Play the Ruy Lopez: A Complete Repertoire in a Famous Opening

by Andrew Greet

The Ruy Lopez is an incredibly popular opening at all levels of chess; this is perhaps unsurprising given that it’s recognized by most experts as White’s greatest chance of obtaining a lasting advantage after the moves 1 e4 e5. Also known as the Spanish Opening, the Lopez is steeped in rich tradition, having provided the battleground for countless clashes between World Champions of past and present: Kasparov, Fischer, Karpov, Topalov, Kramnik, Anand – the list is endless!

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Genres: Chess

376 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Manny]

The Ruy Lopez, often called the Spanish, is one of the oldest chess openings. It's named after its inventor, a 16th century priest who also gave the frequently-quoted bit of advice "seat your opponent so that he has the sun in his eyes". He's right. Hard to spot a king-side attack when it's coming at you out of the sun. The opening is supremely logical. It starts 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5, reaching the position shown in Figure 1.


Figure 1. Ruy Lopez: chess opening

White is a tiny bit better, and can torture Black for hours. It's very popular all the way up to top Grandmaster level.

We had a chessplayer friend and his family to dinner on Saturday, and over vegetarian lasagne the following question occurred to us: if there were a chess opening called the Jennifer Lopez, what would it be? For chessplayers who can't tell one celebrity from another, I've included a picture in Figure 2.


Figure 2. Jennifer Lopez: star

After some thought, we decided that the best candidate was 1. e4 e5 2. Bb5. My friend at first didn't like this, on the grounds that it was disrespectful to the ever-fragrant J-Lo. But after a little analysis, he changed his mind. I can now, for the first time in print, reveal the Jennifer Lopez Trap, which goes as follows:

1. e4 e5 2. Bb5!? Nf6 3. d3 c6 4. Ba4 Qa5+?

This looks natural: the check also attacks the bishop on a4, and Black thinks that White has to play 5. Nc3, when ... d5 is a bit embarrassing. But, instead, White calmly responds

5. c3!

after which Black discovers to his annoyance that he's totally misplaced his queen and is probably worse.

If you ever get a chance to play this, please credit me!

[Dave Hogg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has helped me play better chess, which is a major achievement on its own. I'm using it while playing daily games at chess.com and I'm starting to understand how Greet's entire system works instead of just making his suggested moves. As someone who has been struggling with the Ruy Lopez - the first opening I ever learned - for several decades, this book has been fantastic.

[Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Spanish, or Ruy Lopez, forms the core of a new repertoire for me, based on 1. e4. Recommended, for those interested in this complex and oldest of openings. Part of a quest or a dream, achieving IM, then GM level play. (from about FM strength, achieved in 4-5 months- after finishing Step 3 of an old Dutch training method, a few years ago.)

[Dheerendra Dayal · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice book