Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense (3… d6 4. d4)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. d4
The Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO C62, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. d4. It is a line of the Ruy Lopez. Black is to move. 4 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 14,303 times by this move order. White won 54%, 5% were drawn and Black won 41%. The most popular continuation is 4… exd4 (48% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.45 (Stockfish, depth 57; best line 4… exd4 5. Nxd4 Bd7 6. Nc3 g6 7. Bf4)
- ECO
- C62
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/ppp2ppp/2np4/1B2p3/3PP3/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. d4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 4,746 | |
| 1500-1999 | 8,726 | |
| 2000+ | 831 | |
| All | 14,303 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… exd4 | 6,922 (48%) | |
| 4… Bd7 | 4,295 (30%) | |
| 4… a6 | 1,861 (13%) | |
| 4… Bg4 | 694 (5%) | |
| 4… Nf6 | 165 (1%) | |
| 4… f6 | 143 (1%) | |
| 4… Ne7 | 42 (0%) | |
| 4… Qe7 | 39 (0%) |
Master games
827 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 68%, draw 13%, Black 19%). The strongest:
- GM Peter Leko (2723) – GM Levon Aronian (2797) 0-1 · SportAccord Blitz 2014 · 2014-12-13
- GM So, W. (2770) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2736) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com Speed 2020 · 2020-12-12
- GM Victor Bologan (2732) – GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2769) 1-0 · World Blitz Final · 2012-07-09
- GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2758) – GM Jaan Ehlvest (2613) 1-0 · Vladimir Petrov Memorial · 2013-02-17
- GM Michael Adams (2725) – GM Jaan Ehlvest (2605) 1-0 · 11th Gibraltar Masters · 2013-01-30
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Vnebo (2697) – Zaplya (2548) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- IM Lenyas66 (2609) – Ouakam (2503) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- yeti806 (2540) – Ouakam (2532) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense (3. Bb5 d6) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6
Continuations
- Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense, Center Gambit C62 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. d4 exd4 5. O-O
- Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense, Semi-Duras Variation C62 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. d4 Bd7 5. c4
- Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense, Nimzowitsch Attack C62 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. d4 Bd7 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Bxc6
- Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Tarrasch Trap C66 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. d4 Bd7 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. O-O Be7 7. Re1 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.