Ruy Lopez
The Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening beginning with the moves:
Known from the earliest written theory of modern chess in the late 15th century, the Ruy Lopez has remained one of the most popular chess openings to this day. White develops the bishop to an active square, attacking the knight that defends the e5-pawn. The theory of the Ruy Lopez is the most extensively developed of all Open Games, with some lines having been analysed well beyond move thirty. At nearly every move there are many reasonable alternatives, and most have been deeply explored.
Black's main replies are 3...a6, the Morphy Defence, and 3...Nf6, the [|Berlin Defence]. After 3...a6, 4.Bxc6 is the [|Exchange Variation]. More commonly, however, White retreats the bishop with 4.Ba4. After 4...Nf6 White may disregard the attack on the e-pawn with 5.0-0, since the pawn can be regained. The most common move is then 5...Be7, the [|Closed Defence], leading to the [|main line] as well as the [|Marshall Attack] and other lines. The main alternatives are 5...Nxe4, the [|Open Defence], and 5...b5, the [|Arkhangelsk Defence].
In the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings, the opening is classified under codes C60 to C99.
History
The Ruy Lopez is named after Ruy López de Segura, a 16th-century Spanish priest who systematically studied this and other openings in his 150-page chess book, Libro del Axedrez, written in 1561. Lopez advocated 3.Bb5 as superior to 3.Bc4, and was of the opinion that Black should play 2...d6 to avoid it. Although it bears his name, this particular opening was included in the Göttingen manuscript, which dates from. The Ruy Lopez did not gain widespread popularity until the mid-19th century, when Finnish-Russian theoretician Carl Jaenisch published a detailed article on in the December 1847 issue of Le Palamède, the world’s first chess periodical. An abridged version appeared in the Chess Player's Chronicle in 1848, followed by a supplementary article in the same publication in 1849.The Ruy Lopez has long been regarded as the most important opening among the Open Games at master level. Nearly every player has employed it at some point in their career, often with both colours. Due to the difficulty for Black in achieving, a common nickname for the opening is "The Spanish Torture".
The Morphy Defence, the most popular reply, was played by Paul Morphy in the second game and fourth game of his 1858 match against Adolf Anderssen. The move gained widespread popularity and was subsequently named after him, although he was not its originator. Charles Henry Stanley played 3...a6 twice in his 1845 match, held in Morphy's hometown of New Orleans, against Eugène Rousseau for the United States Chess Championship. Stanley lost both games, although he won the match. Howard Staunton also mentioned 3...a6 in his Chess-Player's Handbook, first published in 1847. The first author to mention the move was Ercole del Rio, in his 1750 treatise Sopra il giuoco degli Scacchi, Osservazioni pratiche dell'anonimo Modenese. The late 19th century World Champion Wilhelm Steinitz did not approve of the move, writing in 1889 "on principle this ought to be disadvantageous as it drives the bishop where it wants to go". Steinitz's opinion did not prevail, however; 3...a6 is played in about two thirds of all games beginning with the Ruy Lopez.
The Berlin Defence, the second most popular reply, has a reputation as a solid. It gained widespread popularity in the 2000s after Vladimir Kramnik demonstrated its viability in the 2000 Classical World Championship match against Garry Kasparov, successfully using it to draw in four of Kasparov's eight games with white.
Basics
At the most basic level, White's third move attacks the knight that defends the e5-pawn from the attack by the f3-knight. White's apparent threat to win Black's e-pawn with 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nxe5 is illusory because Black can respond 5...Qd4, forking the knight and e4-pawn, winning back the with a good position. White's 3.Bb5 is still a good move, however; it a piece, prepares castling, and sets up a potential pin against Black's king. Since White's third move carries no immediate threat, Black can respond in a wide variety of ways.An immediate choice for Black is whether to play 3...a6 or not. The point of the move is to force White to either retreat or exchange the bishop for Black's knight; thus the move "puts the question" to the white bishop, a traditional usage attributed to Aron Nimzowitsch. White must decide between exchanging the bishop for the knight with 4.Bxc6, or the more common retreat 4.Ba4. If 4.Ba4, Black will have the possibility of breaking a future pin on the by playing...b5. White must take some care not to fall into the Noah's Ark Trap, in which Black traps White's on the b3-square with...a6,...b5, and...c4 pawn advances on the.
