C65 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense
C65 holds 13 named lines, all under the name Ruy Lopez. It leaves C60 (Ruy Lopez) with 3...Nf6. Material is no longer level at the end of four of its lines; the widest gap, three pawns in White’s favour, comes in Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation, Anderssen Variation. With 13 named lines it is the fourth-largest code of the 40 Ruy Lopez codes.
| # | White | Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | e4 | e5 |
| 2 | Nf3 | Nc6 |
| 3 | Bb5 | Nf6 |
The move that completes C65
The reference line of C66 plays all of these moves and continues beyond them; C65 is the position reached at 3...Nf6.
- 3...Nf6 The knight leaves g8 for f6, opening a line for the rook on h8.
Lines filed under C65
All 13 share their first six plies, the whole reference line and then split four ways at White’s move 4.
| Name | After the shared start | Plies | At the end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense | (the shared start itself) | 6 | |
| Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense | 4.O-O | 7 | White castled |
| Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation | 4.d3 | 7 | |
| Ruy Lopez: Halloween Attack | 4.Nxe5 | 7 | White +1 |
| Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation, Mortimer Variation | 4.d3 Ne7 | 8 | |
| Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Beverwijk Variation | 4.O-O Bc5 | 8 | White castled |
| Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Fishing Pole Variation | 4.O-O Ng4 | 8 | White castled |
| Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation, Anderssen Variation | 4.d3 d6 5.Bxc6+ | 9 | White +3, check |
| Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation, Duras Variation | 4.d3 d6 5.c4 | 9 | |
| Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation, Kaufmann Variation | 4.d3 Bc5 5.Be3 | 9 | |
| Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Nyholm Attack | 4.d4 exd4 5.O-O | 9 | Black +1, White castled |
| Ruy Lopez: Classical Variation, Zukertort Gambit | 4.O-O Bc5 5.c3 | 9 | White castled |
| Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation, Mortimer Trap | 4.d3 Ne7 5.Nxe5 c6 | 10 | White +1 |
The road to C65
- 1.e4 … 2.Nf3three earlier stops: B00, C20, C40
- 2...Nc6C44 Normal Variation
- 3.Bb5C60 Ruy Lopez
- 3...Nf6C65
The position after 3...Nf6
White has brought out the knight on f3 and bishop on b5; Black the knight on c6 and knight on f6. White could capture with Bxc6, Nxe5. White is to move and has 32 legal moves.
Codes that branch off from C65
The reference lines of two other codes leave C65 from the position after 4.O-O, each with its own moves.
| Code | Moves | Reference line |
|---|---|---|
| C66 | 4...d6 | Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Improved Steinitz Defense |
| C67 | 4...Nxe4 | Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Rio Gambit Accepted |
Closest boards in other codes
| Code | Line | Differs on |
|---|---|---|
| C48 | Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation | two squares: b1, c3 |
| C55 | Italian Game: Two Knights Defense | two squares: c4, b5 |
| C42 | Petrov’s Defense | four squares: f1, b5, c6, b8 |
| C44 | King’s Knight Opening: Normal Variation | four squares: f1, b5, f6, g8 |
| C47 | Four Knights Game | four squares: b1, f1, c3, b5 |
| C49 | Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Double Spanish | four squares: b1, c3, b4, f8 |
| C50 | Italian Game | four squares: c4, b5, f6, g8 |
Where lines continue from here
Twenty-four named lines filed under other codes pass through the position after 3...Nf6. Besides the codes above, they belong to C64.