... Bb6, and White has pleasant choice of good ways (7.Bg5, 7.Nxe5, 7.d5), even simple 7.Bxc6 causes problems in view of 7. ... Be7). 3.Bb5 Bc5 4.c3 Nge7 5.0-0 Bb6 6.d4 ed 7.cd. Bb3 is forced, and black usually plays 7…d6, adding support to the king’s pawn and opening the path for the light bishop to develop. In some endings, this can be a winning advantage, especially if white is able to create a healthy “4-on-3” kingside pawn majority that can create a passed pawn, while black’s crippled queenside majority is unable to. ... d6? ... a6 - a could-be-to-go way, but it does not change much Black's situation for the better - 8.Ba4, and both after 8. Both sides put great emphasis in the classical opening principles of fighting for space and piece development: 9. h3. Nbd2 (The knight looks passive here, but white often brings this knight to g3, via f1!). With 3. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. ... Nf6), and the logical and most popular 2. any tips? 3.Bb5 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 ed 6.e5 Ne4 7.cd Bb4+ 8.Bd2 Nxd2 9.Nbxd2 0-0 10.0-0. For his part, Black also develops a piece, at the same time defending the attacked pawn, and taking control over central squares e5 and d4. The attacked pawn e5 is not to be necessarily defended, and Black's reaction can be rather different, beginning with the sharp Latvian Gambit (2. In the Exchange variation, white forces black to accept doubled pawns on the c-file and thus obtains a better pawn structure. 9.Bxb4) 9.Nbxd2 0-0 10.0-0, with good and reliable position for White (the diagram below). - 6.d4, and Black has to go for 6. Closed? ... Ng6 - and both 8.Bg5 and 8.Nc3 are good for White. ... f5), then some extravagant 2. ... d5 and 5. ... a6 - both 9.Ba4 and 9.Be2 are equally good for White; 8. 11.Nbd2 f6 - while attacking the bishop on g5, Black weakens e6, and there is not much reason in placing the knight on e4, the white rook would be glad to assist in pressure on e6, added by the white queen from e2. It's difficult to say which is stronger - 4. 5…Be7 is much more popular. Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 O-O Be7 6 Re1 b5 7 Bb3 O-O 8 c3 d6 9 h3 h6) : chess opening performance statistics, strategy and tactics, famous games, PGN download, discussion forum, and more. A good way to make White prove correctness of Danish Gambit is 2.d4 ed 3.c3 dc 4.Bc4 (this is the main line, but better is 4.Nxc3) 4. Still, besides bishop retreats 6.Ba4 and 6.Bc4, White can also consider well 6.Bxc6 Nxc6 7.d4, for example 7. White wants to play d4 next, but 9. 6.d4 can be also a cause of problems for Black in view of d4-d5 with White's unpleasant initiative. In my blitz games, I also faced 4. Upon 5.0-0, still worse for Black is the careless 5. Still worse for Black is 5. Sign Up. Help. The closed defense is the main line of the ruy lopez. ... Nf6 is good, too) 3.ed Qxd5, and it's in a way a pity for White that there is no Nb1-c3 now. 3.Bb5, Ruy Lopez (or Spanish Game), which is the most popular way here. Study the Ruy López Opening: Cozio Defense Opening with free tools and analysis. Connect. Black should recapture away from the center with 4…dxc6, opening the path for the light-bishop to develop and keeping black’s pawn structure compact. ... Ng6 (there is also 7. This is one of the oldest variations of Ruy Lopez (it was mentioned as far back as 1490). Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense These cookies do not store any personal information. ... Nf6, 4. ... h6? ...f6, or 11. "Prophylactic" 5. After 1.e4 e5, besides 2.Nf3, of course there is a variety of other ways, such as Vienna Game (2.Nc3), Bishop's Opening (2.Bc4), Center Game (2.d4) with possible sharp Danish Gambit (or Nordic Gambit) after 2.d4 ed 3.c3. (Bxc6) dc 8.Nxe5 or 7. Ask a Question. ... Qf6 - 5.Nd3 looks probably a bit more interesting than 5.Nf3 Ne5 6.0-0. The theoretical line goes here with 6. ... d6 and 4. Formerly, the main line was considered to be 10.a4 a6 11.Bxc6+ bc 12.Bg5, but immediate 10.Bg5 is appreciably better (after 10.Nc3 0-0 or 10.Qa4 0-0 Black's situation is easier than after 10.Bg5). There is also Portuguese Opening (2.Bb5), an interesting, funny and good-to-confuse-opponents way (which to some degree helps Black in struggle for the center, though - 2.Bb5 c6 (3.Ba4 Nf6 etc). ... c5), and rather seldom the good old 1. The Ruy Lopez (also known as the Spanish Opening) is a chess opening enjoyed by chess players from complete beginners to the world champion, Magnus Carlsen!. ... Qh4 5.0-0 Nxe5 6.d4, which looks interesting for White. His students include his 18 year old son Sam who is making rapid progress with his game. But black has advantages too. I strongly recommend the Ruy Lopez as a mainstay in the opening repertoire for any beginner, and I still play it myself to this day. As for the line 4.c3, besides the three main ways - 4. After 5.0-0, Black has to be careful, since not only 5. Sign up today to receive your FREE Move-by-Move Guide to Chess Thinking pdf! ... 