The Royal Ruy Lopez!!! Part 1

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Ju-LongHakan

Apr 7, 2018

Hello all. This next game showcase section has to do with perhaps the oldest and most explored opening of all time. Yes that is based on both facts and my own opinion. It is the Ruy Lopez. Also known as the Spanish Game!!! A bit of history. This position has been dated back all the way into the late 1500's and into the early 1600's and has weathered the years and centuries!!! Played by Garry Kasparov, Bobby Fischer, Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura etc... It is an epic opening and I hope you all enjoy!!! Please feel free to leave your own games and comments!!!

The Ruy Lopez begins with 1. e4 e5, 2. Nf3 Nc6. 3. Bb5 Countless games have been played with this exact position and it is still a very popular choice in tournament play!!!

There are a wide range of variations of the Ruy Lopez. As white and as black. However, most of the time it is Black who chooses which variation will come into play. We will be looking at some of the major Variations today. We may put in some sidelines. The first Variation I would like to present to you today is the Berlin Defense!!! Powerful, Solid, Aggressive. Perfect for any attacking player!!! 1. e4 e5. 2. Nf3 Nc6. 3. Bb5 Nf6, 4. 0-0 Nxe4, 5. d4 Nd6, 6. Bxc6 dxc6, 7. dxe5 Nf5 (could also move it back to e4 but f5 is a better square) 8. Qxd8 Kxd8 (Black loses castling privileges) 9. Nc3 Bd7. We come to a very common position in the Berlin Defense. Of course there are many different types of ways for both colors to take advantage of the position.

We will now come to a variation known as the Closed Ruy Lopez which has been known to be somewhat annoying for white. The Ruy Lopez for the white pieces is meant to be an open game filled with tactical possibilities. A good psychological tactic to remember for all of you users of the black pieces!! 1. e4 45, 2. Nf3 Nc6, 3. Bb5 a6, 4. Ba4 Nf6, 5. 0-0 Be7 and we come to a very popular choice for black. In a continuation they say d3 isn't the best move but I like to use it and then follow up with Re1. Might be slow but I can afford to waste a tempo. Bxc6 is also a possibility for white here. .

The next variation I will be presenting is the Main Line of the Marshall Attack. Now this one is a very interesting all out attack. Primarily with Queen side development and attacks on the King side 1. e4 e5, 2. Nf3 Nc6, 3. Bb5 a6, 4. Ba4 Nf6, 5. 0-0 Be7, 6. Re1 b5, 7. Bb3 0-0, 8. c3 (a very important move that white should do if given the chance) d5, 9. exd5 Nxd5, 10. Nxe5 Nxe5, 11. Rxe5 c6, 12. d4 And we come to a common position in the main line of the Marshall Attack.

I will be making a second part later on this evening so stay tuned!!! I will also be making some opening forums on the variations of the ones presented.