ruy lopez

The Ruy Lopez—also known as the Spanish game—is named after Rodrigo (Ruy) Lopez de Segura, a Spanish bishop who analyzed this opening in his 1561 work, "Book of the Liberal Invention and Art of the Game of Chess." Nearly half a millennium later, the Ruy remains one of the most popular chess openings. Chess experts have come up with numerous variations, and a wide variety of strategic plans are available to both white and black. The starting position of the Ruy Lopez is reached after the following moves: 1. e4, e5; 2. Nf3, Nc6; and 3. Bb5. Popular lines in the Ruy Lopez include but are not limited to the Morphy defense, Steinitz defense, and the Berlin defense. Each of these and several other variations lead to numerous sub-variations.