Ruy Lopez: Open, Berlin Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Nc5
The Ruy Lopez: Open, Berlin Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C82, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Nc5. 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 6 times by this move order. White won 50%, 17% were drawn and Black won 33%. The most popular continuation is 10. Bc2 (67% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.63 (Stockfish, depth 34; best line 10. Bc2 Bg4 11. Re1 Be7 12. Nbd2 d4)
- ECO
- C82
- Moves
- 18 plies
- FEN
r2qkb1r/2p2ppp/p1n1b3/1pnpP3/8/1BP2N2/PP3PPP/RNBQ1RK1 w kq - 1 10- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Nc5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 5 | |
| All | 6 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 10. Bc2 | 4 (67%) | |
| 10. Nbd2 | 1 (17%) | |
| 10. Be3 | 1 (17%) |
Master games
34 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 44%, draw 12%, Black 44%). The strongest:
- IM Aslan Aitbayev (2457) – IM Nikolai Shukh (2467) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 19th May · 2020-05-19
- GM Antonios Pavlidis (2536) – IM Irina Bulmaga (2383) 1-0 · 25th Kavala Open 2016 · 2016-08-02
- IM Damian Lewtak (2343) – IM Vladimir Demin (2430) 0-1 · Titled Tue 12th Mar Early · 2024-03-12
- FM Andrej Ljepic (2409) – GM Dragan Kosic (2349) 1/2-1/2 · Fantastico GM Mix 11 2026 · 2026-01-06
- IM Diego Rafael Di Berardino (2471) – FM Arthur Kruckenhauser (2283) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 23rd Feb · 2021-02-23
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Open, Berlin Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- chipunu (2297) – Tushar12 (2336) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- distructor (2188) – Zottin (2126) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Nataniel998D (2144) – Zottin (2117) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Open (8… Be6 9. c3) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3
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.