Caissa Codex
C79

Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Steinitz Deferred 7. d4 Nxe4

Chess diagram: Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Steinitz Deferred after 7…Nxe4

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Statistics from Lichess

1,474 games: White 59.0% / Draw 5.1% / Black 36.0%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
1,1651,165
239239
4747
1212
55
33
11
11

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.46 White is slightly better

Best play: 8. Re1 f5 9. dxe5 Be7 10. Nc3 O-O 11. Nd5 Bb7 12. Nxe7+ Qxe7

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

Overview

Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Steinitz Deferred (ECO C79, Open Games) is a variation of the Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Steinitz Deferred, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O d6 6. Bxc6+ bxc6 7. d4 Nxe4 (7 moves).

In 1,474 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 59.0%, Black 36.0% and 5.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 8. dxe5, in 79% of those games.

It continues into one named variation, Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense Deferred, Boleslavsky Variation.

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How to answer 7…Nxe4

8. Re1 scores best for White: 69.2%, with White winning 66.5% and Black 28.0% of 239 games. The most played answer, 8. dxe5, scores lowest: 58.8% in 1,165 games. Stockfish's first choice is also 8. Re1.

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 6. Bxc6+ bxc6 7. d4 Nxe4, the position after Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Steinitz Deferred also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Steinitz Deferred (C79)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-morphy-defense-steinitz-deferred-2

https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-morphy-defense-steinitz-deferred-2