Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
2,338,266 games: White 50.9% / Draw 4.9% / Black 44.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 983,749984K | ||
| 693,030693K | ||
| 228,091228K | ||
| Mortimer Variation | 93,04493K | |
| 81,98182K | ||
| 78,53179K | ||
| 52,17652K | ||
| 42,79843K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 11, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.08 The position is about equal
Best play: 4... Bc5 5. c3 d5 6. Nbd2 dxe4 7. dxe4 O-O 8. O-O a5 9. a4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 53% under 1400, 51% at 2200 and up and 55% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1.8M | |
| 1400–1799 | 2.1M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.2M | |
| 2200 and up | 255K | |
| Masters, over the board | 12K |
Master games
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Kramnik, V.
- Carlsen, M. – Kramnik, V.
- Carlsen, M. – Anand, V.
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 26, 2026
Overview
Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation (ECO C65, Open Games) is a variation of the Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 (4 moves).
In 2,338,266 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.9%, Black 44.2% and 4.9% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Bc5, in 42% of those games.
It branches into 4 named variations; the most played are Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation, Mortimer Variation and Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation, Anderssen Variation. In all, 5 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation
The most played answer, 4…Bc5, also scores best for Black: 48.7%, with Black winning 46.3% and White 48.8% of 984K games. Of the main answers, 4…a6 scores lowest: 41.4%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4…Bc5.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
The Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.081% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.097%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.097% | 34,829 |
| 2017 | 0.092% | 50,582 |
| 2018 | 0.1% | 78,610 |
| 2019 | 0.096% | 119,496 |
| 2020 | 0.1% | 292,073 |
| 2021 | 0.092% | 360,559 |
| 2022 | 0.091% | 341,845 |
| 2023 | 0.09% | 338,353 |
| 2024 | 0.088% | 316,965 |
| 2025 | 0.081% | 281,594 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.081% | 89,325 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (4)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation (C65)”. Lichess data as of 11 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-berlin-defense-anti-berlin-variation