Learn the Ruy Lopez

C60-C99 · a repertoire for white · 6 chapters · 66 annotated lines

"The Spanish torture — pressure from move three"

The Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5) has been the main event of chess for five hundred years, and for one simple reason: no other opening lets White press so hard, for so long, with so little risk. This course builds you a complete Spanish repertoire around the closed main line — the 4.Ba4, 5.O-O, 6.Re1, 7.Bb3, 8.c3, 9.h3 tabiya that every world champion has played — including the classic plans against the Chigorin and Zaitsev setups and the legendary Nb1-d2-f1-g3 knight tour. When Black avoids the main line you'll be ready too: the Open Spanish is met by hunting the loose e4 knight, the Berlin by the low-theory 4.d3 system (no dry endgame allowed), and the Schliemann, Classical and Steinitz each get a calm, engine-approved recipe. The deep chapters complete the repertoire: the Breyer main line, a full antidote to the Marshall Attack, and clean answers to Bird's Defense, the Modern Steinitz and the Arkhangelsk. One bishop, one plan, a lifetime of pleasant positions.

What's inside

• Chapter 1: The Closed Main Line
  Lines: The Chigorin: 9...Na5 and the Knight Tour, The Zaitsev: 9...Bb7 and Central Pressure, The Breyer: 9...Nb8 and the Perfect Regroup, The Chigorin Exchange: 12...cxd4, The Chigorin: 12...Bd7 and the Full Tour, The 9...Nd7 Regroup, The 9...h6 Waiting Move, The 9...Be6 Trade Offer, Zaitsev Sideline: 13...Na5 Punished, Zaitsev Sideline: 13...g6 Fianchetto, The 9...Bd7 Sideline, The Chigorin: 12...Bb7 and the d5 Bind
• Chapter 2: The Open and the Berlin
  Lines: The Open Spanish: Hunting the e4 Knight, The Anti-Berlin: 4.d3, The Open Spanish: 9...Be7 Solid Line, The Open Spanish: 9...Nc5 Karpov Retreat, Anti-Berlin: 4...d6, Anti-Berlin: 4...g6 Fianchetto, Anti-Berlin: 4...Ne7 Kholmov, Anti-Berlin: the ...d5 Break, Anti-Berlin: 4...a6 Exchange
• Chapter 3: Early Sidelines
  Lines: The Classical: 3...Bc5 Met by 4.c3, The Schliemann: 3...f5 Met by 4.d3, The Old Steinitz: 4.d4 and the Zwischenzug, The Classical: 3...Bc5 4.c3 Nge7, The Schliemann: 4.d3 with 6...d6, The Old Steinitz: 4...Nf6 Drops a Pawn, The Old Steinitz: 4...g6 Drops a Pawn, The Classical: 3...Bc5 4.c3 d6, The Old Steinitz: the Immediate 6...Nxd4, The Old Steinitz: 6...a6 and the e4-e5 Break, The Old Steinitz: 6...a6 7.Bxc6 Bxc6, The Classical: the 6...Bb4+ Check
• Chapter 4: The Marshall Attack
  Lines: The Marshall: Take the Pawn, Weather the Storm, The Marshall: the 17...f5 Thrust, The Marshall: the 11...Nf6 Steiner
• Chapter 5: Bird, Steinitz and the Arkhangelsk
  Lines: Bird's Defense: 3...Nd4 Met by the c3 Break, The Modern Steinitz: 4...d6 and the Clean Exchange, The Arkhangelsk Bishop: 6...Bc5 Met by 7.a4, The Neo-Arkhangelsk: 6...Bb7, The Møller: 5...Bc5, The Modern Steinitz: 6...f6 Wall, Bird's Defense: 5...Bc5 6.d3 Nf6 Punished, The Delayed Closed: 6...Be7, The Delayed Closed: 6...d6 and the ...Bg4 Pin, The Møller: 6...O-O and the Rolling Center
• Chapter 6: More Black Tries
  Lines: The Cozio: 3...Nge7, The Smyslov: 3...g6 Fianchetto, The Deferred Classical: 4...Bc5, The Delayed Arkhangelsk: 4...b5 5.Bb3 Bc5, The 4...b5 5.Bb3 Na5, The Deferred Smyslov: 4...g6, The Deferred Cozio: 4...Nge7, The Deferred Cozio: 5...Ng6, The Deferred Schliemann: 4...f5, The Delayed Arkhangelsk: 6...Nf6 and the e5 Push

