- The moves1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5
- Chosen byWhite
- ECOC60–C99
- Also calledSpanish Game
The Ruy Lopez comes after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5. The bishop attacks the knight on c6, the piece that protects the pawn on e5. It isn't a direct threat, but the pressure stays, and Black always has to reckon with it.
The opening is named after the Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who wrote about it in his chess book of 1561. The moves are already in the Göttingen manuscript from around 1490. It is considered the most important of the open games at master level, and almost every strong player has played it, often with both colors. Because Black finds it so hard to equalize, it is sometimes called “the Spanish torture.”
The main line, move by move
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3
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The ideas
White wants to
- Press on e5 with the bishop on b5 or a4 and the knight on f3, and prepare d4 with c3.
- Bring the knight the long way, Nbd2–f1–g3, to the kingside, where it supports e4 and an attack.
- Play slowly and patiently. The Ruy Lopez is often won in the middlegame, not in the opening.
Black wants to
- Hold on to the pawn on e5. It is Black's share of the center.
- Chase the bishop with …a6 and …b5 and gain space on the queenside, often followed by …Na5 and …c5.
- Look for counterplay at the right moment: with the Berlin Defense, with the Marshall Attack's pawn sacrifice, or by striking back with …d5.
Important variations
Berlin Defense: 3…Nf6
Instead of 3…a6, Black attacks the pawn on e4 at once. The defense was common around 1900 but then fell out of use, until Vladimir Kramnik used it four times against Garry Kasparov in the 2000 world championship match and drew all four games. Since then it has been played at the very top. After the trades comes the so-called Berlin endgame: the queens are gone and Black's king can no longer castle, but Black has the bishop pair and the position is hard to crack.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8
Exchange Variation: 4.Bxc6
White trades the bishop for the knight and spoils Black's pawn structure: Black gets doubled pawns on the c-file, and the bishop pair as compensation. White's plan is to play d4, trade pieces and head for a pawn endgame: Max Euwe judged the pure pawn endgame to be won for White, because White's four pawns against three on the kingside can make a passed pawn, while Black's doubled pawns keep the queenside majority from doing the same. Emanuel Lasker and Bobby Fischer played the line with success, and Fischer made 5.O-O a dangerous weapon in the 1960s.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O f6 6. d4 exd4 7. Nxd4 c5 8. Nb3 Qxd1 9. Rxd1
4. Bxc6
White gives up the bishop pair for a better pawn structure.
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Marshall Attack: 8…d5
Black castles first and then sacrifices a pawn with 8…d5 to get quick play against the white king. The gambit became famous when Frank Marshall played it against José Raúl Capablanca in New York in 1918. Capablanca made his way through the complications and won, but the gambit lived on and has been played by Boris Spassky and Michael Adams, among others. It is so well analyzed that today it is seen rather as a way for Black to hold the draw. Many White players avoid it with 8.a4, 8.h3 or 8.d4 instead of 8.c3.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6
7… O-O
Black castles before …d6. This is the signal for the Marshall Attack.
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The trap: Noah's Ark
A trap where White's bishop is shut in on b3 by black pawns on a6, b5 and c4. No one knows for sure where the name comes from: perhaps the pawns look like an ark, perhaps it means the trap is “as old as Noah's Ark.” Even masters have fallen into it, for example Endre Steiner against José Raúl Capablanca in Budapest in 1929. The mistake is 8.Qxd4??: White should have played 8.Bd5 or 8.c3, and already on move five 5.c3, 5.Bxc6+ or 5.O-O is better than 5.d4.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6 5. d4 b5 6. Bb3 Nxd4 7. Nxd4 exd4 8. Qxd4 c5 9. Qd5 Be6 10. Qc6+ Bd7 11. Qd5 c4
11… c4
The bishop on b3 is trapped. The pawns on a6, b5 and c4 form the ark, and the white pawns on a2 and c2 close the last ways out.
