Ruy Lopez strengthened when Simen Agdestein and some other Norwegian players adopted the variation. In 1995 Jonathan Tisdall published the article "Ruy Lopez. The Norwegian Variation" in New in Chess Yearbook 37. The Graz Defence, Classical Defence Deferred, and Møller Defence combine 3...a6 with the active move ...Bc5. For a century it was believed that it was safer for Black to place the bishop on e7, but it is much more active on c5. White can gain time after playing d4 as the black bishop will have to move, but this does not always seem to be as important as was once
Four Knights Game attempt for White to exploit the advantage of the first move. In the 1990s, this opening saw a renaissance, and is now seen in the praxis of players from beginner to grandmaster. The Four Knights usually leads to quiet , though there are some variations. The "ECO" codes for the Four Knights Game are C49 (Symmetrical Variation, 4.Bb5 Bb4), C48 (4.Bb5 without 4...Bb4), C47 (4.d4 and others). White's most common move is 4.Bb5, the Spanish Variation. This variation can also be reached from the Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence. After 4.Bb5, Black has three major alternatives. The first of these is