The Ruy Lopez for White

I just found out there is a nice Knol about Moller and Archangels variations of the Ruy Lopez for White. If you have no idea about the theory of Ruy Lopez, this might be the best free Internet resource on the classic lines.

Schliemann / Jaenisch gambit with 3. ...f5!?

Schliemann or Jaenisch gambit is not an opening for those who have a faint heart. The positions one has to defend are difficult for both players as the early middle game will be a razor sharp fight where neither side can expect a draw.

Andrew Martin analyzes Geller - Kuzmin 2002 ("The Lopez Grip, part II") with the variation 4. d3 that used to be played by patzers. Nowadays even strong grandmasters seem to play the line with white and every black player who is willing to play the Schliemann/Jaenisch must be prepared for this line.

Ruy Lopez Exchange

If you are interested in playing the Ruy Lopez Exchange as a short cut to all the complicated theory of the closed and open variations, not to speak about Marshall gambit, you should probably start with the commented games on the web site of the Exeter Chess Club. Even if the games by Emanuel Lasker do not represent the hottest new theory they are very helpful for anyone trying to grasp the ideas of the Ruy Lopes Exchange.

More interesting and classic games played in the variation can be found in Chessgames.com.

Minor variations in Ruy Lopez: Offbeat Spanish

Not every chess player is ready to meet the Ruy Lopez with the established main lines when playing with the black pieces. Many players have chosen to play some of the minor variations of the Spanish Opening when having to defend against the Spanish Torture. For example, I played some time almost exclusively the classical defense (with Bc5) as my main response to the Ruy Lopez.

Glenn Flear's Offbeat Spanish is a good source of information for the players seeking for alternative ways to play the black side of the Ruy Lopez. In this book, Flear studies a wide variety of ambitious and offbeat answers for many different playing styles. From the super-solid Berlin to the uncompromising Schliemann, there is enough choice here for any prospective black player facing the Spanish. On the other hand, this book is also perfect for Spanish enthusiasts looking for the best way to deal with those avoiding the main lines.

Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: Everyman Chess; 1st edition (April 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1857442423
ISBN-13: 978-1857442427
Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.4 inches

Free ebook on the Kasparov-Kramnik match (2000)

As most of you probably know, the Berlin defense became wildly popular only after Vladimir Kramnik used it to beat Garry Kasparov in the match for the world championship in 2000. Even Kasparov was not able to break the Berlin wall, and this was an excellent reason for many of the top players to adopt the defense. Of course, many club players followed them in their search for the perfect defense against Ruy Lopez.

If you are interested in defending a queenless middle game with black, you should certainly download and print Karsten Müller's free ebook (pdf) on the aforementioned match. Play throught the games and even you might like to try to defend the black side of the Ruy Lopez.

ABC of the Ruy Lopez

The venerable Ruy Lopez is one of the most interesting of chess openings. In this diverse and instructive DVD, International Master Andrew Martin explains how the opening works, with the help of mostly recent, complete master games, although there are some classics too!

The most important ideas are highlighted and you will get many repertoire suggestions all presented in the light, easy, relaxed style for which this author is noted.

1. Intro 19:12 min.; 2. Sustained Pressure 12:54 min.; 3. Simplicity 08:36 min.; 4. Solidity 9:50 min.; 5. The Lopez Grip 12:58 min.; 6. Black tries to smash the Ruy Lopez 10:40 min.; 7. Intro to Theory and Berlin 11:38 min.; 8. Berlin 1 5:14 min.; 9. Berlin 2 6:15 min.; 10. Schliemann 16:55 min.; 11. Bird 9:19 min.; 12. Cozio 12:19 min.; 13. The Smyslov Variation 14:55 min.; 14. The Classical Variation 10:50 min.; 15. Berlin Classical 6:28 min.; 16. Chase Variation 8:57 min.; 17. Steinitz Deferred 9:28 min.; 18. Main Line 1 9:06 min.; 19. Main Line 2 7:09 min.; 20. Main Line 3 9:49 min.; 21. Conclusion 0:48 min. Running time: 3 hours 33 min.

M-Tel Masters Tournament

M-Tel Masters will be played in Sofia 12th-23rd May 2009. It will be interesting to see whether the players (Topalov, Carlsen, Ivanchuk, Shirov, Wang, and Dominguez) will get play some interesting Ruy Lopez novelties. Follow the live games on the official web site!

Play the Ruy Lopez main line!

If you really want to learn play chess, play the Ruy Lopez main line. This is an excellent guide to the main lines of the closed Ruy Lopez. It does not, however, cover the early deviations, the open RuyLopez or the Marshall gambit. It covers just what the name promises: the Chigorin, Smyslov, Zaitsev, Karpov, and Breyer defences.

