What the Ruy Lopez is after, why the pressure on e5 lasts the whole game, and how to play the Exchange, the Steinitz, the Open, the Berlin and the main line.
The Ruy Lopez is probably the most classical opening in chess. It is named after Ruy López de Segura, a sixteenth-century Spanish priest, and four centuries later it is still in the repertoire of almost every world champion.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5
The move 3.Bb5 does not threaten to win anything yet: it attacks the knight that defends e5, and with that it starts a pressure that can last the whole game. That is its charm and its difficulty. The Ruy Lopez is not won in the opening: it is won in the middlegame the opening leaves behind.
White pressures Black's centre slowly and indirectly: first against e5, through the c6 knight, and later with the d4 break when everything is ready. Black has to choose between conceding some space and meeting that pressure with more activity.
White:
e5 and prepare d4 with c3.Nbd2-f1-g3, bringing a knight to the kingside.Black:
e5 without becoming passive....b5, ...Na5 and ...c5....d5 when it is possible.4.Bxc6After 3...a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6, White gives up the bishop and aims for the endgame: White's kingside pawn majority is worth more than Black's on the other wing, because the doubled c-pawns cannot create a passed pawn. It is a practical weapon and a popular surprise.
Black supports e5 with ...d6, either at once (3...d6) or after 3...a6 4.Ba4 d6, the Modern Steinitz. It is a solid way to play, with a little less space and a lot of firmness.
...g6 and ...f5Replies off the main road: 3...g6, developing the bishop on g7, and 3...f5, the Schliemann Gambit, which counterattacks immediately. They are good surprise weapons, and worth having prepared if you play the white side.
5...Nxe4After 3...a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O, Black takes the e4 pawn and looks for active piece play. It is the line for those who prefer activity to solidity.
3...Nf6The defence Kramnik used to neutralise Kasparov in their 2000 title match. It often leads to an early endgame, the "Berlin Wall", where Black loses the right to castle but keeps a position that is very hard to break.
With 3...a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 you reach the Closed Ruy Lopez, one of the richest and most studied middlegames in chess. This is where you learn the plans that apply to the whole opening: the knight manoeuvre, the d4 break, the kingside attack against counterplay on the other wing.
e5 straight away. 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nxe5 does not win a pawn, because Black gets it back with 5...Qd4. The pressure is long-term.e5 is not enough; you need queenside counterplay.b3 bishop for no reason. It is the piece that eyes f7 and sustains the pressure.For players who want a White opening that will last a lifetime. It is demanding —there is a lot of theory—, but every hour invested in it teaches real chess: the centre, manoeuvring, endgames. If you would rather start with something more direct, the Italian Game shares the first moves and is simpler to learn. And to choose sensibly, read which opening suits the way you play.
First the plans of the main line, because they come up the most. Then Black's replies one by one, starting with those you meet most at your level. And always complete games: in the Ruy Lopez, the important part starts on move fifteen.
The course Ruy López in Depth: Variants, Systems and Middlegame, with grandmasters Andrés Rodríguez Vila and Diego Flores and International Master Mario Villanueva, covers in six lessons the Exchange Variation, the Steinitz lines, the systems with ...g6 and ...f5, the Open and the Berlin, with two full lessons devoted to the typical middlegames of the main line.
If you want to put this into practice with structured material:
A complete journey through the Ruy López: Exchange Variation, Steinitz, systems with ...g6 and ...f5, Open Variation, Berlin and typical middlegames.
ARDFMVBy GM Andrés Rodríguez Vila, GM Diego Flores, and IM Mario Villanueva
A collection of six courses by GM Andrés Rodríguez to expand your opening repertoire, discover brilliant combinations, and improve your understanding of pawn structures and piece trades.
ARBy GM Andrés Rodríguez Vila
What the English Opening is after with 1.c4, how to play against 1...e5, 1...c5 and 1...Nf6, playing it with or without the fianchetto, and who it suits.
Read the articleWhat the Italian Game is after, how the Fried Liver (Fegatello) Attack on f7 works, which gambits are worth knowing, and why the slow d3 lines dominate elite chess today.
Read the articleHow the French Defence works, what to do with the bad bishop, when to break with ...c5 and ...f6, and how to face the Tarrasch, the Classical, the Advance and the Winawer.
Read the articleARDFMVBy GM Andrés Rodríguez Vila, GM Diego Flores, and IM Mario Villanueva