C78

Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Neo-Arkhangelsk Variation

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Statistics from Lichess

590,947 games: White 55.4% / Draw 4.3% / Black 40.3%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	263,078263K
	113,977114K
	97,29497K
	41,03341K
	31,66032K
	18,14118K
	15,00115K
	3,7903,790

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.28 The position is about equal

Best play: 6. c3 b5 7. Bc2 d5 8. a4 dxe4 9. axb5 exf3 10. Qxf3 e4

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 45% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up and 47% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	165K
1400–1799	459K
1800–2199	303K
2200 and up	34K
Masters, over the board	2,191

Master games

Vachier Lagrave, M. – Carlsen, M. ½–½, 2019
Kasparov, G. – Anand, V. ½–½, 2001
Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L. ½–½, 2021
Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L. 0–1, 2021
Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M. 0–1, 2021

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, Neo-Arkhangelsk Variation (ECO C78, 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. O-O Bc5 (5 moves).

In 590,947 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 55.4%, Black 40.3% and 4.3% were drawn. White's most played move here is 6. c3, in 45% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Neo-Arkhangelsk Variation

6. Nxe5 scores best for White: 64.7%, with White winning 62.6% and Black 33.3% of 41K games. The most played, 6. c3, scores 59.0% in 263K games, and 6. Re1 scores lowest: 54.8%. Stockfish's first choice is 6. 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, Neo-Arkhangelsk Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.018% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.028%.

0.028%0.018%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.028%	10,024
2017	0.03%	16,642
2018	0.03%	23,291
2019	0.029%	35,812
2020	0.027%	77,724
2021	0.025%	97,435
2022	0.023%	85,659
2023	0.022%	82,688
2024	0.02%	71,227
2025	0.018%	62,733
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.018%	19,233

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, Neo-Arkhangelsk Variation (C78)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-morphy-defense-neo-arkhangelsk-variation