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Ruy Lopez · As White · updated October 2026

Play the Ruy Lopez like Nihal Sarin

A Ruy Lopez repertoire built from 42 of Nihal Sarin's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Nihal Sarin chose most often. Where Nihal Sarin 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 Nihal Sarin or Chess.com.

  • Nihal Sarin was #3 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,365) and scored 69% against opponents averaging 3,189 in these games.
  • You play Nihal Sarin's own move in 25 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#3

Chess.com

Rating

3,365

Games

42

in this opening

Score

69%

in these games

Opponents

3,189

average rating

More about Nihal Sarin

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 · 9% 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 · 8% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Bc5 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3

  3. Line 3 · 6% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nxe5 8.Rxe5 O-O 9.d4 Bf6 10.Re2 b6 11.Re1 Bb7 12.Bf4 Ne4 13.c3

  4. Line 4 · 5% at top level

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

  5. Line 5 · 5% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 Bc5 5.c3

  6. Line 6 · 5% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.O-O Bd7 6.c3

  7. Line 7 · 5% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3 Na5 7.d4

  8. Line 8 · 5% at top level

    3…a6 4.Ba4 f5 5.d3 fxe4 6.dxe4 Nf6 7.Nc3 Bb4 8.Qd3

  9. Line 9 · 5% at top level

    3…f5 4.d3 fxe4 5.dxe4 Nf6 6.O-O Bc5 7.Bxc6

  10. Line 10 · 5% at top level

    3…f5 4.d3 fxe4 5.dxe4 Nf6 6.O-O d6 7.Bc4 Bg4 8.h3 Bh5 9.Nc3 Be7 10.g4

  11. Line 11 · 5% at top level

    3…f5 4.d3 fxe4 5.dxe4 Nf6 6.O-O d6 7.Bc4 Bg4 8.h3 Bh5 9.Nc3 Qd7 10.Nd5

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

Nihal Sarin'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 · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 3…a6. At top level, this comes up about 67% of the time.
  2. 4.Ba4 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 4.Ba4 in 28 games, scoring 75%.
  3. 4…Nf6 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 4…Nf6. At top level, this comes up about 45% of the time.
  4. 5.O-O Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 5.O-O in 17 games, scoring 74%.
  5. 5…Be7 Reply · Nihal Sarin'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 · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 6.d3 in 6 games, scoring 75%.
  7. 6…b5 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 6…b5. At top level, this comes up about 22% of the time.
  8. 7.Bb3 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 7.Bb3 in 5 games, scoring 70%.
  9. 7…d6 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 7…d6.
  10. 8.a3 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 8.a3 in 5 games, scoring 70%.
  11. 8…O-O Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 8…O-O. At top level, this comes up about 18% of the time.
  12. 9.Nc3 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 9.Nc3 in 4 games, scoring 63%.
  13. 9…Rb8 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 9…Rb8. At top level, this comes up about 9% 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 Nihal Sarin play the Ruy Lopez?
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5, Nihal Sarin'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 9% of the time.
Is this Nihal Sarin's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Nihal Sarin's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Ruy Lopez course based on?
42 of Nihal Sarin's Chess.com blitz games in the Ruy Lopez as White, against opponents with an average rating of 3,189. Nihal Sarin 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 Nihal Sarin?
GM Nihal Sarin was ranked number 3 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,365 when this course was built.