At long last: The Ruy Lopez

I've heard from some that the Ruy Lopez is a good option for beginners. Others say the opposite. 

I've avoided it for the first 2 years of my chess playing because I wanted to steer the game into more unfamiliar territory. The Spanish always struck me as being quite direct and transparent, but perhaps I am wrong about this. Another thing that put me off was the tremendous popularity of it, which had me thinking that the themes and objectives of the opening are well known and so I'd have to keep up to date on the trending lines. 

One more factor is that I wanted to play the same opening as both colours, but always felt that Nc6 was a little passive and demanded a good understanding of the Scotch and Italian among others. A quick fix involved playing lines like the Sicilian which always got complex and tactical fast, but perhaps meant I was playing an opening beyond my understanding and in that sense, a little blind. This can't be the best stratergy for learning can it? hehe

So, do you think opening knowledge a significant factor in playing the Lopez? Obviously there's a degree of precision necesssary to most openings, but I'm asking whether there's a specific need for being booked up in the way that's more critical in openings such as the Sicilian, which can be punishing if you miss the main ideas. 

I'm getting a little more serious about chess and would like to develop an indepth knowledge of an opening that tends to see the best player emerge as victorious. Something not risky but not passive either. 

Does the Ruy Lopez fulfil this criteria? What do you guys think? 

Disclaimer: Obviously opening theory is not the most important part of learning chess at my basic level. I don't believe picking an opening is critical in this sense but I'm just interested in a discussion. Please don't direct me towards studying endgames and tactics, that's already my priority! 

Thanks

You're ok. Your opponents won't be able to do any of that complicated stuff you're talking about because they will be at the same point as you.

i am horrible at chess. i have been leveled off in that 1000-1200 rating for almost 10 years. but i play people in my ratings who are no better than me at openings. i have had success with both white and black in the spanish. it is a good opening. it instills the opening principles for both sides and doesn't seem as damaging going out of book early as other openings can be. just take the time to look up some of the traps so you do not fall for them.

So to answer your question, yes I think spanish is good if you stick with opening principles and wish for the best player to win without learning 15-20 moves deep. It is good for both beginners and world champions alike.