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Ruy Lopez · As White · updated October 2026

Play the Ruy Lopez like Ihor Samunenkov

A repertoire in the Ruy Lopez built from 106 of Ihor Samunenkov's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Ihor Samunenkov chose most often. Where Ihor Samunenkov has fewer than 3 games, the course takes the other top-50 players' most played move, then Stockfish's. Learn a line on the board, then each position comes back in a short daily review until it sticks.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by Ihor Samunenkov or Chess.com.

  • Ihor Samunenkov was #38 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,209) and scored 68% against opponents averaging 2,936 in these games.
  • You play Ihor Samunenkov's own move in 31 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Train lines

Learn a new line move by move. Lines due for review go to your daily review first.

Next: line 1

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#38

Chess.com

Rating

3,209

Games

106

in this opening

Score

68%

in these games

Opponents

2,936

average rating

More about Ihor Samunenkov

Use arrow keys to navigate the board. Press Enter to select a piece, then use arrow keys and Enter to move. Press Escape to cancel a move.
Line 1 after 20 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 8% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Bc5 5.c3 Nge7 6.d4 exd4 7.cxd4 Bb4+ 8.Bd2 Bxd2+ 9.Nbxd2 d5 10.e5 O-O 11.O-O f6 12.exf6 Rxf6 13.Re1

    Next

  2. Line 2 · 8% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.a4 Rb8 9.axb5 axb5 10.c3 d6 11.d4

    New

  3. Line 3 · 7% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 Bb7 8.a4 d6 9.c3 O-O 10.d4

    New

  4. Line 4 · 7% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3

    New

  5. Line 5 · 7% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.O-O Bd7 6.d4 Nf6 7.Re1

    New

  6. Line 6 · 7% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nxe5 8.Rxe5 O-O 9.d4

    New

  7. Line 7 · 7% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Nxe5 7.Rxe5+ Be7 8.Bf1 O-O 9.d4 Ne8 10.d5

    New

  8. Line 8 · 5% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.a4 b4 9.d3 d6 10.a5 Rb8 11.Nbd2 Be6 12.Bxe6

    New

  9. Line 9 · 5% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a4 Bg4 9.c3

    New

  10. Line 10 · 5% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nge7 5.Nc3

    New

Ordered by how often they come up in top-level games. Learned lines join your daily review.

Ihor Samunenkov's main line in the Ruy Lopez, move by move

The most common line at top level: 3…a6 4.Ba4 Bc5 5.c3 Nge7 6.d4 exd4 7.cxd4 Bb4+ 8.Bd2 Bxd2+ 9.Nbxd2 d5 10.e5 O-O 11.O-O f6 12.exf6 Rxf6 13.Re1.

  1. 3…a6 Reply · Ihor Samunenkov's games A common reply here is 3…a6. At top level, this comes up about 75% of the time.
  2. 4.Ba4 Your move · Ihor Samunenkov's games Ihor Samunenkov played 4.Ba4 in 80 games, scoring 70%.
  3. 4…Bc5 Reply · Ihor Samunenkov's games A common reply here is 4…Bc5. At top level, this comes up about 11% of the time.
  4. 5.c3 Your move · Ihor Samunenkov's games Ihor Samunenkov played 5.c3 in 10 games, scoring 65%.
  5. 5…Nge7 Reply · Ihor Samunenkov's games A common reply here is 5…Nge7.
  6. 6.d4 Your move · Ihor Samunenkov's games Ihor Samunenkov played 6.d4 in 9 games, scoring 61%.
  7. 6…exd4 Reply · Ihor Samunenkov's games A common reply here is 6…exd4.
  8. 7.cxd4 Your move · Ihor Samunenkov's games Ihor Samunenkov played 7.cxd4 in 9 games, scoring 61%.
  9. 7…Bb4+ Reply · Ihor Samunenkov's games A common reply here is 7…Bb4+.
  10. 8.Bd2 Your move · Ihor Samunenkov's games Ihor Samunenkov played 8.Bd2 in 5 games, scoring 30%.
  11. 8…Bxd2+ Reply · Ihor Samunenkov's games A common reply here is 8…Bxd2+.
  12. 9.Nbxd2 Your move · Ihor Samunenkov's games Ihor Samunenkov played 9.Nbxd2 in 5 games, scoring 30%.
  13. 9…d5 Reply · Ihor Samunenkov's games A common reply here is 9…d5.
  14. 10.e5 Your move · Ihor Samunenkov's games Ihor Samunenkov played 10.e5 in 5 games, scoring 30%.
  15. 10…O-O Reply · Ihor Samunenkov's games A common reply here is 10…O-O.
  16. 11.O-O Your move · Ihor Samunenkov's games Ihor Samunenkov played 11.O-O in 4 games, scoring 25%.
  17. 11…f6 Reply · Ihor Samunenkov's games A common reply here is 11…f6. At top level, this comes up about 8% of the time.
  18. 12.exf6 Your move · Ihor Samunenkov's games Ihor Samunenkov played 12.exf6 in 2 games, scoring 0%.
  19. 12…Rxf6 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 12…Rxf6.
  20. 13.Re1 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.

Questions about this course

How does Ihor Samunenkov play the Ruy Lopez?
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5, Ihor Samunenkov's most common line is 3…a6 4.Ba4 Bc5 5.c3 Nge7 6.d4 exd4 7.cxd4 Bb4+ 8.Bd2 Bxd2+ 9.Nbxd2 d5 10.e5 O-O 11.O-O f6 12.exf6 Rxf6 13.Re1. At top level it comes up about 8% of the time.
Is this Ihor Samunenkov's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Ihor Samunenkov's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Ruy Lopez course based on?
106 of Ihor Samunenkov's Chess.com blitz games in the Ruy Lopez as White, against opponents with an average rating of 2,936. Ihor Samunenkov scored 68% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
10 lines covering 40 positions, ordered by how often they come up in top-level games. The first 5 lines need no account; saving your progress with an email unlocks the rest, free.
Who is Ihor Samunenkov?
GM Ihor Samunenkov was ranked number 38 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,209 when this course was built.

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