Ruy Lopez: Nürnberg Variation – Bxc6 (Black)

After 4.Bxc6 dxc6 you have a clear and healthy plan. Your doubled c-pawns are not a weakness here — they control d4 and give you a semi-open d-file for your queen and rook. Meanwhile, White's kingside is still undeveloped, and the bishop on b5 is gone before it could cause trouble on g5 or a4. Your main ideas are straightforward: get your king to safety (castling kingside or queenside both work), develop your remaining bishop to e6 or g4, and prepare to challenge the centre with ...c5 or ...Qd4. Since you are playing against an engine that adapts to your moves, focus on solid development and watch for White's premature attempts to grab the e5-pawn. If White plays d4 immediately, you can simplify into an endgame where your bishop-pair gives you lasting pressure. If they hesitate with a move like h3, you gain a tempo and a cleaner position.

Stockfish evaluates the position after 4.Bxc6 dxc6 at -0.33, a small edge for Black. That means you are already slightly better from the starting position. Across 304,809 games on Lichess, Black wins 46.3% of the time, with only 48.4% going to White and 5.3% draws. Those numbers are remarkable for an opening that begins with 1.e4 e5 — Black is outscoring expectations in almost every line. The engine's top recommendation for White is d4, which leads to a forced sequence: 5.d4 exd4 6.Qxd4 Qxd4 7.Nxd4. After the queens come off, you have a comfortable middlegame with the bishop-pair and active pieces, while White's knight on d4 is a target. If White chooses anything else, your advantage grows.

White's most tempting move is also their biggest trap to avoid. 5.Nxe5 looks natural — the knight attacks e5 and threatens f6 — but the engine rates it as a mistake that loses roughly 2.0 pawns worth of advantage. After 5...Qd4, the knight is trapped. White's best try is 6.Nf3 Qxe4+, and Black comes out with a clean extra pawn and the initiative. The Lichess database confirms that Nxe5 is the third most popular move, played in 57,864 games, yet it scores only 49.3% for White. If you see this on the board, punish it immediately with ...Qd4. The correct move for White was 5.d4, and anything else gives you a concrete advantage.

White's most common choice is 5.O-O, played in 72,743 games. It's a developing move, but it does nothing to address the central tension. White scores just 47.8% from this position, so you are already outplaying the field. Your best response is to continue your plan: develop your bishop (usually to e6 or g4), castle queenside, and prepare ...c5 to open lines. If White later tries d4, you can trade and enter the favourable endgame mentioned earlier. If they play something slow like h3 (another inaccuracy — loses ~0.6 pawns according to the engine), you gain a free tempo. The key is not to rush. Your position is solid and improving; let White prove they have compensation for the lost bishop.