Ruy Lopez: Open, Bernstein 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. Nbd2
The Ruy Lopez: Open, Bernstein Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C80, 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. Nbd2. It is a line of the Ruy Lopez. Black is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 65 times by this move order. White won 48%, 9% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 9… Nc5 (62% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.15 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 9… Nc5 10. c3 d4 11. Bxe6 Nxe6 12. cxd4)
- ECO
- C80
- Moves
- 17 plies
- FEN
r2qkb1r/2p2ppp/p1n1b3/1p1pP3/4n3/1B3N2/PPPN1PPP/R1BQ1RK1 b kq - 2 9- 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. Nbd2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 19 | |
| 2000+ | 45 | |
| All | 65 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 9… Nc5 | 40 (62%) | |
| 9… Be7 | 13 (20%) | |
| 9… Bc5 | 11 (17%) | |
| 9… Nxd2 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
789 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 40%, draw 37%, Black 23%). The strongest:
- LCZero 0.31-dag-f7fb268-BT4-61 (3652) – Stockfish dev-20241208-cf10644 (3683) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 27 Superfinal 2024 · 2025-01-01
- Stockfish dev-20241208-cf10644 (3683) – LCZero 0.31-dag-f7fb268-BT4-61 (3652) 1-0 · TCEC 27 Superfinal 2024 · 2025-01-01
- GM Vladimir Kramnik (2777) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2817) 1/2-1/2 · 81st Tata Steel GpA · 2019-01-16
- GM Viswanathan Anand (2767) – GM So, W. (2792) 1/2-1/2 · 80th Tata Steel GpA · 2018-01-27
- GM Gukesh D (2776) – GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2771) 1-0 · 12th Sinquefield Cup · 2025-08-19
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Open, Bernstein Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- calculus9001 (2578) – IM Ural_bogatyr (2587) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- OlegKas222 (2481) – Shadowwarrior3000 (2498) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Artek_2021 (2469) – nightmareluffy (2485) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Open, Main Line 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
Continuations
- Ruy Lopez: Open, Bernstein Variation, Luther Line C80 · 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. Nbd2 Bc5 10. Qe1
- Ruy Lopez: Open, Classical Defense (10. c3 Be7) C83 · 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. Nbd2 Nc5 10. c3 Be7
- Ruy Lopez: Open, Karpov Gambit C80 · 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. Nbd2 Nc5 10. c3 d4 11. Ng5
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.