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Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nc6/3. Bb5/3...a6/4. Ba4/4...Nf6/5. O-O/5...Nxe4/6. d4/6...b5/7. Bb3

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< Chess Opening Theory‎ | 1. e4‎ | 1...e5‎ | 2. Nf3‎ | 2...Nc6‎ | 3. Bb5‎ | 3...a6‎ | 4. Ba4‎ | 4...Nf6‎ | 5. O-O‎ | 5...Nxe4‎ | 6. d4‎ | 6...b5
Ruy Lopez Open Defence
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black kingc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black kingh8 black rook8
7a7 black kingb7 black kingc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black kingf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black pawnb6 black kingc6 black knightd6 black kinge6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black pawnc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black pawnf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 white pawne4 black knightf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 white bishopc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 white knightg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 black kinge2 black kingf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 black kingf1 white rookg1 white kingh1 black king1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)
Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3
Parent: Ruy Lopez

Ruy Lopez Open Defence

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Black must skirt a couple of pitfalls here. 7...Na5 (intending 8. Bd5 Bb7 and the pulverisation of White's light-squared bishop) walks into 8. Bxf7+! Kxf7 9. Nxe5+ Kg8 10. Qf3, while the greedy 7...Nxd4 is refuted by the greedier 8. Nxd4 exd4 9. Bd5.

But in truth Black should be in no danger of falling into either trap, because her arm should shoot out and play 7...d5! of its own accord. When Black has already played ...e5, ...d5 is almost always a fine move, and here it fortifies the e4-knight, limits the scope of the b3-bishop and actually allows some flexibility in the development of the back rank, a luxury hardly ever afforded to Black.

By contrast 7...Be7 is as insipid now as it was on move 6. Play the most useful moves first!

7...exd4?! allows 8. Re1 d5 9. Nc3! and Black can choose between 9...dxc3 10. Bxd5 and 9...Be6 10. Nxe4 dxe4 11. Rxe4 Be7 12. Bxe6 fxe6 13. Nxd4 followed by 14. Qg4, White having a large initiative in either case.

Theory table

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For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation..

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3

7
...
7 ...d5
=
...
7 ... Be7
+=

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References

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