The Ruy Lopez opening one of the most commonly used openings for beginners and even grandmasters. This opening move set is similar to the Italian opening and is more preferred among chess players.
If you are following along with the chess.com computer board, the instructions on how to use the buttons on the page can be found in the Tips section in Figure 1.
1. Move the pawn on e2 to e4
Note: Moving the pawn to e4 is one of the go-to first moves of chess. Check out the Sicilian Defense tab to see an interesting way to respond to this if you are black.
2. Move the knight on g1 to f3
Observe: This puts pressure on black’s pawn on e5. Thus, black must respond with a defensive move to protect the pawn.
Note: Also, this move adds more control to the center and gets you a step closer to castling.
3. Move the bishop of f1 to b5
Observe: This puts pressure on the knight that is protecting the strong pawn on e5. Also, if the black knight is moved, the pawn on d7 is locked in place.
Analysis of the Current Position
From step 3, white has a slightly better advantage than the Italian opening.
chess.com’s Stockfish analysis shows:
However, understanding the common response of black’s pawn to a6 is important to this opening. There are two main variations to Ruy Lopez in this position, Morphy Defense and Exchange Variation.
Morphy Defense
4.1. Move the bishop on b5 to a4
Note: This is the more common move performed by beginners as it keeps your bishop in play and in a decent position.
Exchange Variation
4.2. Take the knight on c6 with the bishop on b5
Note: This is a more ambitious move and is not as common for beginners.
The follow up move for black is to take the bishop on c6.
Observe: This damages black’s pawn structure and can be an issue for black late in the game. A stacked pawn structure is not preferred because it limits mobility and the defense of the pawns in that line.
Warning: Black has a bishop pair since both pawns are out of the way. This can be an advantageous for black early on.
Final Recommended Move
5. Move the king to g1 to initiate the castling move
6. Move the rook to f1 to complete the move
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