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

Ruy Lopez
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
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) r1bqkbnr/pppp1ppp/2n5/1B2p3/4P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK2R b
Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5
ECO code: C60—99
Parent: King's Knight Opening
Responses: 3...a6 - Main Line (Morphy's Defence) 3...Nf6 - Berlin Defence 3...d6 - Steinitz Defence 3...Bc5 - Classical Defence 3...f5 - Schliemann (Jaenisch) Defence 3...Nd4 - Bird's Defence 3...Nge7 - Cozio Defence 3...Qf6 - Gunderam Defence 3...Bb4 - Alapin Defence

3. Bb5 - Spanish Game

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

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	8	9
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	dxe5 g5	exd6 Qxd6	+=
Vinogradov Variation	... Qe7	Bxc6 dxc6	d4 Bg4	dxe5 Bxf3	Qxe5 Qxf3	+=

References

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

• Kasparov, Garry, & Keene, Raymond 1989 Batsford chess openings 2. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.