If you love chess, you may have already heard about the dramatic Ruy Lopez opening which in algebraic notation is represented as 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5
As an opening, it begins with a standard Open Game meeting of pawns in the board’s centre.
Whether you are playing White or Black, the Ruy Lopez opening in chess is one of the most popular starts to the game. Also known as the Spanish Game or Spanish Opening, just about everyone enjoys the Ruy Lopez opening in chess.
Even though Ruy Lopez chess is named after Ruy Lopez de Segura who was a devoted chess devotee and 16th-century priest who, in 1561, wrote a book about chess openings, he did not pioneer the move.
If you should play Black, you might not decide to call it Ruy Lopez chess but rather Spanish torture because it can be very difficult to gain equality from that side of the board.
Either way, in this article you will find out why using the Ruy Lopez opening in chess could work in your favour.
The Ruy Lopez Opening Theory in Detail
Not unlike the Queen’s Gambit opening Ruy Lopez chess appears aggressive because, from the outset, both Black and White stack their claim on the board’s centre.
The strategy behind the Ruy Lopez opening theory is to make sure that Black stays on the back foot by ruining its attempt to establish a pawn structure. After the initial play, the White knight poses a threat to Black’s e6 pawn. White, on its third move, pursues a more aggressive stance by positioning its white bishop on square b5. This threatens the knight that is protecting Black’s e6 pawn.
The Ruy Lopez chess opening is powerful because, with only three moves in, Black is left with poor choices for recovery.
For a beginner playing Black, this opening is particularly challenging. Having said this, fortunately, Whites have eased up on the traditional Bxc6 follow-up that takes Black’s knight. Instead, it pulls its bishop from b5 to a4 when an a-file pawn is played.
So, while the Ruy Lopez opening theory is the most developed of all Open Games, fortunately for Black it opens many alternative responses. Can the same be said for the King’s Gambit strategy?
Defences for the Ruy Lopez Chess Opening
As mentioned, after White’s third move, both Black’s e6 pawn and b6 knight are jeopardised. A beginner may wonder which piece to sacrifice. Another option would be to move its kingside bishop to c5 which is known as the Classic Defence and is the oldest and most established Ruy Lopez defence. Also known as the Cordel defence, it has been well-loved by grandmasters like Boris Gulko and Boris Spassky.
Incidentally, do you know which moves of the Scotch Game mirror the same as the Ruy Lopez?
The Morphy Defence
It’s common for modern-day chess players to want to develop their pieces and test the grit of their opponents instead of immediately attacking them. This means that when Black moves its a-file pawn to the 6th rank, White’s reaction is to pull its bishop back to a4.
Obviously, White’s option to capture the Black knight means that subsequent captures could negatively impact White’s game. In so doing, its retreat to a4 could leave that knight vulnerable. This means that if White responds to Black’s a6 challenge it will have to play a solid middle game to avoid its undoing.
The American 19th-century prodigy Paul Morphy was enamoured by this defence and played it all over Europe and America. Of course, the defence predates him, but it still bears his name in honour of his success.
The Morphy Defence offers a few alternatives, the Main Line and the Closed Defence, which have their own variations.
As already mentioned the Ruy Lopez opening theory is extensively developed and besides its Classic and Morphy defences there are also:
- the Cozio Defence noted as 3: ... Nge7 (or kingside knight to e7) which is not often played.
- the Berlin Defence noted as 3: ... Nf6 which is the most popular alternative to a6.
- the Schliemann Defence noted as 3: ... f5 which allows the development of the kingside game and will cause confusion for White.
- the Modern Steinitz Defence noted as 3: ... a6 4 and Ba4 d6 which is vastly preferred to the 3: …d6 (the Steinitz Defence).
Other defences for black include the Smyslow and Bird Defences which have become less popular over the years. Even though they are good moves for surprising your opponent, it is advisable to know them well as they can, much like the Italian Game, be filled with risks.
Build Ruy Lopez Opening Traps
Because the Ruy Lopez opening in chess favours White, one of the best response strategies that Black can offer is to trap its opponent's key pieces. One of these, called the Noah’s Ark Trap results from White’s response to the Morphy Defence. Basically, White’s kingside bishop is surrounded while the game continues on b3.
This Open Game’s Riga Variation results in an endgame trap for Black especially when White’s 15th move is Nc3.
Alternatively, the Dilworth Variation could mean danger for an inexperienced White player because of the many opportunities that Black has to lay traps.
Black can also play dumb by implementing the Mortimer Trap. Here, it will make moves that seem inferior so that its opponent is lured into a costly situation.
The Tarrasch Trap is mostly vicious, not least because it offers two variations.
In the Open Game variation, Black's queen is destined to fall by the 11th move, but if the queen is not lost, its d5 pawn could be rendered useless as with any piece on the a2-g8 diagonal.
While it may appear that Black has control over the board’s centre, there is also imminent danger in losing pieces. The other Tarrasch Trap is manifested in the Steinitz variation. While this move favours White it can also result in it being caught especially because Black is an astute player. These traps can make Ruy Lopez chess more challenging, but their effectiveness will depend on the skill of the player. Of course, this can be said for all the top chess openings!
Noteworthy Matches Featuring Ruy Lopez Chess
As mentioned, the Ruy Lopez opening theory is certainly a favourite amongst players of every skill. That may make it seem like there is nothing remarkable about it, especially because it has so many options in terms of its variations and defences.
Unlike the more combative opening of the Sicilian Defence, the Ruy Lopez chess opening sets up piece development and strategic play. In fact, there are a number of noteworthy matches that featured the Ruy Lopez opening theory that is worth looking at, two of these are:
Kasparov-Karpov World Championship Game
In 1990, these grandmasters competed for the World Chess Champion title. In the final match Kasparov, having attained an illustrious Elo rating beyond 2800, was considered the favourite. Playing White, he chose the Ruy Lopez opening. The game played out in standard fashion with Karpov responding with the Morphy Defence (Nb5 with a6) while Kasparov knew that he would also invoke the Zaitsev Variation at some point.
As fierce opponents who knew each other’s games well, Kasparov guessed Karpov’s strategy and played along until the 18th move when he saw his opening. Taking his rook to a3, the rest is history. Kasparov won the championship and retired the Zaitsev Variation.
Capablanca-Marshall game, 1918
Looking back in chess history you will find a game which used the Marshall Attack: 7: ... 0-0, 8: c3 d5.
This famed gambit received its name from American champion, James Frank Marshall who used it to plot against his opponent in a legendary 1918 game. As an aggressive strategy for Black and it can even seem like the player is being careless. However, the initial pawn sacrifices made by White place it at a great overall disadvantage.
Using the Ruy Lopez chess opening, Capablanca, playing White, assumed he would have the upper hand – that was until Marshall used his attack. It took Capablanca back for a bit, but he did go on to win the match.
Besides these, there are other memorable games that used Ruy Lopez chess as an opening, the most widely used opening of all Open Games, but if you are looking for variety, perhaps you should consider the French Defence too.
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