The Ruy Lopez
The "Spanish Game" — a deep, strategic opening that has been a cornerstone of chess for five centuries.
Published 2026-02-01 | Last verified 2026-02-12
Professor Archer says: I sometimes call the Ruy Lopez the "university" of chess openings. If the Italian Game is your secondary school education, the Ruy Lopez is your doctoral studies. It teaches patience, strategic planning, and the art of building a position move by move over twenty or thirty turns. I did not appreciate the Ruy Lopez until I had played chess for several years, but once I understood it, I fell in love with its depth and subtlety.
The Logic of 3.Bb5
The Ruy Lopez begins like the Italian Game — 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 — but diverges sharply on move three. Instead of 3.Bc4 targeting f7 directly, White plays 3.Bb5, placing the bishop on a square that influences the game in a more subtle and strategic way.
The bishop on b5 does not directly attack f7. Instead, it targets the knight on c6, which is the primary defender of Black's e5 pawn. By threatening to capture this knight (after which Black's e5 pawn would be undefended), White creates indirect pressure on the center.
However — and this is the subtle part — White does not usually capture on c6 immediately. The threat is more valuable than its execution. By maintaining the bishop on b5, White keeps the tension alive and forces Black to account for the possibility of Bxc6 in every calculation. This nagging pressure shapes Black's development and limits their options.
The Ruy Lopez is named after Ruy Lopez de Segura, a sixteenth-century Spanish priest who analyzed it in his 1561 treatise on chess. In the nearly five centuries since, it has been played in more high-level games than any other opening, and its theory runs deeper than perhaps any other system. Yet its core idea is simple: pressure the defender of the center and build from there.
The Morphy Defence and Main Lines
Black's most popular response to 3.Bb5 is 3...a6, the Morphy Defence, named after the great American player Paul Morphy. This move asks the bishop an important question: will you capture, retreat, or stay? The bishop almost always retreats to a4 with 4.Ba4, maintaining the pin while sidestepping the threat of ...b5 trapping the bishop later.
After 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0, White has castled and is already safely developed. Black usually plays 5...Be7, preparing to castle as well, and after 6.Re1, White protects the e4 pawn and prepares central action. This is the starting point for many of the Ruy Lopez's famous variations.
The beauty of this sequence is how both sides develop naturally while jockeying for strategic advantage. White wants to maintain central tension and eventually play d4 to open the position. Black wants to complete development, resolve the pin on the knight, and find counterplay in the center or on the queenside.
What makes the Ruy Lopez special at the intermediate level is that it rewards understanding over memorisation. If you grasp the strategic themes — central tension, piece activity, pawn structure — you can navigate the opening successfully even without knowing every specific variation.
After 3...a6 4.Ba4, the Morphy Defence. White maintains the pressure while Black prepares to develop.
Strategic Themes for Both Sides
The Ruy Lopez produces positions with rich strategic content. Understanding the key themes for both sides will guide your play far more effectively than memorising specific move orders.
For White, the primary goals are: maintain tension in the center (do not rush d4 until the timing is right), build a strong pawn center when possible, and aim for a kingside attack or a central breakthrough. White often plays c3 to prepare d4, and if Black allows it, d4 opens the position favorably for White's bishops and centralised pieces.
For Black, the goals are: complete development efficiently, challenge White's center with ...d5 or ...d6 followed by a later ...d5, and create queenside counterplay with moves like ...b5, ...Bb7, and potentially ...c5. Black's plan often involves a slower, more maneuvering game, waiting for White to overextend before striking back.
One of the most important strategic ideas is the "closed" Ruy Lopez structure, where pawns lock on e4 and e5 and both sides maneuver behind their pawn chains. White aims to expand on the kingside (f4), while Black prepares counterplay on the queenside (...c5) or in the center (...d5 after preparation). These closed positions can last thirty, forty, even fifty moves, and they reward patience and positional understanding over raw tactical aggression.
Questions About the Ruy Lopez
Why does White not simply take the knight on c6 right away?
After 3.Bb5 and the immediate 4.Bxc6 dxc6, Black gains the bishop pair and a solid central pawn on e5. While White wins the pawn briefly after 5.Nxe5, Black plays 5...Qd4, forking the knight and the e4 pawn, regaining the material. The early capture is playable (it is called the Exchange Variation) but the resulting position is solid for Black.
Is the Ruy Lopez better for White than the Italian Game?
Not necessarily "better," but different. The Ruy Lopez tends to produce more strategic, slower-burning positions, while the Italian Game can be more directly tactical. Both are excellent openings. The Ruy Lopez is generally considered to have slightly more theoretical depth, which is why it is popular at the highest levels.
How much theory do I need to know to play the Ruy Lopez?
At the intermediate level, you can play the Ruy Lopez effectively by understanding the strategic ideas without memorising long variations. Know the basic development scheme (Bb5, Ba4, 0-0, Re1, c3, d4), understand the typical pawn structures, and the rest can be worked out at the board. Deep theoretical preparation becomes important only at advanced levels.
Professor Archer says: If you are ready to graduate from beginner openings into something with real strategic richness, the Ruy Lopez is your next step. Do not be intimidated by its depth — you do not need to memorise twenty moves of theory. Understand the ideas: pressure e5, build a strong center, and prepare a slow kingside or central expansion. The rest will come with experience.
Quick Quiz
What does White's bishop on b5 primarily pressure in the Ruy Lopez?
- The f7 pawn directly - The bishop on b5 does not target f7. That is the idea behind the Italian Game (3.Bc4). In the Ruy Lopez, the bishop's influence is more indirect.
- The c6 knight, which defends the e5 pawn (Correct) - Correct. The bishop on b5 targets the c6 knight. Since this knight is the primary defender of the e5 pawn, White creates indirect pressure on Black's central pawn. The threat of Bxc6 followed by Nxe5 shapes Black's entire opening strategy.
- The a6 square to prevent Black from expanding - Black actually plays ...a6 voluntarily in the Morphy Defence. The bishop does not prevent queenside expansion; in fact, ...a6 and ...b5 are key parts of Black's counterplay plan.
- The black king directly through a pin - There is no direct pin on the king from b5. The bishop targets the c6 knight, and while there is a loose connection to the king along the diagonal, the primary pressure is on the knight and through it on the e5 pawn.