Chess Openings

The Ruy Lopez
The Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterized by the moves:
1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5


The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del Ajedrez written in 1561. Though it bears his name, this particular opening was included in the Göttingen manuscript, which dates from around 1490. Popular use of the Ruy Lopez opening did not develop, however, until the mid-1800s 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 at some point in their careers, and many have played it with both colours.

Here is a sample game: