Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3
The Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C65, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3. It is a line of the Ruy Lopez. Black is to move. 4 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 10,956 times by this move order. White won 51%, 4% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 4… Bc5 (40% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.15 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 4… Bc5 5. Ba4 a6 6. O-O b5 7. Bb3)
- ECO
- C65
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/1B2p3/4P3/3P1N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 5,167 | |
| 1500-1999 | 4,351 | |
| 2000+ | 1,438 | |
| All | 10,956 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Bc5 | 4,347 (40%) | |
| 4… d6 | 2,442 (22%) | |
| 4… a6 | 1,483 (14%) | |
| 4… Nd4 | 478 (4%) | |
| 4… d5 | 448 (4%) | |
| 4… h6 | 428 (4%) | |
| 4… Bb4+ | 361 (3%) | |
| 4… Be7 | 310 (3%) |
Master games
9,932 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 33%, Black 25%). The strongest:
- LCZero 0.31-dag-5350a2e-BT4-61 (3631) – Stockfish dev-20240728-2343f71 (3662) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 26 Balanced Lines · 2024-07-31
- Stockfish dev-20240728-2343f71 (3662) – LCZero 0.31-dag-5350a2e-BT4-61 (3631) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 26 Balanced Lines · 2024-07-31
- KomodoDragon 2894.00 (3600) – Stockfish dev15_20220401 (3617) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 22 Superfinal 2022 · 2022-04-06
- Stockfish dev15_20220401 (3617) – KomodoDragon 2894.00 (3600) 1-0 · TCEC 22 Superfinal 2022 · 2022-04-06
- LCZero 0.27.0d-Tilps-dje-magic_JH.94-100 (3586) – Stockfish 20210113 (3601) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Superfinal 2020 · 2021-01-18
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- evg85 (2799) – GM Niksss2023 (2834) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- puziko52 (2848) – BoneCrusher2020 (2749) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- Cuentatorneos (2667) – El_Banditoff (2753) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense (3. Bb5 Nf6) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6
Continuations
- Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation, Mortimer Variation C65 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Ne7
- Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation, Anderssen Variation C65 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 d6 5. Bxc6+
- Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation, Duras Variation C65 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 d6 5. c4
- Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation, Kaufmann Variation C65 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Be3
More Ruy Lopez lines (all)
- Ruy Lopez C60
- Ruy Lopez: Alapin Defense C60
- Ruy Lopez: Alapin Defense, Alapin Gambit C60
- Ruy Lopez: Brentano Gambit C60
- Ruy Lopez: Bulgarian Variation C60
- Ruy Lopez: Cozio Defense C60
- Ruy Lopez: Cozio Defense, Paulsen Variation C60
- Ruy Lopez: Cozio Defense, Tartakower Gambit C60
- Ruy Lopez: Fianchetto Defense C60
- Ruy Lopez: Fianchetto Defense, Kevitz Gambit C60
- Ruy Lopez: Lucena Variation C60
- Ruy Lopez: Nürnberg Variation C60
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.