Ruy López de Segura Ruy López de Segura Rodrigo (Ruy) López de Segura (c. 1530 – c. 1580) was a Spanish priest and later bishop in Segura whose 1561 book "Libro de la invención liberal y arte del juego del Axedrez" was one of the first definitive books about modern chess in Europe, preceded only by Pedro Damiano's 1512 book, Luis Ramírez de Lucena's 1497 book (the oldest surviving printed book on chess), and the Göttingen manuscript (authorship and exact date of the manuscript are unknown). He was born in Zafra near Badajoz, and he studied and lived in Salamanca. In 1560 he won
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