Ruy LopezC60 – C99
3.Bb5 does not win a pawn — 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nxe5 Qd4 takes it straight back — and knowing that is the beginning of understanding the opening. The bishop is there to make Black's position slightly awkward for a very long time. Black spends tempi on …a6 and …b5 to chase it, which loosens the queenside; White retreats to a4 and then b3, where the bishop stares down at f7 for the rest of the game. Then comes the manoeuvre that defines the whole opening: c3 and d4 to build the centre, and Nb1-d2-f1-g3 to bring the queen's knight to the kingside without ever blocking the c-pawn. Nothing about this is forcing. What you are learning is a shape — pawns on c3, d4 and e4, a bishop on b3, a rook on e1 — and the patience to keep improving it until Black runs out of useful moves.
Played by
- Bobby Fischer — his lifelong main weapon as White, played in nearly every serious 1.e4 e5 game of his career
- Garry Kasparov — used it as the spine of his White repertoire through five title matches against Karpov
Model game
Karpov – Unzicker, Nice Olympiad 1974
Next: e4 — yours
