Tree path 5 levels King's Pawn Game › King's Knight Opening › Normal Variation › Ruy Lopez › Berlin Defense
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game C20
- King's Knight Opening C40
- Normal Variation C44
- Ruy Lopez C60
- Berlin Defense C65 you are here
Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense
Overview
Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense is a specific line in the Open Games family (ECO C65), arising from a recognised theoretical position.
The Open Games group covers open games — classical 1.e4 e5 openings where both sides contest the centre directly with pawns.
It is reached after 6 plies of play, with the move sequence 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6.
The line refines Ruy Lopez, which traces back to the root opening King's Pawn Game.
The line splits into 4 documented sub-systems: Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation, Nyholm Attack, and others.
Below the direct variations, the full subtree contains 36 documented sub-variations.
Explore the position on the interactive board, study its real-world results from Lichess, and challenge the engine when you are ready.
This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.
Statistics from Lichess
9,672,559 games · White 51.6% / Draw 5.2% / Black 43.2%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| O-O | 4,559,190 | |
| d3 | 2,337,083 | |
| Bxc6 | 1,385,385 | |
| Nc3 | 986,393 | |
| Qe2 | 137,231 | |
| d4 | 136,270 | |
| c3 | 97,938 | |
| Ba4 | 5,345 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 01:28:09
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Variations (4)
Show all 36 sub-variations (full subtree)
- C65 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense 7-ply
- C65 Anti-Berlin Variation 7-ply
- C65 Nyholm Attack 9-ply
- C65 Ruy Lopez: Halloween Attack 7-ply
- C65 Anderssen Variation 9-ply
- C65 Duras Variation 9-ply
- C65 Kaufmann Variation 9-ply
- C65 Mortimer Variation 8-ply
- C65 Beverwijk Variation 8-ply
- C65 Fishing Pole Variation 8-ply
- C66 Improved Steinitz Defense 8-ply
- C67 Rio Gambit Accepted 8-ply
- C65 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation, Mortimer Trap 10-ply
- C66 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Closed Wolf Variation 12-ply
- C66 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Hedgehog Variation 12-ply
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, l'Hermet Variation 10-ply
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Rio de Janeiro Variation 10-ply
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Rosenthal Variation 10-ply
- C65 Ruy Lopez: Classical Variation, Zukertort Gambit 9-ply
- C66 Ruy Lopez: Closed Berlin Defense, Chigorin Variation 10-ply
- C66 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Closed Bernstein Variation 13-ply
- C66 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Closed Showalter Variation 13-ply
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Cordel Variation 16-ply
- C67 Berlin Wall Defense 16-ply
- C67 Westerinen Line 14-ply
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Minckwitz Variation 11-ply
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Pillsbury Variation 17-ply
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Rio de Janeiro Variation 26-ply
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Trifunovic Variation 12-ply
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Winawer Attack 17-ply
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Zukertort Variation 17-ply
- C64 Ruy Lopez: Classical Defense, Benelux Variation 12-ply
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Open Berlin Defense, l'Hermet Variation 11-ply
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Open Berlin Defense, Showalter Variation 11-ply
- C67 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Berlin Wall 18-ply
- C64 Ruy Lopez: Classical Variation, Modern Main Line 13-ply