Ruy Lopez Ajedrez", written in 1561. Although it bears his name, this particular opening was included in the Göttingen manuscript, which dates from c. 1490. However, popular use of the Ruy Lopez opening did not develop until the mid-19th century, when Carl Jaenisch, a Russian theoretician, "rediscovered" its potential. The opening remains the most commonly used amongst the open games in master play; it has been adopted by almost all players during their careers, many of whom have played it with both colours. Due to the difficulty for Black in achieving equality, a common nickname for the opening is "The Spanish Torture".
Ruy López de Dávalos 18-year-old king Charles, born in Ghent, Flanders, an aspiring, and successful, Holy Roman Emperor. A few male descendants of the family emigrated earlier to Italy, including Malta island, around 1430 and became there important people of the nobility for over 400 years or so, using names approaching the Spanish spelling of the name, but no necessarily with the same exact graphical signs. The genealogical descent is as follows: 1. Ruy Lopez d'Avalos, Count of Ribadeo, Constable of Castile (1357–1421), married firstly to Maria Gutierrez de Fontechecha; secondly 1395 to Elvira de Guevara; married thirdly to Constanza de Tovar y Toledo,