The longest named lines in the opening list
From one move to 36 plies: how far names reach into the game.
The longest named line in the list is Ruy Lopez: Marshall Attack, Main Line, Spassky Variation, filed under C89: it runs for 36 plies, to 18...Qh5. That is 7 plies more than the runner-up. Most named lines are far shorter: the median is 9 plies, and only 109 of the 3,865 lines go past move 10 for both sides.
How long is a named line?
Some names apply at once: 20 lines in the list consist of a single first move. Others only apply after a long, exact sequence of moves. The chart shows how the 3,865 lines are distributed.
The peak sits at 6 plies, with 357 lines. After that the count falls steadily, and the tail beyond 25 plies is thin.
The fifteen longest
What the long lines have in common
Among the fifty longest lines, the Ruy Lopez supplies 14, more than any other opening. Italian Game follows with 9. C89, the Marshall Attack, stands out: its 9 lines include the longest of all and two more among the fifteen longest.
By volume, the fifty longest lines split as B 9, C 24, D 14, E 3. The long tail is not a measure of how good or how common those openings are; it shows how deeply their branches have been catalogued.
The record in each volume
Every volume has its own longest line, and the five records differ a good deal:
Volume A’s record, Benoni Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Hastings Defense, Main Line, stops at 22 plies, 14 short of the Marshall line in volume C. In volume E the record belongs to King’s Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Classical System, Kozul Gambit, which reaches 14.c5.
Codes with no short line at all
Some codes only begin deep in the game. The shortest line filed under D69 already runs 28 plies, the highest such minimum of any code; D89 follows with 26 and C99 with 25. On the way, the reference line of D69 passes 17 named positions belonging to other lines, all shown on its page.
Long lines pass many names
A long line is also a chain of shorter ones. On average, a line of twenty plies or more passes 11.4 named positions before reaching its own, against 6.0 for all lines. The Marshall line at the top of the table passes 14: its road runs from the first move through the Ruy Lopez positions of several codes before it reaches C89. That chain is what the road on each code page draws, stop by stop, so a long line can be read as a sequence of decisions, each with its own name.
Long lines contain more captures
Length changes what happens on the board. Lines of twenty plies or more contain 3.3 captures on average; lines shorter than ten plies contain 0.4. Put simply, a short name usually describes where the pieces and pawns are placed, while a long one usually already includes a few captures.
At the other end: names after one move
The shortest lines are worth a look too. Twenty names are given after White’s first move alone, from Amar Opening to King’s Pawn Game; by volume they split as A 19, B 1. A further 93 names are complete after Black’s first reply. Between them, these 113 very short lines are the roots from which the longer lines grow: all 3,752 lines longer than two plies pass through at least one of them on the way, as the road on each code page shows ply by ply.
Length by volume
Average length rises from volume to volume: A 6.8, B 9.1, C 10.4, D 11.5, E 12.3 plies. Volume A holds 19 of the 20 single-move lines, which pulls its average down; in volume E no line is shorter than 4 plies.
Why it matters for naming a game
A game is named after the deepest named position it reaches. If you play the first 36 plies of Ruy Lopez: Marshall Attack, Main Line, Spassky Variation, the game carries that full name; if you leave the line at move 12, it is named after the last position on the way that has a name. The opening finder works this way, and each code page shows the named positions its reference line passes on the road to it.
Sources
Opening names and move sequences: lichess-org/chess-openings (CC0), retrieved 2026-10-28. All counts replayed and computed by ecocodes with python-chess; definitions on How to read a code page.