg 67%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morphy: Exchange (4.Bxc6) | 5 games, too few | 3 games, too few | 5 games, too few | 56% in 18 (-11), hint |
| Morphy: Open (5...Nxe4) | – | 3 games, too few | 4 games, too few | 2 games, too few |
| Morphy: Closed and other (4.Ba4, no 5...Nxe4) | 64% in 65 (-3) | 60% in 102 (-13) | 60% in 59 (-2) | 75% in 46 (+8), hint |
3. Which White set-up you'll face
White's plan in the first 10 moves, any defence: an Exchange with Bxc6 by move 5, an early d4 (by move 5), the slow d3 set-up with no d4 (the usual Anti-Berlin and a common Closed choice), or other set-ups (mostly c3 with a later d4, the classical main lines).
| White's set-up | Chess.com top 50 facing the Ruy as Black (avg 67%) | Chess.com top 50 playing it as White (avg 73%) | Lichess titled facing it as Black (avg 62%) | Lichess titled playing it as White (avg 67%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other set-ups (incl. c3+d4 main lines) | 68% in 64 (+1) | 60% in 72 (-13) | 66% in 60 (+4) | 67% in 32 (±0), hint |
| Slow d3, no d4 (Anti-Berlin / quiet) | 61% in 42 (-6), hint | 56% in 49 (-17), hint | 62% in 32 (±0), hint | 72% in 48 (+5), hint |
| Early d4 (by move 5) | 68% in 19 (+1), hint | 66% in 16 (-7), hint | 44% in 17 (-18), hint | 5 games, too few |
| Exchange Bxc6 (by move 5) | 100% in 9 (+33), hint | 58% in 12 (-15), hint | 73% in 13 (+11), hint | 59% in 23 (-8), hint |
4. How to play it as Black
- Pick the defence you know. The data doesn't crown 3...a6 or the Berlin; both held Black's average on at least one site. The Berlin is less theory if you're happy with the endgame after 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6, or with slow d3 lines; 3...a6 keeps more pieces on.
- Don't fear the Exchange. After Bxc6 dxc6 you have the bishop pair; keep the position open and don't rush to trade into a pawn ending.
- Against the slow d3 set-up, develop normally (...Bc5 or ...Be7, ...d6, ...O-O) and aim for ...d5 or ...f5 only when e5 is safe.
- Offbeat tries (Schliemann 3...f5, Classical 3...Bc5) were too rare in these samples to judge; they're surprise weapons, not data-backed fixes.
- Full plans and a line to play are in the Ruy Lopez guide; facing 3.Bc4 instead? See how to beat the Italian Game.
5. What matters more than the line
- Your opponent's Ruy. Spanish players usually repeat one set-up (d3 Anti-Berlin, the Closed main line, or the Exchange). Check before the game: the free opponent preview shows any Chess.com or Lichess player's most-played openings with each colour, and the $5 report shows the exact lines where they score worst.
More from the same data: how to beat the Italian Game, how to beat the Sicilian Defense, how to beat the French Defense, how to beat the Caro-Kann, how to beat the Queen's Gambit, the best chess openings for Black and the best chess openings for White.
Method: Chess.com sample is the top 50 of the Chess.com live blitz leaderboard on 2026-10-20, each player's most recent rated standard blitz games (up to 150, at most six monthly archives) from the public Chess.com Published-Data API, games played 2026-03-21 to 2026-10-20. Lichess sample is the last 150 rated games of the top 100 titled players on the Lichess leaderboards (2026-10-18). Ruy Lopez = White's first three moves e4, Nf3 and Bb5 against Black's e5 and Nc6 (any order); Black's defence, the 3...a6 split and White's set-up are read from the first 10 moves, not the opening name. A game between two sampled players counts once per sampled player. Rows under 50 games are hints; headline claims need 50+ games except where marked. OpeningSpy is independent and not affiliated with Chess.com or Lichess.