Ruy Lopez Exchange

Many players want to have shortcut at least in the early career of playing Ruy Lopez. There is no better way to achieve this, than adopting the Ruy Lopez Exchange as the main weapon to play with white. After all, even the late Bobby Fischer used to play this with white in order to win.

Playing the white side of Ruy Lopez Exchange involves having to play with B+K against B+B. On the other hand, white will have the superior pawn structure that will help him to play for win even in the endgame.

This is a good and recent book by Krzysztof Panczyk and Jacek Ilczuk about the exchange variation. The book uses a model game approach which is highly valued by club players.

Ruy Lopez for the Black

Not many club players are willing to answer e4 with e5. Those of use who are ready for some real chess, should buy this book by two Norwegian authors who explain the Ruy Lopez for the black player: The Ruy Lopez. A guide for the Black.

Sverre Johnsen and Leif Erlend Johannessen did not choose a simple repertoire solution based on some early deviation. On the contrary, they recommend the reader one of the most important main lines, the famous Zaitsev variation. Zaitse is a sharp and strategic variation that was used by no other than the World Champion GM Anatoly Karpov in his best years.

The Zaitsev leads to sharp play which often results in open battles where Black gains active counterplay. On the other hand, White tries to attack on the kingside.

One of the problems for those playing with black to win is the early Ng5 repetition. Th authors have some ideas about how Black can handle the problem of the Ng5. In addition, they recommend reliable procedures against White's other options in the Lopez, starting off with the Exchange Variation, and moving on to a variety of closed systems.

The authors emphase on what ordinary players really need to know and understand. They explain all the important ideas, and guide the readers away from trouble. Highly recommended!

Paperback: 207 pages
Publisher: Gambit Publications (March 30, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1904600670
ISBN-13: 978-1904600671
Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.8 x 0.8 inches

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Symbols 4
Bibliography 5
Preface by Sverre 6
Preface by Leif 8

Part 1: Introduction 23
A Quality Opening 23
A Great Learning Tool 29
Learning the Closed Ruy Lopez 30
Closed Ruy Lopez Strategy 31
Some Closed Ruy Lopez Concepts 32
Ruy Lopez Overview 33
Part 2: The Main Battleground 48
1 The Zaitsev Main Line 51
2 The 17...c4 Zaitsev 82
3 Other Zaitsev Lines 91
4 Imperfection 107
5 Regrouping System 117
Part 3: White Ducks the Challenge 132
6 Rare 8th and 9th Moves 133
7 5th and 6th Move Alternatives 156
Part 4: Exchange Variations 175
8 The Exchange Variation 178
9 Delayed Exchange Variations 194
Index of Variations 205

Ruy Lopez on the Internet

If you are looking for Internet resources about Ruy Lopez instead of books, here are some interesting links for you:

* Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defense bibliography (The Kenilworthian)
* Bird's Defense Bibliography (The Kenilworthian)
* John Watson, "Ruy Lopez, Bird Defense".
* Andrew Martin, "The 'If It's Good Enough For Capa" Variation'" (3. ... Bc5 4. c3 Qf6!?)
* The Classical Defense (The Campbell Report), part one, part two.
* Sverre's Chess Corner has many interesting articles about Ruy Lopez.

Ruy Lopez PGN Downloads

If you are not looking for Ruy Lopez books or DVDs to buy, you are most probably interested in some of the free PGN databases available on the Internet. Even the free databases can be of considerable use when studying an opening.

Unfortunately, these free collections of chess games are usually uncommented. At least for a woodpusher like me, it is better to study an opening under the guidance of an international master or a grandmaster who has carefully chosen the most important games to study and commented them. Without the comments I would probably not grasp half of the important ideas in any given position.


Anyway, you'll find links to the different PGN collections further down on the right sidebar. I try to add new files and links to the section whenever I have time to seek for new PGN files. If you don't yet have any chess database to use with the PGN collections, you should first try SCID. It is a free and open source chess database that is good enough for most club players.

If you want something more professional, you should consider ordering the Chessbase 10 Starter Kit from Amazon. It will be more than enough for any chess enthusiast!

Ruy Lopez, Bird Defense

There is a growing body of analysis on chess openings available on the Internet free of charge. This is true even in the case of Ruy Lopez.

If you are interested in the off-beat variations of the Ruy Lopez, you should read IM John Watsons comments on the Bird Defense of the Ruy Lopez. It can't be that bad if Morozevich has played the defense against Leko!!

John Shaw: Starting Out the Ruy Lopez

Starting Out is Everyman's popular series of chess opening books for ordinary club players. The books of the series have been written for players whose rating varies between 1500 and 2000. Thus they do not demand too much strategic understanding to be useful for any woodpusher.

