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Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 · C65–C67

Part of Ruy Lopez

Starting positionWhite to move

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Black gives up the castling right to kill the attack

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The idea

Black answers the Ruy Lopez by taking on e4 and accepting a queenless endgame with a slightly worse structure — the Berlin Wall, almost impossible to beat.

Main line: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8

What White wants

  • Take on e5 and on d8 to reach the endgame a tempo up
  • Use the four-versus-three kingside pawn majority to create a passer
  • Avoid early trades that let Black's bishops find good squares

What Black wants

  • Trade queens and steer for the endgame where the doubled c-pawns matter less
  • Get the bishop pair working on the long diagonals after ...Bd6 or ...Be7
  • Hold the position with accurate defence — the endgame is drawish but not easy

Key idea

Understand this and the moves stop needing to be memorised.

Black gives up the castling right to kill the attack

After Qxd8+ Kxd8 Black has no king safety problem left to solve, because there is no queen on the board to attack it. The king on d8 is perfectly safe and the c6 pawns cover d5 and b5.

Common mistake

Assuming the endgame plays itself. The main line above is the precise version: Black has to answer d4 with ...Nd6 and meet dxe5 with ...Nf5 at the right moment. Defend passively instead and White's kingside pawns create a passer.

Representative position

The position this opening is aiming at. Copy the FEN, or open it in the analysis board and let the engine tell you what it is worth.

r1bk1b1r/ppp2ppp/2p5/4Pn2/8/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNB2RK1 w - - 0 9

Analyze this position

Related openings

Ruy Lopez1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 · C60–C99White develops the bishop to b5, attacking the knight that defends e5 — pressure that lasts for the next twenty moves and defines the whole opening.Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 · C70–C99The main move: Black asks the bishop what it wants immediately, and the game becomes a long fight over whether Black can free the position with ...b5 and ...d5.Ruy Lopez: Closed1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 · C84–C99The classical Spanish: both sides complete development behind their pawn chains and the game becomes a slow manoeuvring battle with a tiny edge for White.Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 · C68–C69White gives up the bishop immediately for the knight, saddling Black with doubled c-pawns and a long, uncomfortable endgame.Ruy Lopez: Schliemann Defense1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 · C63Black ignores the pressure on e5 and hits back with ...f5 at once — the sharpest, most double-edged answer to the Spanish.