why bother with the ruy? just because to top gms play it doesn't mean you have to memorize 500000 lines yourself. the giucco piano is equally respectable...

Not at the top levels. The point of the Ruy is to save a tempo later in the middlegame.

Conehead, how can the point be to save a tempo later? The point is to beat the shxx out of the opposition. Death, destruction, war.. Oops the alarm. Was i dreaming?

U take chess way too serious. :P

The Ponziani?

I just won this Ruy Lopez miniature with Black :D (unrated game)

Why not 7. Nd3?

are you proud of yourself?

After Nd3, the e pawn is still lost i think.

finalunpurez wrote:

After Nd3, the e pawn is still lost i think.

Enough to resign? (not that it looks lost to me, but I'll take your word for it). I think they thought they would lose the knight but looks like they don't have to.

"Why not Nd3?" Idk, let's wait for my opponent to come and answer :D

"are you proud of yourself?" Not especially.. What was the point of your question again?...

"After Nd3, the e pawn is still lost i think."  Yeah, me too ;)

"Enough to resign? (not that it looks lost to me, but I'll take your word for it). I think they thought they would lose the knight but looks like they don't have to." They would lose the Knight, because they didn't play Nd3, Qe2 was played... You see, i didn't make any analysis of the game or the Ruy Lopez... I just posted a real unrated game on the Ruy Lopez opening lines. This topic is about Ruy Lopez, so i think it's relevant. That's all. I still think my opponent resigned too soon, but i've had others resign just because they lost a pawn, which in my level is certainly not a game breaker! :D

The point of playing any opening is that you like the middlegame positions you get from it. As a player of the Italian Game (3.Bc4) since about 1975, I have often regretted not learning the more difficult Spanish when I had the time.

transpo wrote:

Chess is siege warfare in the form of a board game. It is about 3 strategies (restrain, blockade, execute--the enemy). At the same time it is about control of the center (d4,e4,d5,e5).  Also the general opening principles state that Ns should be developed before Bs.  So 3.Bb5 is some type of exception to this principle.

3.Bb5 temporarily restrains the advance of Black's b pawn at b7, and especially Black's d pawn at d7. The reason that the restraining of the d pawn is especially important is because

this pawn is critical to Black in controlling the center. If Black advances the d pawn then White can play 4.Bxc6 and give Black an exploitable loose doubled pawn complex after 4 ...bxc6. As opposed to a compact doubled pawn complex after 4 ...dxc6 which is practically impossible to exploit.

One of the best moves to counter 3.Bb5 is 3...Nf6 (the first move that indicates to White that Black is going to play the Berlin Defense.

If you would like to know more please let me know.