The Ruy Lopez (Spanish) begins 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5, placing indirect pressure on e5 by attacking its defender. It leads to rich, strategic positions where White slowly builds pressure with c3, d4 and the famous knight manoeuvre Nb1–d2–f1–g3.
Key ideas
1Bb5 pressures the knight that defends e5; the threat to win the pawn is slow but permanent.
2Retreat the bishop to a4 and b3 after ...a6 and ...b5 so it stays on the a2–g8 diagonal.
3Castle, then play Re1, c3 and d4 to take the centre with support.
4The Spanish knight tour Nb1–d2–f1–g3 (or e3) is the classic way to reroute the queen knight.
5Do not rush; the Ruy Lopez is about small advantages and a long squeeze.
In Pro
Ruy Lopez is part of Pro, with every opening in the library and review dates on each line.
Pro is $6.99 a month or $49 a year. Start free: three days
in a row earns 72 hours of Pro with no card.
The Ruy Lopez is the opening players graduate to once the Italian has taught them the basics. One square separates them: the bishop goes to b5 instead of c4, and attacks the knight that guards e5 rather than f7 itself. The pressure is slow and never quite goes away.
What you will learn
01Keep the bishop alive after ...a6 and ...b5 by retreating to a4 and b3.
02Meet the Berlin 3...Nf6 and the Open 5...Nxe4 without losing the e-pawn for nothing.
03Carry out the Spanish knight tour Nb1 to d2 to f1 to g3 behind a centre held by c3 and d4.
The main line
The Closed main line runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6. Black asks the bishop where it wants to live, twice, and each time it stays on the diagonal that leads to f7. White castles before anything else and puts the rook on e1 so e4 is held. Black's ...Be7 and ...d6 build a quiet wall.
Only now does White start: c3, h3 and d4 take the centre, and the b1 knight sets off on its tour via d2 and f1 to g3 or e3. None of it is fast. The Ruy Lopez rewards the player who can wait.
The error beginners make most is 4.Bxc6 as a reflex, hoping to win e5. After 4...dxc6 the pawn is still covered indirectly: 5.Nxe5 runs into ...Qd4 and Black gets it back. The Exchange variation is playable, but as a plan built on d4 and the better pawn structure, not as a pawn grab.
How to practise it
Play the Closed main line in the Learn tab until the two bishop retreats feel like one idea. Then drill the seven White moves. The Berlin and Open lines deserve their own sessions, because in both Black takes on e4 and you need the move that gets the pawn back. Review dates for all four lines are part of Pro.