The Ruy Lopez is one of the deepest and most respected open games. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 White develops the bishop to b5 and attacks the defender of the e5 pawn, the knight on c6. All the main branches are gathered here: the Morphy Defence with its Closed and Open systems, the Exchange Variation, the solid Berlin, the Steinitz Defence and the Schliemann Counterattack. At each branching point, choose which line to play.
The dimmed moves are the rest of the main line, and the dots mark branching points. Click any move to jump to that position.
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The starting position. Choose your moves - at a branching point several continuations are available.
The Ruy Lopez is named after the priest Ruy Lopez de Segura, who analysed 3.Bb5 in a treatise as early as 1561. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 White develops the bishop to b5 and attacks the c6 knight - the main defender of the e5 pawn.
The main idea is not to win a pawn at once but to create lasting positional pressure. From b5 (and later a4) the bishop cramps Black around e5 and the c6 knight, and White builds the advantage unhurriedly. For the depth and logic of its plans the Ruy Lopez is often called a school of positional chess.
The struggle is usually a manoeuvring, strategic one that can last the whole middlegame. That is why the Ruy Lopez is one of the principal opening weapons at the top level, from Steinitz and Capablanca to today's champions.
After the main 3...a6 4.Ba4 there are three principal routes. In the Closed System (5...Be7) Black consolidates unhurriedly and then unfolds play on the queenside - the most popular and plan-rich line of the Ruy Lopez.
In the Open Variation (5...Nxe4) Black takes the pawn and goes in for active piece play with open lines. In the Exchange Variation (4.Bxc6) White himself trades the bishop for the knight, banking on the better pawn structure in the endgame.
The Ruy Lopez is the deepest of the open games. After 3.Bb5 White is not really threatening to win a pawn at once (3...a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nxe5 Qd4 wins the material back), but the pressure on the c6 knight shapes the game for many moves to come.
The classical plan: 5.0-0, 6.Re1, 7.Bb3, 8.c3 and d2-d4. White builds a big centre while the knight travels Nb1-d2-f1-g3 to support the kingside attack. That manoeuvre is the Ruy Lopez's calling card.
There is a simplified route too: the Exchange Variation 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.0-0. White gets the better pawn structure and plays for the endgame - Black's doubled pawns tell there. A good choice if you would rather not learn miles of theory in the closed systems.
The first thing Black does is put the question to the bishop with 3...a6. After 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 the main position of the Closed Ruy Lopez arises, where Black chooses between several classical schemes: the Chigorin (...Na5 hitting the b3 bishop, plus ...c5), the Breyer (...Nb8 rerouting to d7) and the Zaitsev (...Bb7 and ...Re8).
The common idea behind every set-up is the same: finish developing, shore up e5 and find the moment for the ...d5 break or ...c5 counterplay on the queenside. While the centre holds, White's attack runs into a solid wall.
The simpler route is the Berlin Defence, 3...Nf6. After 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 the famous endgame arises: Black has no castling and doubled pawns, but two bishops and a sturdy position. This is the line that neutralised White at the top level for years.
The typical set-ups this opening leads to - learn them, and the plan follows by itself.
After 5...Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0. The classical tabiya: Black builds the Spanish wall while White prepares d4 and long-term positional pressure - a struggle over many moves.
After 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8. An endgame with no castling but with two bishops and great solidity - the one Kramnik used to neutralise Kasparov in 2000.
After 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.0-0. Black has two bishops and doubled c-pawns; White banks on the healthy four-against-three kingside majority in the endgame.
These are the main named variations. Click any one of them and it loads straight onto the board above, where you can play it out move by move. The trainer itself holds more lines than this: it also covers main-line continuations and transpositions that have no name of their own.
What to avoid, and what catches an unprepared opponent.
After 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Black boldly takes with 5...Nxe4 and wins the pawn back with the counter-blows ...b5 and ...d5. Attempts to hold the extra e5 pawn run into tactics; the point of the Ruy Lopez is pressure, not material.
In the Berlin endgame Black cannot castle - but that is no weakness: the king sits comfortably in the centre of an emptied board. The main thing is to develop the two bishops calmly instead of hunting for imaginary dangers.
In the closed lines the ...d5 break has to be prepared (...Re8, ...Bf8). A premature ...d5 leads to exchanges that favour White and throws away the queenside counterplay.
Traps in other openings - the 12 most common opening traps.
After the Spanish priest Ruy Lopez de Segura, who analysed 3.Bb5 in detail in a book of 1561. In English the opening is known as both the Ruy Lopez and the Spanish Game.
No, that is an illusion. After 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Black boldly takes with 5...Nxe4 and then wins the pawn back thanks to the counter-blows ...b5 and ...d5. Direct attempts to hold the extra e5 pawn run into tactics. The opening is about pressure, not material.
Above all, it is extremely reliable. Black goes early into a queenless endgame with two bishops against White's pawn majority. There are fewer sharp attacks there, but also less risk - which is why the Berlin is valued at the top level as a sturdy weapon.
In the Italian the bishop strikes at c4 and f7 and the game turns tactical quickly. In the Ruy Lopez the bishop presses on c6 and the play is slower and more positional, with subtle manoeuvres. That is why players usually take up the Ruy Lopez after the Italian.
Want the tactics that decide these positions? Start with the 12 most common opening traps and tactics for beginners. If you are just starting out, read the rules of chess and how to set up the board.
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много игроков, немного туров, никто не выбывает после первого проигрыша
малый состав и максимально честный итог
свободный формат: соперника выбирают прямо за столом
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