

The Spanish Opening became hugely popular and continues to be a part of every elite players' repertoire. White plays their king's bishop to the opposing queen's knight four (Bb5)." Photo: Libro de la Invencion Liberal del Juego de Ajedrez/ Wikimedia, .įrom that moment on, the Ruy Lopez never fell out of fashion. Lopez suggests that "if Black plays the queen's knight to bishop three (Nf6). Ruy Lopez's book where he proposed the move 3.Bb5. However, it wasn't until the mid to late 1800s that top players started using the opening consistently. It was first analyzed by the priest Ruy Lopez de Segura in his book Libro de la Invencion Liberal y Arte del Juego del Ajedrez (Book of the Liberal Invention and Art of the Game of Chess) in 1561. The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest openings in chess. After White castles, the game can still take many different directions.ġ.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Black starts to fend off the white light-squared bishop with 3.a6. The Main Line of the Ruy Lopez sees White positioning their pieces to prepare for a long struggle for central control. Below you can find a list of some of the prevalent lines of the opening: Main Line With all its most popular moves deeply analyzed by generations of elite players, the theory behind the Spanish Game grew to enormous proportions. The Ruy Lopez is one of the most studied openings in chess. Black has a vast number of defenses to choose from.It's difficult to learn its extensive theory.There are good lines for both tactical and positional players.White develops rapidly, and castles quickly.It tends to give White long-term pressure.It leads to very complex and multifaceted play.

Since Black has a hard time getting an advantage in this opening, some people refer to it as the "Spanish Torture." The starting position of the Ruy Lopez.Īlthough the Ruy Lopez is a flexible opening that can lead to tactical skirmishes, games usually develop into a long struggle for the center that spreads to an attack on the flanks. White fights for the control of the central d4 and e5-squares and indirectly threatens the black e5-pawn by attacking its only defender. The critical idea behind 3.Bb5, however, is to attack Black's c6-knight. White finishes the development of their kingside pieces and gets ready to castle short. The Ruy Lopez starts after the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5. Despite having a large amount of theory, it is an opening that players of all levels can enjoy. Most of the world's top players have adopted this rich opening as part of their repertoire, and many of them play it with both colors. The Ruy Lopez (also known as the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game) is one of the oldest and most analyzed openings in chess history.
