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Ruy Lopez · As White · updated October 2026

Play the Ruy Lopez like Andrey Esipenko

A Ruy Lopez repertoire built from 58 of Andrey Esipenko's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Andrey Esipenko chose most often. Where Andrey Esipenko 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 Andrey Esipenko or Chess.com.

  • Andrey Esipenko was #26 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,230) and scored 61% against opponents averaging 2,910 in these games.
  • You play Andrey Esipenko's own move in 11 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#26

Chess.com

Rating

3,230

Games

58

in this opening

Score

61%

in these games

Opponents

2,910

average rating

More about Andrey Esipenko

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 22 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 8% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Nb8 10.d4 Nbd7 11.c4 c6 12.Nc3 b4 13.Na4 c5 14.d5

  2. Line 2 · 7% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bg5 Nd4 6.Nxd4

  3. Line 3 · 7% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bg5 d6 6.Nbd2

  4. Line 4 · 6% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c3 Bd7 6.O-O

  5. Line 5 · 6% at top level

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

  6. Line 6 · 5% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nge7 5.O-O

  7. Line 7 · 5% 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.Rc1 Qd6 14.Bxc6

  8. Line 8 · 5% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.a4

  9. Line 9 · 4% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 Be7 7.O-O d6 8.d4 O-O 9.Bxc6

  10. Line 10 · 4% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Re8 11.Nbd2 Bf8 12.a4 h6 13.Bc2 exd4 14.cxd4

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

Andrey Esipenko's main line in the Ruy Lopez, move by move

The most common line at top level: 3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Nb8 10.d4 Nbd7 11.c4 c6 12.Nc3 b4 13.Na4 c5 14.d5.

  1. 3…a6 Reply · Andrey Esipenko's games A common reply here is 3…a6. At top level, this comes up about 66% of the time.
  2. 4.Ba4 Your move · Andrey Esipenko's games Andrey Esipenko played 4.Ba4 in 38 games, scoring 72%.
  3. 4…Nf6 Reply · Andrey Esipenko's games A common reply here is 4…Nf6. At top level, this comes up about 38% of the time.
  4. 5.O-O Your move · Andrey Esipenko's games Andrey Esipenko played 5.O-O in 12 games, scoring 67%.
  5. 5…Be7 Reply · Andrey Esipenko's games A common reply here is 5…Be7. At top level, this comes up about 22% of the time.
  6. 6.Re1 Your move · Andrey Esipenko's games Andrey Esipenko played 6.Re1 in 4 games, scoring 75%.
  7. 6…b5 Reply · Andrey Esipenko's games A common reply here is 6…b5.
  8. 7.Bb3 Your move · Andrey Esipenko's games Andrey Esipenko played 7.Bb3 in 4 games, scoring 75%.
  9. 7…d6 Reply · Andrey Esipenko's games A common reply here is 7…d6. At top level, this comes up about 17% of the time.
  10. 8.c3 Your move · Andrey Esipenko's games Andrey Esipenko played 8.c3 in 3 games, scoring 100%.
  11. 8…O-O Reply · Andrey Esipenko's games A common reply here is 8…O-O.
  12. 9.h3 Your move · Andrey Esipenko's games Andrey Esipenko played 9.h3 in 3 games, scoring 100%.
  13. 9…Nb8 Reply · Andrey Esipenko's games A common reply here is 9…Nb8. At top level, this comes up about 11% of the time.
  14. 10.d4 Your move · Top-50 players Andrey Esipenko has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
  15. 10…Nbd7 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 10…Nbd7.
  16. 11.c4 Your move · Top-50 players Andrey Esipenko has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
  17. 11…c6 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 11…c6. At top level, this comes up about 8% of the time.
  18. 12.Nc3 Your move · Top-50 players Andrey Esipenko has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
  19. 12…b4 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 12…b4.
  20. 13.Na4 Your move · Top-50 players Andrey Esipenko has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
  21. 13…c5 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 13…c5.
  22. 14.d5 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.

Questions about this course

How does Andrey Esipenko play the Ruy Lopez?
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5, Andrey Esipenko's most common line is 3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Nb8 10.d4 Nbd7 11.c4 c6 12.Nc3 b4 13.Na4 c5 14.d5. At top level it comes up about 8% of the time.
Is this Andrey Esipenko's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Andrey Esipenko's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Ruy Lopez course based on?
58 of Andrey Esipenko's Chess.com blitz games in the Ruy Lopez as White, against opponents with an average rating of 2,910. Andrey Esipenko scored 61% 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 Andrey Esipenko?
GM Andrey Esipenko was ranked number 26 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,230 when this course was built.