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Ruy Lopez · As White · updated October 2026

Play the Ruy Lopez like Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

A Ruy Lopez repertoire built from 143 of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Maxime Vachier-Lagrave chose most often. Where Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 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 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave or Chess.com.

  • Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was #9 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,300) and scored 65% against opponents averaging 3,078 in these games.
  • You play Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's own move in 35 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#9

Chess.com

Rating

3,300

Games

143

in this opening

Score

65%

in these games

Opponents

3,078

average rating

More about Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

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 · 12% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.h3 Be7 10.Nc3 Nh4 11.Nxh4 Bxh4 12.Re1 h5 13.Ne2 Ke8 14.Bd2

  2. Line 2 · 9% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.O-O Bd7 6.c3 g6 7.d4 Bg7 8.Bg5 f6 9.Be3 Nh6 10.dxe5 fxe5 11.Bg5 Qc8 12.Bb3 Na5 13.Bd5 c6 14.Bb3 Qc7 15.Bc2 Nf7 16.Nbd2

  3. Line 3 · 6% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3

  4. Line 4 · 6% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.h3 Be7 10.Nc3 Nh4 11.Nxh4 Bxh4 12.Re1 h5 13.Ne2 Bf5 14.Nd4

  5. Line 5 · 5% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.a4 Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.Bd2 Qd7 11.Nc3

  6. Line 6 · 5% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.h3 Bd7 10.Rd1

  7. Line 7 · 5% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.h3 Ke8 10.Nc3

  8. Line 8 · 5% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O d6 6.Re1

  9. Line 9 · 4% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 f5 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 b5 7.Bb3

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

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's main line in the Ruy Lopez, move by move

The most common line at top level: 3…Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.h3 Be7 10.Nc3 Nh4 11.Nxh4 Bxh4 12.Re1 h5 13.Ne2 Ke8 14.Bd2.

  1. 3…Nf6 Reply · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games A common reply here is 3…Nf6. At top level, this comes up about 34% of the time.
  2. 4.O-O Your move · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played 4.O-O in 43 games, scoring 69%.
  3. 4…Nxe4 Reply · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games A common reply here is 4…Nxe4.
  4. 5.d4 Your move · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played 5.d4 in 28 games, scoring 68%.
  5. 5…Nd6 Reply · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games A common reply here is 5…Nd6.
  6. 6.Bxc6 Your move · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played 6.Bxc6 in 26 games, scoring 69%.
  7. 6…dxc6 Reply · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games A common reply here is 6…dxc6.
  8. 7.dxe5 Your move · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played 7.dxe5 in 26 games, scoring 69%.
  9. 7…Nf5 Reply · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games A common reply here is 7…Nf5. At top level, this comes up about 31% of the time.
  10. 8.Qxd8+ Your move · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played 8.Qxd8+ in 23 games, scoring 65%.
  11. 8…Kxd8 Reply · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games A common reply here is 8…Kxd8.
  12. 9.h3 Your move · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played 9.h3 in 12 games, scoring 63%.
  13. 9…Be7 Reply · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games A common reply here is 9…Be7. At top level, this comes up about 18% of the time.
  14. 10.Nc3 Your move · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played 10.Nc3 in 7 games, scoring 57%.
  15. 10…Nh4 Reply · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games A common reply here is 10…Nh4.
  16. 11.Nxh4 Your move · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played 11.Nxh4 in 7 games, scoring 57%.
  17. 11…Bxh4 Reply · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games A common reply here is 11…Bxh4.
  18. 12.Re1 Your move · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played 12.Re1 in 5 games, scoring 40%.
  19. 12…h5 Reply · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games A common reply here is 12…h5.
  20. 13.Ne2 Your move · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played 13.Ne2 in 3 games, scoring 33%.
  21. 13…Ke8 Reply · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games A common reply here is 13…Ke8. At top level, this comes up about 12% of the time.
  22. 14.Bd2 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.

Questions about this course

How does Maxime Vachier-Lagrave play the Ruy Lopez?
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's most common line is 3…Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.h3 Be7 10.Nc3 Nh4 11.Nxh4 Bxh4 12.Re1 h5 13.Ne2 Ke8 14.Bd2. At top level it comes up about 12% of the time.
Is this Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Ruy Lopez course based on?
143 of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's Chess.com blitz games in the Ruy Lopez as White, against opponents with an average rating of 3,078. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave scored 65% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
9 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 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave?
GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was ranked number 9 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,300 when this course was built.