Caissa Codex
C70

Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Norwegian Variation

Chess diagram: Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Norwegian Variation after 5…Na5

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

156,481 games: White 52.0% / Draw 5.1% / Black 42.9%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
42,69443K
37,49037K
28,51029K
Nightingale Gambit 19,71620K
9,3699,369
6,7006,700
6,0876,087
4,5394,539

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

Engine evaluation

+0.43 White is slightly better

Best play: 6. O-O d6 7. d4 exd4 8. Re1 Nxb3 9. axb3 c5 10. c3 Be7

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

Overview

Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Norwegian Variation (ECO C70, Open Games) is a variation of the Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Caro Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 5. Bb3 Na5 (5 moves).

In 156,481 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.0%, Black 42.9% and 5.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 6. Nxe5, in 27% of those games.

It continues into one named variation, Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Norwegian Variation, Nightingale Gambit.

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How to play against the Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Norwegian Variation

6. O-O scores best for White: 57.4%, with White winning 54.5% and Black 39.7% of 37K games. The most played answer, 6. Nxe5, scores lowest: 51.4% in 43K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 6. O-O.

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

Variations (1)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 5. Bb3 Na5, the position after Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Caro Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Norwegian Variation (C70)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-morphy-defense-norwegian-variation

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