The book is not quite new - it has been published in 2003. This does not make it any less useful, as the latest lines played by the greatest grand masters are not necessary for the intendend readership. The games are in any case pretty modern, as most of them have been played in the first years of this decade.

The book is a great book for anyone who intends to start playing Ruy Lopez as white. In addition, it can be recommended for black players who like to open with e5.

Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: Everyman Chess; 1st edition (August 1, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1857443217
ISBN-13: 978-1857443219
Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7 x 0.4 inches

Andrew Greet: Play the Ruy Lopez

One of the best ways to learn to play the Ruy Lopez is to buy a few books about the opening. Playing the opening and studying the mistakes made by yourself is the only way to learn to play an opening as rich as the Ruy Lopez.

Andrew Greet's Play the Ruy Lopez is a recent book about the Ruy Lopez. In this book, the author recommends the white player to use a variants commonly known as the Worral Attack. In this way, the white can sidestep many of the more difficult variants of the closed Ruy Lopez. Furthermore, most of the chess players have not really studied the defense against the Worral Attack. This makes it a good practical weapon for the white players.

The Worral Attack is characterized by the first moves 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Qe2. The white intends to play the rook from f1 to d1 before advancing the d pawn. The opposition of rook and queen in the same file might promise some advantage to white. It is, however, difficult to know whether the Worral Attack promises white with real chances of any advantage. Of course, the same problem exists for most of the mainstram openings.

Before buying this fine book, you might like to read the reviews by NM Bill McGeary, Chessbug or Carsten Hansen (pdf).

Paperback: 376 pages
Publisher: Everyman Chess; 1st edition (January 1, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1857444272
ISBN-13: 978-1857444278
Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.1 inches

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Nigel Short (3 pgs)
Bibliography (2 pgs)
Acknowledgements (1 pg)

Introduction (8 pgs)
Part 1: Variations without 3...a6
* Introduction (2 pgs)
* Unusual Third Moves (8 pgs)
* Fianchetto Defence (...g6) (10 pgs)
* Cozio Defence (3...Nge7) (18 pgs)
* Steinitz Defence (3...d6) (25 pgs)
* Bird Defence (3...Nd4) (21 pgs)
* Classical Variation (3...Bc5) (16 pgs)
* Schliemann Variation (3...f5) (20 pgs)
* Berlin Defence (3...Nf6) (16 pgs)

Part 2: 3...a6 Ba4: Fourth Move Alternatives

* Introduction (1 pg)
* Unusual Fourth Moves (4 pgs)
* Deferred Fiachnetto (4...g6) (3 pgs)
* Deferred Cozio (4...Nge7) (4 pgs)
* Deferred Classical (4...Bc5) (8 pgs)
* Deferred Schliemann (4...f5) (14 pgs)
* 4...b5 5Bb3: Unusual Fifth Moves (3 pgs)
* Norwegian Variation (4...b5 5 Bb3 Na5) (14 pgs)
* Deferred Steinitz (4...d6) without 6...f6 (16 pgs)
* Deferred Steinits (4...d6): 6...f6

Part 3: Worrall System (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.Qe2)

* Introduction (3 pgs)
* Unusual Fifth Moves (9 pgs)
* Black delays ...b5 (9 pgs)
* 5...b5 6.Bb3: Unusual Sixth Moves (5 pgs)
* Anti-5.Qe5 Variation: 6...Bc5 (18 pgs)
* 6...Be7 7.0-0: Unusual Seventh and Eighth Moves (4 pgs)
* Closed Worrall (7...0-0 8.c3 d6 9.Rd1):Introduction (16 pgs)
* Closed Worrall (7...0-0 8.c3 d6 9.Rd1): 9...Na5 (20 pgs)
* Open Worrall (7...0-0 8.c3 d5 9.d3): Introduction (17 pgs)
* Open Worrall (7...0-0 8.c3 d5 9.d3): 9...Bb7 (17 pgs)
* Open Worrall (7...0-0 8.c3 d5 9.d3): 9...Re8 (12 pgs)

Index of Variations (3 pgs)

Ruy Lopez

Ruy Lopez is one of the most popular chess openings. It is known also under the name of Spanish opening. Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura was a 16th century priest who lived in Spain. He was the first scholar and chess enthusiast who systematically studied this and other openings in his 150-page booklet Libro del Ajedrez (in 1561).

Ruy Lopez was not the first to open his game with the characteristic sequence 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5. It took three more centuries before the opening really became popular. In the mid-1800s Carl Jaenisch, a Finnish-Russian theoretician really discovered the potential of the opening. The Spanish opening is still in active use as the most common opening played by the masters after 1. e4 e5.

According to common wisdom, every chess player who wants to develop into a master should play Ruy Lopez at least for some time. Only by studying this classic opening, it becomes possible to understand some of the fine strategic nuances of the royal game.

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