Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Modern Steinitz Defense 4…d6 5. c3
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Statistics from Lichess
452,907 games: White 53.7% / Draw 4.7% / Black 41.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 133,567134K | ||
| C75 | 100,523101K | |
| 91,21891K | ||
| 50,78551K | ||
| Siesta Variation | 38,81039K | |
| 10,22110K | ||
| 6,0366,036 | ||
| 4,9244,924 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 25, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.21 The position is about equal
Best play: 5... f5 6. exf5 Bxf5 7. O-O Bd3 8. Re1 Be7 9. Re3 e4 10. Na3
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 56% 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 | 89K | |
| 1400–1799 | 314K | |
| 1800–2199 | 233K | |
| 2200 and up | 39K | |
| Masters, over the board | 2,244 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Anand, V. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Caruana, F. – Harikrishna, P.
- Yu Yangyi – Mamedyarov, S.
- Harikrishna, P. – Mamedyarov, S.
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, Modern Steinitz Defense (ECO C74, Open Games) is a variation of the Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Modern Steinitz Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6 5. c3 (5 moves).
In 452,907 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.7%, Black 41.5% and 4.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…b5, in 29% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played is Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Modern Steinitz Defense, Siesta Variation. In all, 4 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. c3
5…f5 (Siesta Variation) scores best for Black: 51.4%, with Black winning 48.8% and White 46.1% of 39K games. The most played answer, 5…b5, scores lowest: 41.2% in 134K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 5…f5.
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 stayed between 0.016% and 0.018% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.018% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.016% | 5,743 |
| 2017 | 0.018% | 9,872 |
| 2018 | 0.018% | 14,009 |
| 2019 | 0.018% | 22,849 |
| 2020 | 0.018% | 52,354 |
| 2021 | 0.017% | 64,872 |
| 2022 | 0.016% | 61,680 |
| 2023 | 0.018% | 68,131 |
| 2024 | 0.018% | 66,230 |
| 2025 | 0.018% | 61,382 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.017% | 18,644 |
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 (2)
All 4 named lines that continue from here
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Modern Steinitz Defense (C74)”. Lichess data as of 25 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-morphy-defense-modern-steinitz-defense-5