Ruy Lopez: Nürnberg Variation
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
368,079 games: White 57.1% / Draw 4.0% / Black 38.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 113,608114K | ||
| 102,544103K | ||
| 51,10051K | ||
| 39,41339K | ||
| 28,98129K | ||
| 16,47916K | ||
| 6,8306,830 | ||
| 2,6432,643 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.94 White is better
Best play: 4. O-O Bc5 5. c3 a6 6. d4 Ba7 7. Bc4 d6 8. h3 h5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1.1M | |
| 1400–1799 | 813K | |
| 1800–2199 | 102K | |
| 2200 and up | 1,732 | |
| Masters, over the board | 1 |
Master games
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: Nürnberg Variation (ECO C60, Open Games) is a variation of the Ruy Lopez, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 f6 (3 moves).
In 368,079 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 57.1%, Black 38.8% and 4.0% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. O-O, in 31% 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
How to play against the Ruy Lopez: Nürnberg Variation
4. d4 scores best for White: 64.6%, with White winning 62.6% and Black 33.4% of 51K games. The most played, 4. O-O, scores 62.4% in 114K games, and 4. Bxc6 scores lowest: 52.8%. Stockfish's first choice is 4. 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
Popularity by year
The Ruy Lopez: Nürnberg Variation is played less than half as often as in 2016: 0.011% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.025%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.025% | 8,943 |
| 2017 | 0.016% | 8,754 |
| 2018 | 0.012% | 9,250 |
| 2019 | 0.013% | 16,351 |
| 2020 | 0.016% | 45,677 |
| 2021 | 0.019% | 72,431 |
| 2022 | 0.015% | 56,048 |
| 2023 | 0.014% | 51,769 |
| 2024 | 0.012% | 44,201 |
| 2025 | 0.011% | 38,000 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.011% | 11,572 |
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: Nürnberg Variation (C60)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-nurnberg-variation