Free sample: the main line, move by move

• 1. e4 — Take the center and open lines for the bishop and queen. Everything in the Ruy Lopez flows from this pawn — the fight for the e5 point it starts will run for the next twenty moves.
• 1... e5 — Black stakes an equal claim in the center.
• 2. Nf3 — Develop with a threat — the knight attacks e5. In the Ruy Lopez, White never stops asking questions about that pawn.
• 2... Nc6 — Black defends e5 the natural way.
• 3. Bb5 — The Ruy Lopez! The Spanish bishop attacks the defender of e5. There is no immediate threat — 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nxe5 fails to 5...Qd4 winning the pawn back — but the long-term pressure on e5 and the queenside will shape the entire game.
• 3... a6 — The Morphy Defense — Black puts the question to the bishop.
• 4. Ba4 — Keep the tension. Trading on c6 is playable, but retreating preserves the pressure: the bishop still eyes c6, and the later regroup to b3 and c2 gives it a second career on the b1-h7 diagonal, pointing at Black's king.
• 4... Nf6 — Black develops and hits e4.
• 5. O-O — Ignore the attack on e4! If Black grabs the pawn with 5...Nxe4 we win it back by force — that is the Open Spanish, covered in Chapter 2. Castling first is the most flexible and most testing move order.
• 5... Be7 — Black declines the pawn and develops — the closed main line.
• 6. Re1 — Now e4 is defended for real, and the threat of Bxc6 followed by Nxe5 finally becomes genuine. Black must deal with it this very move.
• 6... b5 — Black breaks the pin threat on c6 by hitting the bishop.
• 7. Bb3 — The bishop settles on its best diagonal, staring at f7 and d5. From here the classic tuck to c2 is always available the moment Black blocks the diagonal.
• 7... d6 — Black solidifies e5 and opens the c8 bishop.
• 8. c3 — Two ideas in one quiet pawn move: prepare the big d4 break, and give the bishop a home on c2 when ...Na5 comes. This little move is the backbone of every closed Ruy Lopez.
• 8... O-O — Black castles — the great main-line tabiya is one move away.
• 9. h3 — Prophylaxis worth its weight in gold: once White plays d4, the pin ...Bg4 against the f3 knight would be a constant irritation. h3 takes g4 away first, so the central break comes entirely on White's terms.
• 9... Na5 — The Chigorin — the knight chases the Spanish bishop and prepares ...c5.
• 10. Bc2 — The bishop tucks into c2, alive and well on the b1-h7 diagonal. It looks passive; it is anything but — when the kingside attack starts, this bishop points straight at h7.
• 10... c5 — Black grabs queenside space.
• 11. d4 — The break we have been preparing since move 8. White claims the full center while the a5 knight sits stranded on the rim — Black will spend two more moves just bringing it back into the game.
• 11... Qc7 — Black reinforces e5 and connects with the c5 pawn.
• 12. Nbd2 — The signature Ruy Lopez maneuver begins: this knight travels d2-f1-g3 (or e3), landing on a perfect attacking square near Black's king. White keeps the central tension, follows with Nf1 and Ng3, and slowly turns toward the kingside. Learn this route — it wins games at every level.
• 12... Nc6 — The older Chigorin idea: the rim knight returns to c6, eyeing d4 and b4 now that it has done its job of chasing the bishop to c2.
• 13. d5 — Gain space and kick the knight. With the center closing, White's plan is set — expand on the kingside while Black's queenside pieces trip over one another.
• 13... Nd8 — The knight re-routes the long way home, heading for f7 or e6 to find a job in the cramped position.
• 14. a4 — The standard second front. With the center fixed by d5, White opens a line on the wing where Black is weakest.
• 14... Rb8 — Black defends b5 and steps off the a-file before it opens.
• 15. axb5 — Trade to open the a-file for the rook.
• 15... axb5 — Black recaptures.
• 16. b4 — Clamp the queenside: c5 is fixed, b5 is a permanent target, and now the whole army can swing to the kingside with Nf1-g3 and f2-f4 at leisure. The Chigorin bind, complete.

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