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Ruy Lopez · As White · updated October 2026

Play the Ruy Lopez like Ian Nepomniachtchi

A Ruy Lopez repertoire built from 64 of Ian Nepomniachtchi's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Ian Nepomniachtchi chose most often. Where Ian Nepomniachtchi 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 Ian Nepomniachtchi or Chess.com.

  • Ian Nepomniachtchi was #30 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,225) and scored 70% against opponents averaging 3,048 in these games.
  • You play Ian Nepomniachtchi's own move in 23 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#30

Chess.com

Rating

3,225

Games

64

in this opening

Score

70%

in these games

Opponents

3,048

average rating

More about Ian Nepomniachtchi

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 · 7% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a3 O-O 9.Nc3 Rb8 10.Be3

  2. Line 2 · 6% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.O-O Bd7 6.c3

  3. Line 3 · 6% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a3 O-O 9.Nc3 Na5 10.Ba2 Be6 11.b4 Bxa2 12.Rxa2 Nc6 13.Bg5

  4. Line 4 · 5% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 O-O 6.O-O d5 7.Nbd2 dxe4 8.dxe4

  5. Line 5 · 5% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 O-O 6.O-O d6 7.Nbd2 Ne7 8.d4 exd4 9.cxd4 Bb6 10.a4 c6 11.Bd3 Ng6 12.h3

  6. Line 6 · 5% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.O-O O-O 7.Nbd2

  7. Line 7 · 5% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Bc5 6.c3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.d4 Bb6 9.a4

  8. Line 8 · 5% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.a4 Rb8 8.c3 d6 9.d4 Bb6 10.a5 Ba7 11.h3

  9. Line 9 · 5% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nge7 5.O-O Ng6 6.d4 exd4 7.Nxd4

  10. Line 10 · 5% at top level

    3…f5 4.d3 fxe4 5.dxe4

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

Ian Nepomniachtchi'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.a3 O-O 9.Nc3 Rb8 10.Be3.

  1. 3…a6 Reply · Ian Nepomniachtchi'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 · Ian Nepomniachtchi's games Ian Nepomniachtchi played 4.Ba4 in 44 games, scoring 77%.
  3. 4…Nf6 Reply · Ian Nepomniachtchi's games A common reply here is 4…Nf6. At top level, this comes up about 47% of the time.
  4. 5.O-O Your move · Ian Nepomniachtchi's games Ian Nepomniachtchi played 5.O-O in 30 games, scoring 77%.
  5. 5…Be7 Reply · Ian Nepomniachtchi's games A common reply here is 5…Be7. At top level, this comes up about 27% of the time.
  6. 6.d3 Your move · Ian Nepomniachtchi's games Ian Nepomniachtchi played 6.d3 in 9 games, scoring 89%.
  7. 6…b5 Reply · Ian Nepomniachtchi's games A common reply here is 6…b5.
  8. 7.Bb3 Your move · Ian Nepomniachtchi's games Ian Nepomniachtchi played 7.Bb3 in 9 games, scoring 89%.
  9. 7…d6 Reply · Ian Nepomniachtchi's games A common reply here is 7…d6. At top level, this comes up about 24% of the time.
  10. 8.a3 Your move · Ian Nepomniachtchi's games Ian Nepomniachtchi played 8.a3 in 7 games, scoring 86%.
  11. 8…O-O Reply · Ian Nepomniachtchi's games A common reply here is 8…O-O. At top level, this comes up about 20% of the time.
  12. 9.Nc3 Your move · Ian Nepomniachtchi's games Ian Nepomniachtchi played 9.Nc3 in 6 games, scoring 100%.
  13. 9…Rb8 Reply · Ian Nepomniachtchi's games A common reply here is 9…Rb8. At top level, this comes up about 7% of the time.
  14. 10.Be3 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.

Questions about this course

How does Ian Nepomniachtchi play the Ruy Lopez?
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5, Ian Nepomniachtchi's most common line is 3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a3 O-O 9.Nc3 Rb8 10.Be3. At top level it comes up about 7% of the time.
Is this Ian Nepomniachtchi's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Ian Nepomniachtchi's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Ruy Lopez course based on?
64 of Ian Nepomniachtchi's Chess.com blitz games in the Ruy Lopez as White, against opponents with an average rating of 3,048. Ian Nepomniachtchi scored 70% 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 Ian Nepomniachtchi?
GM Ian Nepomniachtchi was ranked number 30 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,225 when this course was built.