Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nc6/3. Bb5
< Chess Opening Theory < 1. e4 < 1...e5 < 2. Nf3 < 2...Nc6| Ruy Lopez | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation(FEN) r1bqkbnr/pppp1ppp/2n5/1B2p3/4P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK2R | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moves: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ECO code: C60-C99 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent: King's Knight Opening | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ruy Lopez
3. Bb5
The essential move marking the Ruy Lopez, or Spanish Game. The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura. "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 the bishop against the knight, leaving the pawn undefended. It is not a real threat as after 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. Nxe5, Black can fork the knight and a pawn with 5...Qd4 or 5...Qg5. As nothing's urgent, Black can respond in a variety of ways. The most common move is the Morphy defence : 3...a6, forcing White to make a decision about his bishop. Many other moves are available, some neglecting completely the protection of the knight and the pawn and continuing development.
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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
+= |
| Jaenisch Gambit | ... 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 |
+= |
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References
- Nunn's Chess Openings. 1999. John Nunn (Editor), Graham Burgess, John Emms, Joe Gallagher. ISBN 1-8574-4221-0.
- Batsford Chess Openings 2 (1989, 1994). Garry Kasparov, Raymond Keene. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.
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