Open · a plan for White

Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, Romanovsky Variation

11/11
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bb5a64.Bxc6dxc65.Nc3f66.d3
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation, Romanovsky Variation24k games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
22%5.2k56%
19%4.5k54%
19%4.5k57%
13%3.2k52%
11%2.7k63%
7.3%1.8k65%
6.9%1.7k57%
0.5%13142%
0.4%10250%
0.3%6639%
Famous games in this line20 master games
Karthikeyan, M2. (2593)Adhiban, Baskaran (2676)20191–0Gelashvili, Tamaz (2510)Cela, Altin (2450)1998½–½Appleberry, Martin (2370)Kishnev, Sergey (2510)19930–1Mastrovasilis, Dimitrios (2461)Sundararajan, Kidambi (2408)20021–0De Dovitiis, Alejo (2345)Sorin, Ariel (2496)2005½–½Gdanski, Jacek (2420)Panczyk, Krzysztof (2415)19910–1Rozentalis, E. (2513)Xylogiannopoulos, A. (2279)20171–0Marzolf, Bruno (2254)Bojkov, Dejan (2520)20070–1
Heroes of this opening Karthikeyan, M2. · Kishnev, Sergey · Mastrovasilis, Dimitrios · Panczyk, Krzysztof
Family
Ruy Lopez
Category
Open
First move
1.e4
ECO
C68
Line
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. Nc3 f6 6. d3
Classical
Read the guide: Ruy Lopez (Spanish Opening)Explore all 234 Ruy Lopez lines
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From the archives

Ruy López de Segura was a Spanish priest whose 1561 book set out 3.Bb5 as a system; the move itself is already in the Göttingen manuscript, written around 1500. The 'Spanish torture' has been a world-championship battleground ever since: slow pressure, forever.

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