Ruy Lopez Ruy Lopez The Ruy Lopez (; ), also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves: The Ruy Lopez is named after 16th-century Spanish bishop Ruy López de Segura. It is one of the most popular openings, with such a vast number of variations that in the "Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings" ("ECO") all codes from C60 to C99 are assigned to them. The opening is named after the 16th-century Spanish bishop Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess "Libro del
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