Chess Openings → Ruy Lopez

Ruy Lopez: a first plan on 1.e4 e5

The Ruy Lopez starts with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 — the bishop lands on b5 and indirectly pins the c6 knight, which defends the e5 pawn. It's one of the oldest and still the most popular openings at the very top level: White develops quickly, prepares to castle, and builds a central advantage before Black finishes developing.

In short: after 3.Bb5 Black's most popular reply is 3...a6 (Morphy Defense) — you play 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O, building the classical closed setup with c3 and d4 planned. The other replies each have their own plan below. You can practice the full repertoire — with branches for every reasonable reply — in the opening trainer, free and without an account.

Starting position and the idea

After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6, White plays 3.Bb5, placing the bishop opposite the c6 knight, which defends the e5 pawn. The knight is formally pinned — capturing the e5 pawn isn't possible yet, but the pressure is long-term and builds with every move. This repertoire deliberately avoids the sharpest theoretical lines, like the Berlin endgame after 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4, in favor of simple and solid plans: fast development, short castling, and building the center with c3 and d4 before Black finishes developing.

Black's three most common replies

• 3...a6 (Morphy Defense) — the most popular reply: Black asks the bishop what it intends to do. After 4.Ba4 White retreats while keeping the pressure on the c6 knight. Then 4...Nf6 5.O-O leads to the classical closed setup, where c3 and d4 build the center and the bishop (eventually on b3) stays on the diagonal aimed at f7. If Black instead plays 4...d6, White replies 5.c3, preparing d4 just as in the main line.
• 3...Nf6 (Berlin Defense) — Black immediately counterattacks the e4 pawn instead of asking the bishop. A calm reply is 4.d3: White defends e4 with a modest pawn move, avoids the sharpest theory after 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4, and finishes development (Nc3, short castling) in a slow, positional game.
• 3...d6 (Steinitz Defense) — an old and the most modest reply: Black defends e5 directly but neglects development. White immediately widens the center with 4.d4, gaining a space advantage after further development with Nc3 and Bg5.

Honestly, about this page's scope

The above is a sketch of the plan, not a full trainer with every branch and typical opponent mistakes. The full Ruy Lopez repertoire — with an exact evaluation of every line verified by the Stockfish engine — is waiting in the opening trainer inside the app. Before playing your first opening, it's also worth knowing the 5 rules that win most games — the Ruy Lopez is just one way of putting those rules into practice.

More openings (including the Italian Game, the Sicilian Defense, and the Queen's Gambit) are covered on the Chess Openings page. Want to practice these same principles right away against an opponent? Play a game against the computer at any difficulty level.

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