Lopez Opening Lopez Opening The Lopez Opening (or MacLeod Attack) is a chess opening characterized by the moves: The opening was played frequently by 19th century Scottish–Canadian chess master Nicholas MacLeod but has otherwise arisen rarely in tournament play. White's second move prepares to push a pawn to d4, establishing a strong center. Play can potentially transpose to other openings, most likely the Ponziani Opening or the Göring Gambit in the Scotch Game. However, Eric Schiller states in "Unorthodox Chess Openings" that the opening is too slow; that Black can respond vigorously with 2...d5! to eliminate transpositional possibilities and solve all of
Ruy Lopez so it is difficult for White to exploit his structural superiority without opening the game for Black's bishops; all four of the games in the Kasparov–Kramnik match in which this line was employed ended in draws. An alternative for Black, though seldom seen since the 1890s, is 6...bxc6 7.dxe5 Nb7, although White keeps an advantage despite Black's two bishops, as it is difficult for him to gain active counterplay. White's move 4.Nc3 transposes to the Four Knights Game, Spanish Variation. Another possible try for White is 4.d3. This is "Steinitz's move, with which he scored many spectacular successes during his