Tree path 7 levels King's Pawn Game › King's Knight Opening › Normal Variation › Ruy Lopez › Morphy Defense › Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense › Steinitz Deferred
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game C20
- King's Knight Opening C40
- Normal Variation C44
- Ruy Lopez C60
- Morphy Defense C70
- Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense C78
- Steinitz Deferred C79 you are here
Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Steinitz Deferred
Overview
Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Steinitz Deferred is a named branch in the Open Games group of chess theory, classified under ECO C79.
The Open Games group covers open games — classical 1.e4 e5 openings where both sides contest the centre directly with pawns.
The line arises from 10 plies — specifically the moves 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O d6.
In the opening tree, this line branches off from Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, part of the broader King's Pawn Game system.
2 named variations grow from this line, including Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Steinitz Deferred, Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense Deferred, Lipnitsky Variation.
Together the deeper variations number 3 across the full subtree.
Use the board to walk through every move, check how the position has scored on Lichess, or take it head-to-head against Stockfish.
- ECO code
- C79
- Group
- Open Games (C)
- Plies
- 10
- Parent
- Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense
- Direct variations
- 2
- Total in subtree
- 3
This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.
Statistics from Lichess
552,813 games · White 52.9% / Draw 5.3% / Black 41.8%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Re1 | 258,117 | |
| c3 | 82,445 | |
| d4 | 73,541 | |
| d3 | 53,964 | |
| h3 | 52,337 | |
| Bxc6+ | 13,407 | |
| Nc3 | 12,898 | |
| Qe2 | 2,828 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 02:19:31
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