If Black decides not to play 3...a6, by far the most common alternative is the developing move 3...Nf6, the Berlin Defence. Less common alternatives are listed in the section [|Black's third move alternatives].
Morphy Defence: 3...a6
4.Bxc6 is the Exchange Variation.Fourth move alternatives
After 4.Ba4, the most common response is 4...Nf6. A distant second is 4...d6, the [|Modern Steinitz Defence], which is generally regarded as stronger than its third-move equivalent, the [|Steinitz Defence].- 4...d6
- 4...Bc5
- 4...Nge7
- 4...g6
- 4...f5
- 4...b5 5.Bb3 Na5
Fifth move alternatives
- 5.d3
- 5.Bxc6
- 5.Qe2
- 5.Nc3
- 5.d4
- 5...Be7
- 5...Nxe4
- 5...b5
- 5...Bc5
- 5...d6
Closed Defence: 5...Be7
- 6.d3
- 6.Bxc6
- 6.Qe2
- 6.Nc3
- 6.d4
- 6.Re1
- * 6...d6
- * 6...b5 7.Bb3
- ** 7...Bb7
- ** 7...0-0
- ** 7...d6 8.c3 0-0
Main line: 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0
Two possible continuations are 9.d3 or 9.d4, but by far the most common move is 9.h3, which prevents the pin...Bg4. After 9.h3, Black has several common moves, including 9...Na5, 9...Nb8, 9...Bb7, 9...Nd7, 9...Be6, and 9...h6. For decades, the [|Chigorin Variation] was Black's principal choice, but alternative lines rose to prominence in the second half of the twentieth century as players like Boris Spassky and Anatoly Karpov sought ways to avoid the necessity of repositioning Black's awkwardly placed knight.
Pilnik Variation: 9.d3
The [|Pilnik Variation], named for Hermann Pilnik, is also known as the Teichmann Variation from the game Teichmann–Schlechter, Karlsbad 1911. White plays 9.d3 intending to later advance to d4 under favourable circumstances. Although d2–d3–d4 appears to lose a tempo compared to d2–d4, White may be able to omit h3 regaining the tempo, especially if Black plays...Bb7.The Pilnik has seen a small resurgence in recent years, but that is mainly by transposition through 6.d3, which avoids the Marshall Attack. The line starting with 6.d3 leading to the Pilnik is 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.Re1.
Yates Variation: 9.d4
White usually plays 9.h3 instead of 9.d4 because after 9...Bg4, the pin of the white king knight is troublesome. The variation takes its name from the game Capablanca–Bogoljubow, London 1922.After 9...Bg4, White usually plays 10.Be3, reinforcing the pawn on d4. The main line continues 10...exd4 11.cxd4 Na5 12.Bc2 c5 13.h3 Bh5. The main alternative is 10.d5, with the most common continuation being 10...Na5 11.Bc2 c6 12.h3 Bc8 13.dxc6 Qc7 14.Nbd2 Qxc6 15.Nf1.
The [|Yates Variation] can also be reached via the 8.d4 Anti-Marshall move order: 7...0-0 8.d4 d6 9.c3.
Chigorin Variation: 9.h3 Na5
The Chigorin Variation was refined by Mikhail Chigorin around the turn of the 20th century and became the primary Black defence to the Ruy Lopez for more than fifty years. With 9...Na5 Black chases the white bishop from the a2–g8 diagonal and frees the c-pawn for queenside expansion. After 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4, the classical follow-up is 11...Qc7, reinforcing e5 and placing the queen on the c-file, which may later become open after...cxd4. Other Black moves in this position are 11...Bb7 and 11...Nd7; the latter was adopted by Paul Keres a few times in the 1960s. The Chigorin Variation has declined in popularity because Black must spend time bringing the offside knight on a5 back into the game. 10...d5 is the Gajewski Gambit, sacrificing the e-pawn for. This is less sound than 10...c5, but can be good in practical play.The Chigorin is divided into four ECO classifications. In C96, Black or White deviate after 10.Bc2, and do not reach the classical main line position 10...c5 11.d4 Qc7. In C97, White proceeds from the diagram with 12.a4, 12.d5, 12.b4, or the main line 12.Nbd2 when Black responds with...Be6,...Rd8,...Re8,...Bb7, or...Bd7. The C98 classification covers 12.Nbd2 Nc6, while C99 covers 12.Nbd2 cxd4 13.cxd4.