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How it goes in real games
How the games ended once the position had come up on the board, in blitz, rapid and classical games. White wins, draws and Black wins, as a percentage of the games.
| Position | Level | Games | White wins | Draw | Black wins |
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| Ruy Lopez 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 | Club players | 59,739,606 | 51% | 5% | 44% |
| Beginners | 62,435,038 | 51% | 4% | 44% | |
| Ruy Lopez, main line 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 | Club players | 795,532 | 50% | 6% | 44% |
| Beginners | 38,620 | 55% | 4% | 40% | |
| Berlin Defense: 3…Nf6 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 | Club players | 219,479 | 45% | 10% | 44% |
| Beginners | 7,661 | 45% | 7% | 48% | |
| Exchange Variation: 4.Bxc6 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O f6 6. d4 exd4 7. Nxd4 c5 8. Nb3 Qxd1 9. Rxd1 | Club players | 33,359 | 51% | 11% | 38% |
| Beginners | 649 | 49% | 8% | 42% |
The most common continuations after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5
Club players, share of the games in the position.
- 3…a6 32% (18,876,572 games)
- 3…d6 22% (12,877,644 games)
- 3…Nf6 16% (9,659,578 games)
- 3…Bc5 13% (7,593,326 games)
- 3…Nge7 5% (3,076,819 games)
Source: games on Lichess, fetched October 28, 2026. Club players means games where the players average 1600 or more, beginners games where they average 1000–1599.
Is this opening for you?
The Ruy Lopez suits players who enjoy long, strategic games and have patience. White rarely gets a quick win, but a lasting pressure that often pays off in the middlegame. It is an opening you can play all your life and still learn something new in.
For beginners the Italian Game is usually a better first step, because its ideas are more direct. But if you have played for a while and want to understand how grandmasters think, there is a lot to gain here, with both colors.
A famous game
Kasparov chose the Berlin Defense when he lost to Judit Polgár for the first time, in 2002. Judit Polgár vs. Kasparov
Practice the main line
Choose a color and one of the house players. Your opponent follows the main line, and you try to find your moves. If you play something else, you'll see the main line's move, but the game goes on. When the main line ends, you play freely.
Rather play freely? Choose an opponent · Play right away
The main line with all the comments as text
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 The knight protects e5. It is exactly this knight that White's next move is aimed at. 3. Bb5 The Spanish bishop move. 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nxe5 doesn't win a pawn yet, because 5…Qd4 forks the knight and e4 and wins it back. But the pressure is there all game. 3… a6 The most common reply, which Paul Morphy was already using in 1858. Black asks the bishop what it intends to do. 4. Ba4 The bishop keeps the pressure on c6. Trading on c6 is also possible: see the Exchange Variation below. 4… Nf6 Black develops and attacks the pawn on e4. 5. O-O White doesn't need to protect e4. If Black takes the pawn, White can win it back, and meanwhile the king is safe. 5… Be7 Black prepares to castle and leaves e4 alone. That is why the line is called closed. 6. Re1 Now e4 is protected, so Bxc6 followed by Nxe5 becomes a real threat. 6… b5 Black chases the bishop away and parries the threat. 7. Bb3 The bishop drops back to a diagonal where it aims at f7, just as in the Italian Game. 7… d6 The pawn on e5 gets support, and the bishop on c8 gets a clear road. 8. c3 White prepares d4 and gives the bishop the retreat square c2 in case Black plays Na5. 8… O-O Both kings are safe. If Black castles on move seven instead, before …d6, the Marshall Attack may follow: see below. 9. h3 White stops Bg4, which would pin the knight on f3. This is the classical main position of the Ruy Lopez. White's plan is d4 and the knight maneuver Nbd2–f1–g3.
More openings
Italian Game
The bishop to c4 aims at f7. Classical, logical and perfect to learn first.
Scotch Game
3.d4 at once: an open game, free pieces and no long maneuvering.
Petrov's Defense
Black strikes back at e4 instead of protecting e5. A solid choice that several world champions have trusted.
King's Gambit
2.f4 sacrifices a pawn for the initiative. The great attacking opening of the 1800s.
Every move on this page has been checked against the rules of chess.
Updated November 6, 2026
3. Bb5
The Spanish bishop move. 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nxe5 doesn't win a pawn yet, because 5…Qd4 forks the knight and e4 and wins it back. But the pressure is there all game.