Ruy Lopez Counters

I'm sure you all know the Ruy Lopez is an extremely common opening. I have a chess tournament coming up, and I am anticpating several Ruy Lopez Openings. What kind of moves and measures should I take to avoid the more common lines of the Ruy Lopez? Is there a specific black opening that counters against it?

Thanks for any information.

petroff if you want a  draw 

e4 e5 nf3 nf6 

99% of people saying petroff is a draw will never give you a line to a draw because the petroff is not drawish at all:) but its drawish at gmlevel

If you want more of a chance of a draw against e4, play caro-kann

 C6 is best

I'm don't really look towards a draw from the start of a chess game. Are there any openings that can potentially give me the victory?

Are you looking for a non mainstream spanish, or for something else to play than 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 nc6?

As long as it'll be effective against the common Ruy Lopez openings, and as long as I can look for a win with it, I'm fine with any kind of counter opening. Are you saying the Spanish Opening meets my critera?

the spanish is another name for the ruy lopez, so a non-mainstream spanish, is a lesser used variation of the ruy lopez.

the french , caro-kann, sicilian, pirc or scandinavian are all viable alternatives to e5 in response to e4 if you want to avoid the ruy lopez entirely.

or you could find some fiery gambit in the lopez and make people afraid to play the lopez against you! maybe the Jaenisch gambit (haven't tried it myself, but it definitely looks aggressive, i might try it out soon!)

There's also a trap you can try in the Berlin defense.  e4 e5 Nf3 Nc6 Bb5 Nf6 0-0 Ng4?! h3 h5 hxg4 hxg4 with the idea of playing Qh4 with unstoppable mate if they get too materialistic.  If your opponent tries f3 to get an escape square simply g4.  It could work depending on your competition.  Even if they do resist the "free knight" you will still get them out of book.

If you are looking to stick to Spanish lines, the Cozio seems distinctly interesting. I have never played it myself (as I play the Sicilian Defense and Caro-Kann Defense), but the possibility of retaining the pawn structure, maybe a fianchetto of the dark-squared bishop, and d6, to have a solid position, it all seems interesting.

Hey guys, does the open Lopez fit the bill?

Ruy Lopez Archangel Variation or the Moller Variation