Caissa Codex
C77

Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Bayreuth Variation

Chess diagram: Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Bayreuth Variation after 5. Bxc6

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.

Statistics from Lichess

69,279 games: White 49.6% / Draw 6.8% / Black 43.6%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
66,12166K
2,5662,566
432432
109109
2020
99
99
88

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.08 The position is about equal

Best play: 5... dxc6 6. d3 Bd6 7. Nbd2 Be6 8. O-O Nd7 9. b3 Qe7 10. Nc4

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Bayreuth Variation (ECO C77, 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. Bxc6 (5 moves).

In 69,279 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.6%, Black 43.6% and 6.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…dxc6, in 95% of those games.

Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.

Write a description or report a mistake
What would you like to send?

Markdown supported (headings ###, bold, lists, links). Submissions are reviewed before publishing.

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Bxc6, the position after Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Bayreuth Variation (C77)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-morphy-defense-bayreuth-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-morphy-defense-bayreuth-variation