Caissa Codex
C76

Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Modern Steinitz Defense, Fianchetto Variation

Chess diagram: Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Modern Steinitz Defense, Fianchetto Variation after 6…Bd7

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.

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Statistics from Lichess

8,835 games: White 45.6% / Draw 6.3% / Black 48.1%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
4,8984,898
1,2581,258
949949
559559
311311
193193
172172
169169

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 25, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.49 White is slightly better

Best play: 7. Bg5 f6 8. Be3 Bg7 9. O-O Nh6 10. dxe5 fxe5 11. c4 O-O

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

Overview

Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Modern Steinitz Defense, Fianchetto Variation (ECO C76, Open Games) is a variation of the Ruy Lopez: Fianchetto Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. c3 a6 5. Ba4 d6 6. d4 Bd7 (6 moves).

In 8,835 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 45.6%, Black 48.1% and 6.3% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. O-O, in 55% of those games.

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How to play against the Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Modern Steinitz Defense, Fianchetto Variation

7. Bg5 scores best for White: 53.3%, with White winning 49.9% and Black 43.4% of 949 games. The most played, 7. O-O, scores 49.1% in 4,898 games, and 7. d5 scores lowest: 45.4%. Stockfish's first choice is also 7. Bg5.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 4. c3 a6 5. Ba4 d6 6. d4 Bd7, the position after Ruy Lopez: Fianchetto Defense also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Modern Steinitz Defense, Fianchetto Variation (C76)”. Lichess data as of 25 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-morphy-defense-modern-steinitz-defense-fianchetto-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-morphy-defense-modern-steinitz-defense-fianchetto-variation