Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Mackenzie Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d4
The Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Mackenzie Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C77, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d4. 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 519 times by this move order. White won 57%, 4% were drawn and Black won 39%. The most popular continuation is 5… exd4 (52% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.07 (Stockfish, depth 42; best line 5… exd4 6. O-O Be7 7. e5 Ne4 8. Nxd4)
- ECO
- C77
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/1ppp1ppp/p1n2n2/4p3/B2PP3/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 63 | |
| 1500-1999 | 152 | |
| 2000+ | 304 | |
| All | 519 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… exd4 | 272 (52%) | |
| 5… b5 | 143 (28%) | |
| 5… Nxe4 | 51 (10%) | |
| 5… Nxd4 | 27 (5%) | |
| 5… d6 | 15 (3%) | |
| 5… d5 | 3 (1%) | |
| 5… Bb4+ | 3 (1%) | |
| 5… Bd6 | 2 (0%) |
Master games
1,626 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 47%, draw 23%, Black 30%). The strongest:
- GM Igor Kovalenko (2668) – GM Levon Aronian (2782) 1/2-1/2 · Lindores Abbey Tal Mem · 2021-11-08
- GM Andrey Esipenko (2698) – GM Shant Sargsyan (2665) 1-0 · World Blitz 2025 · 2025-12-29
- GM Gawain C B Maroroa Jones (2669) – GM David Anton Guijarro (2691) 1-0 · Chessable Masters Prelim · 2022-05-21
- GM Andrey Esipenko (2698) – GM Pavel Eljanov (2659) 1/2-1/2 · Chess.com Open PlayIn3 · 2026-03-23
- GM Vasif Durarbayli (2629) – GM Daniil Dubov (2714) 0-1 · FIDE Grand Swiss 2021 · 2021-10-29
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Mackenzie Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM orujoff08 (2633) – whopper211 (2688) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- classic_chess3456 (2649) – anhbutk (2670) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- suyijia2004 (2727) – XuBofang (2541) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense (3. Bb5 a6) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6
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.