Caissa Codex
C70

Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Schliemann Defense Deferred, Jaenisch Gambit Deferred

Chess diagram: Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Schliemann Defense Deferred, Jaenisch Gambit Deferred after 5. exf5

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.

Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.

Statistics from Lichess

20,045 games: White 44.5% / Draw 4.4% / Black 51.1%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
13,21313K
3,6373,637
1,4421,442
1,1811,181
346346
139139
5353
88

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 2, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.42 Black is slightly better

Best play: 5... e4 6. Qe2 Qe7 7. Bxc6 dxc6 8. Nd4 Nh6 9. Qh5+ Nf7 10. Ne6

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

Overview

Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Schliemann Defense Deferred, Jaenisch Gambit Deferred (ECO C70, Open Games) is a gambit in the Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Schliemann Defense Deferred, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 f5 5. exf5 (5 moves).

In 20,045 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 44.5%, Black 51.1% and 4.4% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…e4, in 66% 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
What would you like to send?

Markdown supported (headings ###, bold, lists, links). Submissions are reviewed before publishing.

How to play against the Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Schliemann Defense Deferred, Jaenisch Gambit Deferred

The most played answer, 5…e4, also scores best for Black: 57.0%, with Black winning 54.7% and White 40.6% of 13K games. Of the main answers, 5…Nf6 scores lowest: 45.6%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5…e4.

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

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Schliemann Defense Deferred, Jaenisch Gambit Deferred (C70)”. Lichess data as of 2 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-morphy-defense-schliemann-defense-deferred-jaenisch-gambit-deferred

https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-morphy-defense-schliemann-defense-deferred-jaenisch-gambit-deferred