Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense 4…Nf6 5. O-O
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Statistics from Lichess
5,840,981 games: White 49.6% / Draw 5.6% / Black 44.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Ruy Lopez: Closed | 2,321,6352.3M | |
| 2,104,3242.1M | ||
| Neo-Arkhangelsk Variation | 477,712478K | |
| Ruy Lopez: Open | 462,280462K | |
| Steinitz Deferred | 424,657425K | |
| 17,19817K | ||
| Ruy Lopez: Central Countergambit | 8,9788,978 | |
| 7,3797,379 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.24 The position is about equal
Best play: 5... Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Be3 Be7 10. c3
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the worse this line does for White: White scores 57% under 1400, 51% at 2200 and up and 56% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 523K | |
| 1400–1799 | 2M | |
| 1800–2199 | 3.5M | |
| 2200 and up | 1.1M | |
| Masters, over the board | 82K |
Master games
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Ding Liren
- Anand, V. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
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: Morphy Defense (ECO C78, Open Games) is a variation of the Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O (5 moves).
In 5,840,981 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.6%, Black 44.8% and 5.6% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…Be7, in 40% of those games.
It branches into 9 named variations; the most played are Ruy Lopez: Closed and Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Neo-Arkhangelsk Variation. In all, 105 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 5. O-O
5…Nxe4 (Ruy Lopez: Open) scores best for Black: 49.7%, with Black winning 46.2% and White 46.9% of 462K games. The most played, 5…Be7, scores 49.4% in 2.3M games, and 5…Bc5 scores lowest: 42.4%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5…Nxe4.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black'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
This line has lost ground since 2016: 0.18% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.31% (its peak: 0.36% in 2017).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.31% | 109,567 |
| 2017 | 0.36% | 196,175 |
| 2018 | 0.35% | 274,463 |
| 2019 | 0.3% | 375,040 |
| 2020 | 0.27% | 783,163 |
| 2021 | 0.22% | 861,252 |
| 2022 | 0.22% | 807,959 |
| 2023 | 0.21% | 808,064 |
| 2024 | 0.19% | 695,449 |
| 2025 | 0.18% | 627,046 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.18% | 201,650 |
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 (9)
All 105 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
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Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense (C78)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-morphy-defense-2