- ECO code
- C78
- Moves
- 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O
- Family
- Ruy Lopez
- To move
- Black
- Master games
- 5,861
- Average game length
- 45 moves
- Years covered
- 1859–2026
Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense is the opening filed under ECO code C78, reached after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O. It belongs to the Ruy Lopez family and is known as the Morphy Defense; in the resulting position it is Black to move.
Katuranga's collection of 138,070 master games contains 5,861 games on this line — the 24th most played opening in the collection. The oldest game on this line is from 1859 and the most recent from 2026. The busiest decade in this collection is the 2020s, with 1,620 games. An average game here lasts 45 moves.
White wins 35% of those games, 45% end in a draw, and Black wins 20%. Compared with the collection average (White 37%, draws 35%, Black 28%), Black scores worse here by 8 percentage points. Draws are more common here than usual, by 10 points.
From this position the most popular move is 5...Be7, played in 3,942 games, followed by 5...Nxe4 (809) and 5...b5 (696). 5...Be7 leads into Ruy Lopez: Closed. After 5...Be7 White scores 36% and Black 19%.
The name that appears most often on the White side of this line is Vachier Lagrave,M (305 games); on the Black side, Aronian,L (245).
19 named variations branch off this position and have their own page here, among them Ruy Lopez: Closed; Ruy Lopez: Closed; Ruy Lopez: Closed.
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Results in master games
- White 35% (2,053)
- Draws 45% (2,620)
- Black 20% (1,188)
Most played continuations
| Move | Games | White / draws / Black | Leads into |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5...Be7 | 3,942 | 36/45/19 | Ruy Lopez: Closed |
| 5...Nxe4 | 809 | 34/48/18 | Ruy Lopez: Open |
| 5...b5 | 696 | 35/37/28 | — |
| 5...Bc5 | 232 | 28/47/25 | — |
| 5...d6 | 181 | 37/37/26 | — |
| 5...g6 | 1 | 0/100/0 | — |
Variations from this position
- Ruy Lopez: Closed · 5...Be7 · 3,942 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed · 5...Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 · 2,916 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed · 5...Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O · 1,424 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed · 5...Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O · 1,368 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed · 5...Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 · 1,234 games
- Ruy Lopez: Open · 5...Nxe4 · 809 games
- Ruy Lopez: Open · 5...Nxe4 6.d4 · 793 games
- Ruy Lopez: Open · 5...Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 · 752 games
- Ruy Lopez: Open · 5...Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 · 703 games
- Ruy Lopez: Open, Main Line · 5...Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 · 701 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed, Martinez Variation · 5...Be7 6.d3 · 608 games
- Neo-Arkhangelsk Variation · 5...b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 · 475 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense · 5...Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Na5 · 389 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense · 5...Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 · 389 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense · 5...Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 · 382 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed, Anti-Marshall · 5...Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.a4 · 364 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed, Breyer Defense · 5...Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Nb8 · 344 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed, Breyer · 5...Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Nb8 10.d4 · 321 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed, Breyer Defense, Zaitsev Hybrid · 5...Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Nb8 10.d4 Nbd7 · 319 games
How the position is reached
- King's Pawn Game · 1.e4 · 62,859 games
- King's Pawn Game · 1.e4 e5 · 24,632 games
- King's Knight Opening · 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 · 21,895 games
- King's Knight Opening: Normal Variation · 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 · 19,295 games
- Ruy Lopez · 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 · 12,516 games
- Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense · 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 · 8,064 games
Played most often by
As White
- Vachier Lagrave,M 305
- Shirov,A 276
- Grischuk,A 203
As Black
- Aronian,L 245
- Shirov,A 203
- Carlsen,M 193
Games per decade
- 1850s 2
- 1860s 1
- 1870s 4
- 1880s 6
- 1890s 25
- 1900s 81
- 1910s 67
- 1920s 91
- 1930s 75
- 1940s 143
- 1950s 229
- 1960s 336
- 1970s 221
- 1980s 268
- 1990s 434
- 2000s 1,042
- 2010s 1,216
- 2020s 1,620
Master games on this line
| White | Black | Result | Year | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| So,W | Gukesh,D | 1/2-1/2 | 2026 | 14th Norway Chess 2026 |
| Dominguez Perez,L | Wei Yi | 1/2-1/2 | 2026 | FIDE World Rapid Team |
| Nepomniachtchi,I | Sindarov,Javokhir | 0-1 | 2026 | Titled Tue 10th Feb 2026 |
| Rustamov,Rustam | Caruana,F | 1-0 | 2026 | 1st 3-0 Thu 23rd Apr 2026 |
| Grischuk,A | Tsaruk,Maksim | 1-0 | 2026 | Aeroflot Open A 2026 |
| Grischuk,A | Csonka,B | 1/2-1/2 | 2026 | Titled Tue 3rd Feb 2026 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense?
It is the opening with ECO code C78, reached after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O. It belongs to the Ruy Lopez family.
Is the Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense good for White or for Black?
In 5,861 master games on this line White wins 35%, 45% are drawn and Black wins 20%. The collection average is White 37%, draws 35%, Black 28% — so this line is no worse than usual for White than the field as a whole.
What is the main continuation of the Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense?
5...Be7 — played in 3,942 of the master games on this line, which leads into Ruy Lopez: Closed.
Which grandmasters play the Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense?
On the White side Vachier Lagrave,M (305), Shirov,A (276), Grischuk,A (203); on the Black side Aronian,L (245), Shirov,A (203), Carlsen,M (193).
Every number on this page is computed from Katuranga's master game collection; names and ECO codes follow the lichess opening book (CC0).
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