Tree path 6 levels King's Pawn Game › King's Knight Opening › Normal Variation › Ruy Lopez › Bird Variation › Paulsen Variation
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game C20
- King's Knight Opening C40
- Normal Variation C44
- Ruy Lopez C60
- Bird Variation C61
- Paulsen Variation C61 you are here
Ruy Lopez: Bird Variation, Paulsen Variation
Overview
Ruy Lopez: Bird Variation, Paulsen Variation is a named branch in the Open Games group of chess theory, classified under ECO C61.
The Open Games group covers open games — classical 1.e4 e5 openings where both sides contest the centre directly with pawns.
It begins with 10 plies and takes 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. Nxd4 exd4 5. O-O Ne7 to reach the canonical position.
In the opening tree, this line branches off from Ruy Lopez: Bird Variation, part of the broader King's Pawn Game system.
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
- C61
- Group
- Open Games (C)
- Plies
- 10
- Parent
- Ruy Lopez: Bird Variation
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
11,923 games · White 53.9% / Draw 4.1% / Black 42.0%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| d3 | 4,817 | |
| c3 | 3,723 | |
| f4 | 793 | |
| Re1 | 634 | |
| Bc4 | 439 | |
| Qf3 | 370 | |
| Be2 | 225 | |
| b3 | 169 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 02:18:36
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Submissions are reviewed before publishing.