Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Anderssen Variation
The Anderssen Variation of the Ruy Lopez is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3, the most popular alternative to 5.O-O in the Morphy Defense. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
2,075,264 games: White 50.5% / Draw 5.3% / Black 44.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,163,4711.2M | ||
| 321,937322K | ||
| 317,876318K | ||
| 181,979182K | ||
| 57,11957K | ||
| 10,66311K | ||
| 8,0178,017 | ||
| 5,4875,487 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.07 The position is about equal
Best play: 5... b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. Nc3 d6 8. Nd5 h6 9. c3 Be6 10. Nxf6+
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 54% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 55% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 366K | |
| 1400–1799 | 936K | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.2M | |
| 2200 and up | 338K | |
| Masters, over the board | 6,428 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Caruana, F.
- Carlsen, M. – Ding Liren
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
- Carlsen, M. – Caruana, F.
- Vachier Lagrave, M. – Carlsen, M.
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
Description
The Anderssen Variation of the Ruy Lopez is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3, the most popular alternative to 5.O-O in the Morphy Defense. The pawn defends e4, and it indirectly threatens Black's e-pawn with Bxc6 and Nxe5, since ...Qd4 would no longer hit an undefended pawn.
Black's replies
- 5...b5 6.Bb3 is usually followed by 6...Bc5, a much more active square for the bishop than e7. After 6...Be7 7.O-O the game transposes to the Martinez Variation.
- 5...d6 intends ...b5 and ...Na5 to trade White's bishop. White can answer 6.c3, which after 6...Be7 again transposes to the Martinez Variation, or 6.c4, the Duras Variation, which stops ...b5.
- 5...Bc5 prepares to meet Bxc6 and Nxe5 with ...Qd4, hitting the knight and lining up queen and bishop against f2. Play typically continues 6.c3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.O-O O-O, and although White often plays 9.Nbd2 or 9.h3, the strongest move is 9.Bg5. After 9...h6 10.Bh4 g5 White must choose between the safer 11.Bg3 and the sharper 11.Nxg5.
5.d3 or 5.O-O?
If White wants a Ruy Lopez with d2–d3, it is objectively slightly better to castle first and play 6.d3 only after 5...Be7, the Martinez Variation, because after 5.d3 Bc5 it is not clear that White has an advantage. On the other hand, 5.d3 avoids the Open Defense.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 50.5% of the 2.1 million games and Black 44.2%. From 2200 up the gap narrows to 48.5% against 44.4%. In 6,428 master games over the board 42.5% were drawn, White won 33.3% and Black 24.3%.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Anderssen Variation
5…d6 scores best for Black: 47.8%, with Black winning 44.9% and White 49.3% of 318K games. The most played, 5…b5, scores 47.2% in 1.2M games, and 5…Be7 scores lowest: 44.1%. Stockfish's first choice is 5…b5.
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
The Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Anderssen Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.073% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.096%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.096% | 34,330 |
| 2017 | 0.1% | 56,937 |
| 2018 | 0.1% | 79,716 |
| 2019 | 0.094% | 117,610 |
| 2020 | 0.09% | 263,316 |
| 2021 | 0.075% | 291,808 |
| 2022 | 0.076% | 284,518 |
| 2023 | 0.079% | 297,236 |
| 2024 | 0.078% | 280,896 |
| 2025 | 0.073% | 253,504 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.075% | 81,886 |
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)
Sources
- Theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Ruy Lopez, version of 26 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Anderssen Variation (C77)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-morphy-defense-anderssen-variation