Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Caro Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5
The Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Caro Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C70, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5. It is a line of the Ruy Lopez. White is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 10,152 times by this move order. White won 56%, 3% were drawn and Black won 41%. The most popular continuation is 5. Bb3 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.32 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 5. Bb3 Nf6 6. d4 d6 7. c3 Bg4)
- ECO
- C70
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/2pp1ppp/p1n5/1p2p3/B3P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 4,450 | |
| 1500-1999 | 4,695 | |
| 2000+ | 1,007 | |
| All | 10,152 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Bb3 | 10,131 (100%) | |
| 5. b3 | 7 (0%) | |
| 5. c3 | 3 (0%) | |
| 5. O-O | 2 (0%) | |
| 5. Nc3 | 1 (0%) | |
| 5. c4 | 1 (0%) | |
| 5. Nxe5 | 1 (0%) | |
| 5. Kf1 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
913 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 57%, draw 14%, Black 29%). The strongest:
- KomodoMCTS 2503.05 (3809) – Fire 021819 (3752) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-19
- Fire 021819 (3752) – KomodoMCTS 2503.05 (3809) 1-0 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-18
- GM Vladimir Kramnik (2792) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2808) 0-1 · GCT Blitz Paris 2018 · 2018-06-24
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2789) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2808) 1-0 · GCT Rapid Paris 2018 · 2018-06-22
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2835) – IM Semen Khanin (2482) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 14th July · 2020-07-14
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Caro Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Sunrise34 (2904) – Superstitions_Guy (2844) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- IM Kostik_Mostik (2882) – Superstitions_Guy (2764) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- kuhmft (2857) – Superstitions_Guy (2766) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense (3. Bb5 a6) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6
Continuations
- Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Graz Variation C70 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 5. Bb3 Bc5
- Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Norwegian Variation C70 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 5. Bb3 Na5
- Ruy Lopez: Noah's Ark Trap (8. Qxd4 c5) C71 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 5. Bb3 d6 6. d4 Nxd4 7. Nxd4 exd4 8. Qxd4 c5
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.