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...exd4/7. Re1/7...d5/8. Nxd4/8...Bd6/9. Nxc6/9...Bxh2/10. Kh1/10...Qh4/11. Rxe4/11...dxe4/12. Qd8/12...Qxd8/13. Nxd8/13...Kxd8/14. Kxh2/14...Be6

Ruy Lopez:Riga Variation
a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) r2k3r/1pp2ppp/p3b3/8/B3p3/8/PPP2PPK/RNB5 w
Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 exd4 7. Re1 d5 8. Nxd4 Bd6 9. Nxc6 Bxh2 10. Kh1 Qh4 11. Rxe4 dxe4 12. Qd8 Qxd8 13. Nxd8 Kxd8 14. Kxh2 Be6

Ruy Lopez, Riga Variation, Main Line

Black plays 14...Be6, attempting to limit white's light squared bishop.

From this point, theory diverges sharply and many plausible continuations exist. The most commonly suggested of these are 15. c3, 15. Be3, and 15. Bf4.

The endgame is about equal, with some commentators giving a slight edge to white. Black has a rook and two pawns for white's bishop, knight and bishop pair. Black will usually try to trade off light squared bishops and a rook while white will try to preserve his material and the bishop pair. White's king will try to move forward and blockade black's kingside pawns and black will try to have his rooks infiltrate and undermine white's position.

Black often plays f5 at some point, and white often will reply with Bb3, f3 and g4, attempting to cut black's pawn chain. Black's king will usually head to the queenside (Kc8, Kb7) to support his pawns there.

Note that 15. Nc3 is to be avoided, as black can follow up with 15...c5! This boxes in white's light squared bishop, and black will play b5 and c4 to trap it. Down this line, white must surrender a minor piece for at most three pawns, which is thought to be advantageous for black.