Tree path 7 levels King's Pawn Game › King's Knight Opening › Normal Variation › Ruy Lopez › Berlin Defense › Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense › Improved Steinitz Defense
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game C20
- King's Knight Opening C40
- Normal Variation C44
- Ruy Lopez C60
- Berlin Defense C65
- Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense C65
- Improved Steinitz Defense C66 you are here
Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Improved Steinitz Defense
Overview
Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Improved Steinitz Defense is a named branch in the Open Games group of chess theory, classified under ECO C66.
The Open Games group covers open games — classical 1.e4 e5 openings where both sides contest the centre directly with pawns.
The line arises from 8 plies — specifically the moves 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O d6.
In the opening tree, this line branches off from Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, part of the broader King's Pawn Game system.
3 named variations grow from this line, including Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Closed Wolf Variation, Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Hedgehog Variation, Ruy Lopez: Closed Berlin Defense, Chigorin Variation.
Together the deeper variations number 5 across the full subtree.
Use the board to walk through every move, check how the position has scored on Lichess, or take it head-to-head against Stockfish.
- ECO code
- C66
- Group
- Open Games (C)
- Plies
- 8
- Parent
- Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense
- Direct variations
- 3
- Total in subtree
- 5
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
1,933,610 games · White 53.6% / Draw 5.1% / Black 41.3%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Re1 | 784,088 | |
| d4 | 445,883 | |
| d3 | 213,537 | |
| c3 | 180,798 | |
| h3 | 148,904 | |
| Nc3 | 110,324 | |
| Bxc6+ | 37,117 | |
| Qe2 | 8,507 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 01:53:44
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Variations (3)
Show all 5 sub-variations (full subtree)
- C66 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Closed Wolf Variation 12-ply
- C66 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Hedgehog Variation 12-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