Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Closed Showalter Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O d6 5. d4 Bd7 6. Nc3 Be7 7. Bxc6
The Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Closed Showalter Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C66, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O d6 5. d4 Bd7 6. Nc3 Be7 7. Bxc6. It is a line of the Ruy Lopez. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1 times by this move order. White won 100%, 0% were drawn and Black won 0%. The most popular continuation is 7… Bxc6 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.51 (Stockfish, depth 31; best line 7… Bxc6 8. Re1 exd4 9. Nxd4 O-O 10. Nf5)
- ECO
- C66
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
r2qk2r/pppbbppp/2Bp1n2/4p3/3PP3/2N2N2/PPP2PPP/R1BQ1RK1 b kq - 0 7- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O d6 5. d4 Bd7 6. Nc3 Be7 7. Bxc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 1 | |
| All | 1 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… Bxc6 | 1 (100%) |
Master games
2 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 0%, draw 100%, Black 0%). The strongest:
- GM Mukhiddin Madaminov (2611) – GM Vladislav Artemiev (2653) 1/2-1/2 · Green Hills Masters Blitz · 2026-08-31
- GM Sergei Zhigalko (2661) – GM Azer Mirzoev (2536) 1/2-1/2 · IsBank TCh-TUR 2013 · 2013-07-01
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Closed Showalter Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- atsaynm (2672) – Zaplya (2538) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Hedgehog Variation 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O d6 5. d4 Bd7 6. Nc3 Be7
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.