Caissa Codex
C65

Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation, Mortimer Variation

Chess diagram: Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation, Mortimer Variation after 4…Ne7

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

93,331 games: White 42.9% / Draw 4.4% / Black 52.7%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
29,87330K
29,00929K
13,40113K
7,0747,074
4,3414,341
2,1122,112
1,5101,510
1,4611,461

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.39 White is slightly better

Best play: 5. d4 Nxe4 6. dxe5 c6 7. Bd3 Nc5 8. O-O d6 9. exd6 Qxd6

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation, Mortimer Variation (ECO C65, Open Games) is a variation of the Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Ne7 (4 moves).

In 93,331 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 42.9%, Black 52.7% and 4.4% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. O-O, in 32% of those games.

It continues into one named variation, Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation, Mortimer Trap.

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How to play against the Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation, Mortimer Variation

The most played answer, 5. O-O, also scores best for White: 50.6%, with White winning 48.0% and Black 46.7% of 30K games. Of the main answers, 5. Nxe5 scores lowest: 34.7%. Stockfish's first choice is 5. d4.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings

Variations (1)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 4…Ne7, the position after Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation, Mortimer Variation (C65)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-berlin-defense-anti-berlin-variation-mortimer-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-berlin-defense-anti-berlin-variation-mortimer-variation