Tree path 6 levels King's Pawn Game › King's Knight Opening › Normal Variation › Ruy Lopez › Morphy Defense › Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game C20
- King's Knight Opening C40
- Normal Variation C44
- Ruy Lopez C60
- Morphy Defense C70
- Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense C78 you are here
Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense
Overview
Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense is a named branch in the Open Games group of chess theory, classified under ECO C78.
The Open Games group covers open games — classical 1.e4 e5 openings where both sides contest the centre directly with pawns.
It begins with 9 plies and takes 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O to reach the canonical position.
In the opening tree, this line branches off from Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, part of the broader King's Pawn Game system.
9 distinct sub-variations branch from this opening; prominent examples include Ruy Lopez: Brix Variation, Ruy Lopez: Central Countergambit, Ruy Lopez: Closed, and others.
Across every depth of the tree this branch holds 105 documented sub-variations, reflecting decades of analytical work.
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
- C78
- Group
- Open Games (C)
- Plies
- 9
- Parent
- Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense
- Direct variations
- 9
- Total in subtree
- 105
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
5,840,981 games · White 49.6% / Draw 5.6% / Black 44.8%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Be7 | 2,321,635 | |
| b5 | 2,104,324 | |
| Bc5 | 477,712 | |
| Nxe4 | 462,280 | |
| d6 | 424,657 | |
| Bd6 | 17,198 | |
| d5 | 8,978 | |
| h6 | 7,379 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 02:07:41
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Variations (9)
Show all 105 sub-variations (full subtree)
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