Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Møller Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5
The Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Møller Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C78, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O 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 1,172 times by this move order. White won 53%, 4% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 6. c3 (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.26 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 6. c3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. d4 Bb6)
- ECO
- C78
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/1ppp1ppp/p1n2n2/2b1p3/B3P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQ1RK1 w kq - 4 6- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 304 | |
| 1500-1999 | 665 | |
| 2000+ | 203 | |
| All | 1,172 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. c3 | 586 (50%) | |
| 6. Re1 | 205 (17%) | |
| 6. d3 | 123 (10%) | |
| 6. Nxe5 | 90 (8%) | |
| 6. Bxc6 | 69 (6%) | |
| 6. h3 | 45 (4%) | |
| 6. Nc3 | 35 (3%) | |
| 6. d4 | 10 (1%) |
Master games
2,151 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 37%, draw 30%, Black 33%). The strongest:
- ScorpioNN 3.0.8.3 (3448) – Stockfish 202008260719_nn-82215d0fd0df (3551) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 19 Premier 2020 · 2020-09-09
- Stockfish 202008260719_nn-82215d0fd0df (3551) – ScorpioNN 3.0.8.3 (3448) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 19 Premier 2020 · 2020-09-06
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2780) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2872) 1/2-1/2 · 11th London Classic 2019 · 2019-12-04
- GM So, W. (2770) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) 1/2-1/2 · Saint Louis Blitz 2020 · 2020-09-18
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2847) – GM Levon Aronian (2781) 0-1 · Goldmoney Asian Rapid KO · 2021-07-02
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Møller Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM sillyMASTER (2821) – johnsam1 (2736) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- IM karagioules (2685) – johnsam1 (2739) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- Towser1 (2691) – johnsam1 (2732) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense (4… Nf6 5. O-O) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O
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.