Ruy Lopez without 3..a6?

Is Ruy Lopez without 3..a6 any good for black? Black can try some other things like Bc4, Nf6, Nde7, g6, d6.

It certainley looks better then 3..a6 because white tends to be prepared for lines that have a6, but without a6 black can cause some complications.

Nf6 is one of the main lines, it's the Berlin.

Other than that, I thought the other ones are considered offshoots. But let's wait until real e4 players (or real e4/e5 players) come to the party here. I play d4 and I play e4/c6.

Hi,

I'm a 3...a6 for Black in the Ruy Lopez.

3... d6 is the Steinitz defense. 3... d6 is now improve by 3... a6 4. Ba4 d6 and this variation is known as the Modern Steinitz Defense. this is playable for Black.

3... Nf6 is the Berlin defense, also playable. In fact, a variation of the Berlin Defense need the white Bishop on b5...

I currently play against a 3... Nge7 "Cozio Defense" online game... look odd for me :)

I think that if you want to counter "a6-prepared opponent", the Berlin Defense is a good choice. Otherwise, Sicilian Defense is also a good way

Kk thanks alot guys :D

Nf6 is the most common move nowadays maybe even more that a6 as it was played in the world championship match between anand and carlsen but nf6 if played correctly goes into a fairly seemingly simple endgame where black has the bishop pair and white has a pawn majority instead of blacks doubled c pawns. Bc5 is also considered quite good by many people and gets into a fairly complicated position after 4...Nd4. If you want to learn more about ruy Lopez openings without a6 then you can check out kingscrusher's (Tryfon Gavriel) video which gives an in depth explanation one video on a6 Ba4 and variants and another video showing the main variations of the ruy Lopez which does not include a6.

I play the Ruy Lopez every chance I get with white and avoid it with black. I often encounter these variations, some of which end up playing a6 at some point but, not necessarily on the 3rd move.