Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Classical Defense Deferred
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
723,253 games: White 51.7% / Draw 4.4% / Black 43.9%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 373,568374K | ||
| 256,059256K | ||
| 37,67138K | ||
| 20,49820K | ||
| 15,41115K | ||
| 6,8216,821 | ||
| 3,8123,812 | ||
| 2,0692,069 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.41 White is slightly better
Best play: 5. c3 Nge7 6. O-O Ba7 7. d4 Ng6 8. Re1 O-O 9. h3 h6
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 better this line does for Black: Black scores 46% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up and 47% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 183K | |
| 1400–1799 | 496K | |
| 1800–2199 | 394K | |
| 2200 and up | 47K | |
| Masters, over the board | 878 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H.
- Firouzja, A. – Nakamura, H.
- Firouzja, A. – Nakamura, H.
- Firouzja, A. – Nakamura, H.
- Firouzja, A. – Nakamura, H.
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 27, 2026
Overview
Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Classical Defense Deferred (ECO C70, Open Games) is a variation of the Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Bc5 (4 moves).
In 723,253 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.7%, Black 43.9% and 4.4% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. O-O, in 52% 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
How to play against the Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Classical Defense Deferred
5. c3 scores best for White: 54.7%, with White winning 52.6% and Black 43.2% of 256K games. The most played, 5. O-O, scores 54.0% in 374K games, and 5. d3 scores lowest: 51.3%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5. c3.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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, Classical Defense Deferred has lost ground since 2016: 0.027% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.033%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.033% | 11,878 |
| 2017 | 0.032% | 17,751 |
| 2018 | 0.032% | 24,761 |
| 2019 | 0.03% | 37,343 |
| 2020 | 0.029% | 83,540 |
| 2021 | 0.027% | 105,454 |
| 2022 | 0.026% | 98,956 |
| 2023 | 0.027% | 102,621 |
| 2024 | 0.028% | 101,917 |
| 2025 | 0.027% | 95,233 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.028% | 30,473 |
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Classical Defense Deferred (C70)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-morphy-defense-classical-defense-deferred