Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Graz Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 5. Bb3 Bc5
The Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Graz Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C70, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 5. Bb3 Bc5. It is a line of the Ruy Lopez. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1,854 times by this move order. White won 52%, 3% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 6. c3 (40% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.75 (Stockfish, depth 49; best line 6. c3 Bb6 7. a4 bxa4 8. Bxa4 Nge7)
- ECO
- C70
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/2pp1ppp/p1n5/1pb1p3/4P3/1B3N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 2 6- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 5. Bb3 Bc5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 631 | |
| 1500-1999 | 947 | |
| 2000+ | 276 | |
| All | 1,854 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. c3 | 749 (40%) | |
| 6. O-O | 709 (38%) | |
| 6. d3 | 146 (8%) | |
| 6. Nxe5 | 74 (4%) | |
| 6. Nc3 | 40 (2%) | |
| 6. Bd5 | 34 (2%) | |
| 6. a4 | 29 (2%) | |
| 6. a3 | 25 (1%) |
Master games
192 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 65%, draw 11%, Black 24%). The strongest:
- GM Slavko Cicak (2572) – FM Erik Malmstig (2291) 0-1 · TCh-SWE Elite 2012-13 · 2012-10-06
- Nielsen, Ro. (2295) – Hogni Egilstoft Nielsen (2373) 0-1 · ch-FAI 2015 · 2015-04-02
- IM Erik Kislik (2413) – IM Wittmann, W. (2245) 1-0 · FSIM Nov 2012 · 2012-11-07
- FM Yuval Yaniv (2382) – Artyom Bogdanov (2270) 1/2-1/2 · Fagernes GM Swiss Aut · 2023-10-14
- FM Edison Ruge (2201) – FM Richard Bethke (2382) 0-1 · Titled Tue 16th May Early · 2023-05-16
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Graz Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- IM Arrowlimit (2539) – Kost_BKD (2362) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- KnightlyWhiz (2408) – FM Josephrov (2397) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- CJ58 (2449) – Kost_BKD (2334) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Caro Variation 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5
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.