0-0, or 6. Of course 6.Bc4 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.d4 Bb6 is playable, too. ... Ba7, 6. Bb5 d6 . ... ed 7.cd - I would not like to play as Black here; 6. It was the one I did the most research for, finding some obscure games and analysis of Alexander Alekhine (a Moller exponent in his day) and then taking his conclusions a step further by supplementing them with modern games. Instead, white often continues by playing 5. It is characterized by the move 3…Bc5 which is a very old defence move in the Ruy Lopez (spanish opening). ... 0-0 7.d5, or 6. Black can kick the bishop away with a later …b5 at some point, but the bishop will stand quite well on b3, eying the vulnerable f7 square. This way is clear and logical. Black’s e5 pawn is now threatened, and playing 6…exd4 is incredible risky – it opens the e-file to black’s uncastled king. ... f5, acceptible for Black is also 4. Nxe4?! Yawn. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members. (5…Bc5 looks like a more active square for this bishop and is sometimes played, but it walks right into white’s plan of playing c3 and d4, when this bishop will have to move again.). ... d5 looks good, both in case of 6.d4, and 6.Nxe5, but it requires accuracy of Black. 11.Nbd2 h6 - in case White does not retreat the attacked bishop, but attacks the black queen instead, it might be unpleasant for Black; 12.Ne4 (12.Nc4 Qb4 does not give much) 12. ... h6, 11. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. But after you play the same opening for a long time, it's natural that there arises desire to practice something else, and more and more I come at an idea to add the solid 2.Nf3 to my favorites, too . The Ruy Lopez is a King’s Pawn Opening  beginning with 1. e4 e5 2. ... Qd6 is the most logical, otherwise Nf3-e5 is unpleasant. Both 12.Nc4 and 12.Qe2 (they may lead to the same position) are good for White. ... fe, whereas upon 5. White has a choice between two good ways -. Of the variations in this section, the Berlin and Schliemann Defences are the most popular today, followed by the Classical Defence. Give me 21 Days and I'll Show You How to Become a Dramatically Better Chess Player...Guaranteed! ... Nd4 - 5.Nxf7 with possible four ways: 5. White is temporarily down a pawn, but is likely to get it back. How about endgames? After black’s last move got them one step closer to castling, their threat to the e-pawn became much more credible. ... Nf6), or Hungarian Defense (3. 3…Nf6 is the sturdy Berlin Defense. ... Bc5), Two Knights Defense (3. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. The two main ways for White are 4.c3 and 4.0-0, but among the acceptable ways (4.Bxc6, 4.Nc3, 4.d3, 4.Nxe5), immediate capture of the pawn e5 deserves attention, I practice it from time to time, not without interest. Black does not want to allow White building a strong center, but attacks it at once. Nxe5? Ruy Lopez Classical Defence called Cordel Defence I like the Cordel Defence below because it is an active chess defense, not very often played and it goes right to the point. Besides some timid and not very active moves like 3.Be2 (not very popular but quite playable for White is the Ponziani Opening (3.c3) - as Black, I always play 3. 5…Nxe4 is indeed possible. Now 5. The good way for Black here is 5. Immediate counterplay in the center 5. ... Qe7 6.Nxh8 Nxb5 7.0-0, or 6. ... Nc6. Start with a classic in the Ruy Lopez: The Steinitz Defense. 8.Bg5 Ne7 9.Nxe5, therefore Black has to agree to 7. ... e5. ... Be7, 4. But why not play it as Black, too. ... d5 against it), there are four common ways for White to go on here: 3.Nc3, a simple developing move which may lead to Four Knights Game or Three Knights Game. O-O ♗e7 6.♖e1 b5 7.♗b3 O-O 8.c3 d6 9.h3 h6, Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense C62 - Ruy Lopez, old Steinitz defence: 1. e4 e5 2. Squares e4 and c4 for the knight are of more interest than 11.Nc3 Nxc3. Black does not want to allow White building a strong center, but attacks it at once. Open? ... fe 13.Qe2 Kf7 14.Bxc6 bc 15.Ne5+ with an interesting position. There are also queen moves 4. Nothing in violation of United States law. Now Black has to decide what to do with 2.Nf3. As for the two main moves, I am not very fond of the line 5.ef e4 6.d4 ef, and so the subject of my attention is 5.d4 (which is the most popular). The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited.