Caissa Codex
C80

Ruy Lopez: Open, Bernstein Variation

Chess diagram: Ruy Lopez: Open, Bernstein Variation after 9. Nbd2

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

37,958 games: White 47.7% / Draw 8.9% / Black 43.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
23,28423K
7,6487,648
4,7824,782
1,5601,560
169169
147147
103103
8585

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 24, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.17 The position is about equal

Best play: 9... Nc5 10. c3 d4 11. Bxe6 Nxe6 12. cxd4 Ncxd4 13. a4 Bb4 14. axb5

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

Overview

Ruy Lopez: Open, Bernstein Variation (ECO C80, Open Games) is a variation of the Ruy Lopez: Open, Main Line, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Nbd2 (9 moves).

In 37,958 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.7%, Black 43.4% and 8.9% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 9…Nc5, in 61% of those games.

It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are Ruy Lopez: Open, Classical Defense and Ruy Lopez: Open, Karpov Gambit.

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How to play against the Ruy Lopez: Open, Bernstein Variation

9…Be7 scores best for Black: 50.6%, with Black winning 45.3% and White 44.1% of 4,782 games. The most played, 9…Nc5, scores 48.1% in 23K games, and 9…Bc5 scores lowest: 47.4%. Stockfish's first choice is 9…Nc5.

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

Variations (3)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 9. Nbd2, the position after Ruy Lopez: Open, Main Line also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Ruy Lopez: Open, Bernstein Variation (C80)”. Lichess data as of 24 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-open-bernstein-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/ruy-lopez-open-bernstein-variation