Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nc6/3. Bb5


Ruy Lopez
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black kingc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black knighth8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black kingf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black knightd6 black kinge6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 white bishopc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black pawnf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 black kinge4 white pawnf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 white knightg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 black kingf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 black kingg1 black kingh1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)
Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5
ECO code: C60—99
Parent: King's Knight Opening
Responses:

3. Bb5 - Spanish Game

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The essential move marking the Spanish Game, or Ruy Lopez. "It is the double king's pawn opening most commonly used in master play; it has been adopted by almost all players at some point in their careers and many play it from both the White and Black sides."

White threatens to trade off Black's c6-knight, leaving the e5-pawn undefended. It's not an immediate threat, because after 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. Nxe5, Black can win the pawn back with 5... Qd4 or 5... Qg5.

Black can respond in a variety of ways. The most common move is the Morphy Defence 3... a6. This forces White to make a decision about the Bishop - retreat or exchange.

Many other moves are available, some neglecting completely the protection of the knight and the pawn and continuing development.

The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura. The popular continuation is: 3... a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d4 Bd6 13. Re1 Qh4 14. g3 Qh3.

a b c d e f g h
8        8
7        7
6        6
5        5
4        4
3        3
2        2
1        1
a b c d e f g h
3... a6   (Morphy's Defence)
a b c d e f g h
8        8
7        7
6        6
5        5
4        4
3        3
2        2
1        1
a b c d e f g h
3... Nf6   (Berlin Defence)

a b c d e f g h
8        8
7        7
6        6
5        5
4        4
3        3
2        2
1        1
a b c d e f g h
3... d6   (Steinitz Defence)
a b c d e f g h
8        8
7        7
6        6
5        5
4        4
3        3
2        2
1        1
a b c d e f g h
3... Bc5   (Classical Defence)

a b c d e f g h
8        8
7        7
6        6
5        5
4        4
3        3
2        2
1        1
a b c d e f g h
3... f5   (Schliemann (Jaenisch) Defence)
a b c d e f g h
8        8
7        7
6        6
5        5
4        4
3        3
2        2
1        1
a b c d e f g h
3... Nd4   (Bird's Defence)

Theory table

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For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5
3 4 5 6 7 Eval
Morphy Defence ...
a6
Ba4
Nf6
O-O
Be7
Re1
b5
Bb3
O-O
=
Berlin Defence ...
Nf6
O-O
Nxe4
d4
Nd6
Bxc6
dxc6
dxe5
Nf5
=
Smyslov Defence ...
g6
c3
a6
Ba4
d6
d4
Bd7
O-O
Bg7
+=
Classical Defence ...
Bc5
O-O
Nd4
Nxd4
Bxd4
c3
Bb6
d4
c6
+=
Schliemann Defence ...
f5
Nc3
fxe4
Nxe4
d5
Nxe5
dxe4
Nxc6
Qg5
+=
Bird's Defence ...
Nd4
Nxd4
exd4
O-O
Bc5
d3
c6
Ba4
Ne7
+=
Steinitz Defence ...
d6
d4
Bd7
Nc3
exd4
Nxd4
g6
Be3
Bg7
+=
Cozio Defence ...
Nge7
O-O
g6
c3
Bg7
d4
exd4
cxd4
d5
+=
Cozio Defence ...
Nge7
O-O
a6
Bc4
b5
Bb3
d6
d4
h6
+=
Vinogradov Variation ...
Qe7
Bxc6
dxc6
d4
Bg4
dxe5
Bxf3
Qxe5
Qxf3
+=

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References

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  • Nunn's Chess Openings. 1999. John Nunn (Editor), Graham Burgess, John Emms, Joe Gallagher. ISBN 1-8574-4221-0.