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 Morphy, and it is named for him. Steinitz did not approve of the move; in 1889, he wrote, "on principle this ought to be disadvantageous as it drives the bishop where it wants to go". Steinitz's opinion did not prevail, however; today, 3...a6 is played in over 65 percent of all games beginning with the Ruy Lopez. After 3...a6, the most commonly played line is the Closed Defence, which goes 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7, discussed in the two following sections. Alternatives to the Closed Defence described in this section are: In the Exchange Variation, 4.Bxc6, ("ECO" C68–C69) White damages Black's