Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense, Center Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. d4 exd4 5. O-O
The Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense, Center Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C62, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. d4 exd4 5. O-O. 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 85 times by this move order. White won 46%, 6% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 5… Bd7 (64% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.33 (Stockfish, depth 34; best line 5… Bg4 6. h3 Bxf3 7. Qxf3 Qf6 8. Bxc6+)
- ECO
- C62
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/ppp2ppp/2np4/1B6/3pP3/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQ1RK1 b kq - 1 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. d4 exd4 5. O-O
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 16 | |
| 1500-1999 | 58 | |
| 2000+ | 11 | |
| All | 85 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… Bd7 | 54 (64%) | |
| 5… Bg4 | 11 (13%) | |
| 5… Nf6 | 8 (9%) | |
| 5… a6 | 6 (7%) | |
| 5… Be7 | 3 (4%) | |
| 5… h6 | 1 (1%) | |
| 5… Ne7 | 1 (1%) | |
| 5… Qf6 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
3 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 67%, draw 0%, Black 33%). The strongest:
- CM Yoboue Hermann Manan (2006) – Alain Koch (1847) 1-0 · 9th ch-Francophonie 2023 · 2023-07-09
- Magdalena Kotula (1542) – Patrycja Starzec (1179) 0-1 · ch-POL Academic Team 2020 · 2020-11-14
Search all games of the Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense, Center Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- EdvardGriG (2149) – Theorist1234 (2072) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- watervoice (2111) – Vaisakh1989 (2108) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- Dima250909 (2375) – ViktorBykov (1783) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense (3… d6 4. d4) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. d4
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.