Ruy Lopez: Open, Schlechter Defense
253 games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
Black expected score · All ratings · All speeds
49.2%
the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. At best 52.3%.
Measured over 253 games at this level and clock.
Roughly even — the middlegame decides more than this opening choice does.
Outcomes for Black
Draw 80.0 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 253 games
- Rank among the families Black can choose here
- not ranked — this is a variation, not a family
- Games in this context
- 253
- Best context
- not measured yet
- Average game length
- 62 moves
- Games that end decisively
- 20.0%
- Draws
- 80.0%
Best and worst are the strongest and weakest squares with at least 500 games behind them. The table further down shows every square, including thinner ones.
Where it holds · Black score by rating × clock
Green is clearly ahead for Black, grey is around even, red is behind. Tap a cell to measure there, and again to clear. It falls away as the rating rises: 70.0% at 1200-1399, 49.7% at 2500+.
| Rating | UB | Bulle | Blitz | Rapid | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-999 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1000-1199 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1200-1399 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1400-1599 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1600-1799 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1800-1999 | — | — | |||
| 2000-2199 | — | — | |||
| 2200-2499 | — | — | |||
| 2500+ | — | — |
Expected score matrix by rating bracket and time control
- 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 70.0% expected score (1 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 30.0% expected score (1 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 61.2% expected score (3 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 70.0% expected score (1 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 21.5% expected score (2 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 30.0% expected score (1 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 30.0% expected score (1 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 50.0% expected score (6 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 50.0% expected score (1 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 40.5% expected score (9 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 54.8% expected score (9 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 50.0% expected score (3 games)
- 2500+ rating, Bullet: 50.4% expected score (140 games)
- 2500+ rating, Blitz: 48.7% expected score (73 games)
- 2500+ rating, Rapid: 50.0% expected score (2 games)
Related Openings
Methodology
Across every rating and clock, the Ruy Lopez: Open, Schlechter Defense scores 49.2% for Black — we are 90% confident the real figure is between 46.1% and 52.3% — from 253 Lichess games. Win rate, draw rate and loss rate come from games played December 2023 to November 2025.
How the figures are made
- Whose games these are
- 253+ rated games played on Lichess (2023-12 to 2025-11). The games are Lichess’s and free for anyone to use. What is ours is the reading of them. Last rebuilt January 2026.
- Which games we count
- Rated games only — nothing casual.
- Both players within 200 rating points of each other. A mismatch tells you about the gap, not about the opening.
- At least 2 moves played.
- A game is filed under White’s rating.
- Why every number comes with a range
- A number off a few hundred games is a guess. The same number off millions is a fact. The range is what tells them apart, and it is what the lists rank on — so an opening cannot reach the top on a lucky run of forty games. The more games behind a figure, the narrower its range.
- How much we need before we say anything
- An opening page needs 100 games. A gambit needs 50 games at a rating before we will say whether it pays there. The chaos and trap lists need 500 games overall and 250 games at one rating or clock.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Ruy Lopez: Open, Schlechter Defense win rate?
Playing the Ruy Lopez: Open, Schlechter Defense, Black wins 9.2%, draws 80.0% and loses 10.8%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 49.2%. It rests on 253 rated games from Lichess.
At what rating does the Ruy Lopez: Open, Schlechter Defense perform best?
The Ruy Lopez: Open, Schlechter Defense performs best for Black at 2500+, with an Expected Score of 49.8% (215 games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read.
How sharp is the Ruy Lopez: Open, Schlechter Defense?
The Ruy Lopez: Open, Schlechter Defense has a sharpness score of 20.0 (drawish), meaning 20.0% of games end decisively. Average game length is 62 moves.
What is the Ruy Lopez: Open, Schlechter Defense win rate at 2500+?
At 2500+, Black wins 4.4%, draws 90.8% and loses 4.8%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 49.8%. It rests on 215 Lichess games, which average 65 moves.
What is the Ruy Lopez: Open, Schlechter Defense win rate in Bullet?
In Bullet, Black wins 4.9%, draws 89.5% and loses 5.6%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 49.7%. It rests on 151 Lichess games.
Is the Ruy Lopez: Open, Schlechter Defense a good opening?
The Ruy Lopez: Open, Schlechter Defense is hard work for Black — it favours White. Across all ratings, Black wins 9.2% of its games and loses 10.8%. It performs best at 2500+. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.