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Ruy Lopez Opening Lines

The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest and most popular chess openings. It continues to be frequently played by elite players and enjoys popularity at all levels. While it has extensive theory that can intimidate some players, it is versatile and develops strategic skills. It typically leads to open positions with counterplay for both sides. Mastering fundamentals of the Ruy Lopez can make a player a better strategist and evaluator of complex positions. It is considered one of the best openings for beginners to learn.

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438 views3 pages

Ruy Lopez Opening Lines

The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest and most popular chess openings. It continues to be frequently played by elite players and enjoys popularity at all levels. While it has extensive theory that can intimidate some players, it is versatile and develops strategic skills. It typically leads to open positions with counterplay for both sides. Mastering fundamentals of the Ruy Lopez can make a player a better strategist and evaluator of complex positions. It is considered one of the best openings for beginners to learn.

Uploaded by

jkanjsi
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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RUY LOPEZ OPENING

The Ruy Lopez, also known as the Spanish Opening, is one of the oldest and most
popular chess openings ever. It is also one of the most heavily analyzed openings in
today’s game and continues to enjoy incredible popularity at all levels (elite players
such as Anand, Caruana, and Carlsen frequently play the Ruy Lopez). On the one
hand, there are many chess players who love to play the Ruy Lopez as it’s
exceptionally versatile and there is still plenty of room to maneuver and discover new
ideas for both sides! On the other hand, many players don’t like playing the Ruy
Lopez and are scared to learn it because the accompanying theory is very extensive.
However, the Ruy Lopez is considered essential to the development of any
promising player. Its strategic nature, typical tactics plus the fact it leads to both
open and closed positions make it perfect for deepening general chess understanding.
If you don’t already play the Ruy Lopez, here are 2 reasons why you should start:

Vishy Anand insists the Ruy Lopez and


the Sicilian Defense are the 2 essential
openings to understand if you want to
understand chess.

Mikhail Botvinnik claimed the great


Polugaevsky was held back from being a
World Championship contender because
he didn’t play the Ruy Lopez and so never
mastered positional play.

Due to the fact that every 1.e4 player


needs to have an answer against 1…e5, the
following article is devoted to this key
chess opening. Learn how to play the Ruy
Lopez well and you’ll become a better Figure 1 RUY LOPEZ BEGINS HERE
strategist and be able to evaluate complex
positions with accuracy.

It’s considered to be one of the best openings for beginners because it typically


leads to open games, with a lot of play for both sides. Mastering the fundamentals of
this opening isn’t rocket science and today we will go over the basics to get you going
with the Ruy Lopez.
No. W B Detail
1 e4 e5 White’s key ideas in the Ruy Lopez is to quickly control the
center. This is achieved by placing a pawn in the center on the first
move (1.e4), a move which also liberates the White’s light-squared
bishop and queen.
2 Nf3 Nc6 White immediately attacks the Black central pawn on e5.
Afterwards, White moves his bishop to b5 from where it threatens to
eliminate the knight on c6, Black’s piece that protects the pawn on
e5.
3 Bb5  With these three moves, White immediately puts pressure on the
center. Following these ideas, White achieves the 3 main goals of
any opening: control of the center, rapid
development, and preparation for castling to safety.
Unsurprisingly, there are many variations to choose from in the Ruy Lopez Opening
for both sides. We want to provide you with an overview of three of the most common
lines.

The Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation


No. W B Detail
1 e4 e5
2 Nf3 Nc6
3 Bb5  a6 This variation is sometimes used by lower-rated players who
want to create doubled pawns for their opponent as quickly as
possible. (3.Bc4, for example, would lead to the Italian Game)
Black challenges White's bishop immediately. White has to make a decision - should he
play 4.Ba4, keeping his strong "Spanish Bishop" on the board or should he exchange
it?
Both moves are well playable and lead to very different positions. This time, we'll take a
look at the move 4.Bxc6.
4 bxc6 dxc6 White has managed to create doubled c-pawns in black’s camp,
in exchange for the bishop pair. In return for his damaged pawn structures,
Black has the two bishops.

VARIATION 1
5 Nxe5 Qd4 Now, taking the e5-pawn with 5. Nxe5 is no good because
Black has the strong response 5…Qd4, forking the knight and
the e4-pawn. Black threatens to capture the e4-pawn with
check, forcing the queen exchange and preventing White from
castling. This only brings trouble for White who should away
from this line.
6 Nf3 Qxe4
+
7 Qe2 Qxe2
+
8 Kxe2 f6 And Black has at least equality.

Variation 2
This is the main move. White quickly castles short, moving the king away from the center.
5 o-o Bg4 Black responds by pinning the f3-knight with the bishop. This is the most aggressive
response for black because it's backed up with tactical ideas
5 Nc3
5 d4 exd4 
6 Qxd4  Qxd4 
7 Nxd4 

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