Ruy Lopez: Bird Variation
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
2,854,407 games: White 51.6% / Draw 4.2% / Black 44.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 2,387,4132.4M | ||
| 245,422245K | ||
| 96,80697K | ||
| 48,92249K | ||
| 22,66623K | ||
| 12,90913K | ||
| 8,8298,829 | ||
| 7,2067,206 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.50 White is slightly better
Best play: 4. Nxd4 exd4 5. O-O c6 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. d3 d6 8. Nd2 Be7
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 48% under 1400, 46% at 2200 and up and 42% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 2.4M | |
| 1400–1799 | 3.4M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.3M | |
| 2200 and up | 79K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,053 |
Master games
- Saric, I. – Carlsen, M.
- Kasparov, G. – Khalifman, A.
- Kasparov, G. – Khalifman, A.
- Bacrot, E. – Morozevich, A.
- Leko, P. – Morozevich, A.
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: Bird Variation (ECO C61, Open Games) is a variation of the Ruy Lopez, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 (3 moves).
In 2,854,407 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.6%, Black 44.2% and 4.2% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. Nxd4, in 84% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Ruy Lopez: Bird Variation, Paulsen Variation.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to play against the Ruy Lopez: Bird Variation
The most played answer, 4. Nxd4, also scores best for White: 54.4%, with White winning 52.3% and Black 43.5% of 2.4M games. Of the main answers, 4. Bc4 scores lowest: 51.7%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4. Nxd4.
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
Popularity by year
The Ruy Lopez: Bird Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.09% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.18%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.18% | 63,994 |
| 2017 | 0.16% | 88,056 |
| 2018 | 0.13% | 104,517 |
| 2019 | 0.13% | 164,383 |
| 2020 | 0.12% | 358,113 |
| 2021 | 0.12% | 460,383 |
| 2022 | 0.11% | 404,980 |
| 2023 | 0.11% | 406,066 |
| 2024 | 0.098% | 351,974 |
| 2025 | 0.09% | 310,963 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.087% | 95,613 |
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 (1)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Bird Variation (C61)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-bird-variation