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Ruy Lopez · As White · updated October 2026

Play the Ruy Lopez like Alireza Firouzja

A Ruy Lopez repertoire built from 146 of Alireza Firouzja's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Alireza Firouzja chose most often. Where Alireza Firouzja 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 Alireza Firouzja or Chess.com.

  • Alireza Firouzja was #11 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,284) and scored 69% against opponents averaging 3,067 in these games.
  • You play Alireza Firouzja's own move in 37 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#11

Chess.com

Rating

3,284

Games

146

in this opening

Score

69%

in these games

Opponents

3,067

average rating

More about Alireza Firouzja

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 14 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 8% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Bb7 10.Be3

  2. Line 2 · 7% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O d6 6.Re1 Bd7 7.c3 g6 8.d4 Bg7 9.h3 O-O 10.Bc2 Nh5 11.Be3

  3. Line 3 · 6% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Bc5 5.c3 Nge7 6.d4 exd4 7.cxd4 Bb4+ 8.Nc3 d5 9.e5 Bg4 10.a3 Ba5 11.Be3 b5 12.Bc2 Bb6 13.Ne2

  4. Line 4 · 6% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.Nc3 Ne7 6.a3

  5. Line 5 · 5% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3

  6. Line 6 · 5% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 d6 5.c3

  7. Line 7 · 5% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 h6 10.Re1 Re8 11.Nbd2 Bf8 12.Nf1

  8. Line 8 · 4% at top level

    3…f5 4.d3 fxe4 5.dxe4 Nf6 6.Qd3 Bc5 7.O-O

  9. Line 9 · 4% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.c3 d6 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2

  10. Line 10 · 4% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nge7 5.Nc3 d6 6.a3

  11. Line 11 · 4% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 O-O 6.O-O d5 7.exd5

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

Alireza Firouzja'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.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Bb7 10.Be3.

  1. 3…a6 Reply · Alireza Firouzja's games A common reply here is 3…a6. At top level, this comes up about 69% of the time.
  2. 4.Ba4 Your move · Alireza Firouzja's games Alireza Firouzja played 4.Ba4 in 94 games, scoring 71%.
  3. 4…Nf6 Reply · Alireza Firouzja's games A common reply here is 4…Nf6. At top level, this comes up about 41% of the time.
  4. 5.O-O Your move · Alireza Firouzja's games Alireza Firouzja played 5.O-O in 39 games, scoring 65%.
  5. 5…Be7 Reply · Alireza Firouzja's games A common reply here is 5…Be7. At top level, this comes up about 22% of the time.
  6. 6.d3 Your move · Alireza Firouzja's games Alireza Firouzja played 6.d3 in 14 games, scoring 79%.
  7. 6…b5 Reply · Alireza Firouzja's games A common reply here is 6…b5.
  8. 7.Bb3 Your move · Alireza Firouzja's games Alireza Firouzja played 7.Bb3 in 14 games, scoring 79%.
  9. 7…d6 Reply · Alireza Firouzja's games A common reply here is 7…d6. At top level, this comes up about 16% of the time.
  10. 8.c3 Your move · Alireza Firouzja's games Alireza Firouzja played 8.c3 in 10 games, scoring 80%.
  11. 8…O-O Reply · Alireza Firouzja's games A common reply here is 8…O-O.
  12. 9.h3 Your move · Alireza Firouzja's games Alireza Firouzja played 9.h3 in 10 games, scoring 80%.
  13. 9…Bb7 Reply · Alireza Firouzja's games A common reply here is 9…Bb7. At top level, this comes up about 8% of the time.
  14. 10.Be3 Your move · Alireza Firouzja's games Alireza Firouzja played 10.Be3 in 3 games, scoring 67%.

Questions about this course

How does Alireza Firouzja play the Ruy Lopez?
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5, Alireza Firouzja's most common line is 3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Bb7 10.Be3. At top level it comes up about 8% of the time.
Is this Alireza Firouzja's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Alireza Firouzja's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Ruy Lopez course based on?
146 of Alireza Firouzja's Chess.com blitz games in the Ruy Lopez as White, against opponents with an average rating of 3,067. Alireza Firouzja scored 69% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
11 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 Alireza Firouzja?
GM Alireza Firouzja was ranked number 11 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,284 when this course was built.