chessgames.com
Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players · Kibitzing
Ruy Lopez (C77)
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6

Number of games in database: 7430
Years covered: 1849 to 2023
Overall record:
   White wins 37.5%
   Black wins 29.1%
   Draws 33.5%

Popularity graph, by decade

Explore this opening  |  Search for sacrifices in this opening.
PRACTITIONERS
With the White Pieces With the Black Pieces
Sergei Tiviakov  62 games
Oldrich Duras  54 games
Bukhuti Gurgenidze  30 games
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov  31 games
Varlam Vepkhvishvili  30 games
Vitali Golod  27 games
NOTABLE GAMES [what is this?]
White Wins Black Wins
Fischer vs Smyslov, 1965
Steinitz vs Blackburne, 1876
Duras vs E Cohn, 1911
Smyslov vs Botvinnik, 1941
V Lyublinsky vs Botvinnik, 1943
Roesch vs W Schlage, 1910
<< previous chapter next chapter >>

 page 1 of 298; games 1-25 of 7,430 
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. Shumov vs C Jaenisch  0-1341849Russia mC77 Ruy Lopez
2. Staunton vs von der Lasa 171853Staunton - von der Lasa Casual SeriesC77 Ruy Lopez
3. Staunton vs von der Lasa 1-0791853Staunton - von der Lasa Casual SeriesC77 Ruy Lopez
4. Staunton vs von der Lasa ½-½431853Staunton - von der Lasa Casual SeriesC77 Ruy Lopez
5. Gouda vs Rotterdam 1-0451855City MatchC77 Ruy Lopez
6. T Barnes vs Morphy 0-1301858Casual gameC77 Ruy Lopez
7. Morphy vs Loewenthal 1-0491858Morphy - LoewenthalC77 Ruy Lopez
8. de Riviere vs Morphy ½-½361858Casual gameC77 Ruy Lopez
9. Marburg vs Paulsen  0-1271858Casual gameC77 Ruy Lopez
10. Anderssen vs Morphy ½-½441858Anderssen - MorphyC77 Ruy Lopez
11. Anderssen vs Morphy 0-1511858Anderssen - MorphyC77 Ruy Lopez
12. E Thorold vs J Kipping ½-½351859West Yorkshire Chess Association tC77 Ruy Lopez
13. T Barnes vs Kolisch  ½-½241860Kolisch - Barnes seriesC77 Ruy Lopez
14. H Kennedy vs S Boden  0-1321860Casual gameC77 Ruy Lopez
15. J Hannah vs R Wormald  0-1331860St. James's CC tC77 Ruy Lopez
16. Elberfeld City vs Amsterdam  0-1381860Correspondence gameC77 Ruy Lopez
17. Anderssen vs Kolisch 0-1491860ParisC77 Ruy Lopez
18. Anderssen vs Kolisch 0-1561860Paris mC77 Ruy Lopez
19. Ware/Stone/Hammond/Howard et al. vs Lichtenhein / Loyd / Marache et al 0-1501860ENG telephone mC77 Ruy Lopez
20. J G Campbell vs Anderssen 1-0331861Casual gameC77 Ruy Lopez
21. S Loyd vs J A Leonard  0-1191861New YorkC77 Ruy Lopez
22. A de Lelie vs Anderssen  0-1281861AmsterdamC77 Ruy Lopez
23. G Dufresne vs Anderssen 0-1421861RotterdamC77 Ruy Lopez
24. C Messemaker vs Anderssen 0-1441861RotterdamC77 Ruy Lopez
25. T Lichtenhein vs H P Montgomery  1-0601861Lichtenhein - MontgomeryC77 Ruy Lopez
 page 1 of 298; games 1-25 of 7,430 
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)  

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Apr-19-04  Vischer: How does the Archangel go?
Apr-30-04  chess player matt: wats the best open Ruy Lopez for white?
Apr-30-04  ruylopez900: <CPM> For White, I'd say playing against the Open Defence will always be met with a smile since it simplifies and gives White a bit of an advantage, but its not a winning position.

<Vischer> The Archangel (or the Arkangaelsk [the city it was named after]) goes 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 Bb7. This is just the defining position, no theory or anything since I usually play the Zaitsev Closed Defense. It isa said to be good, but not as good as others.

Apr-30-04  Dudley: If you want to open the game as white in the Ruy then you should play the "center attack" line which involves an early d4 as mentioned above or a "four knights" version with an early Nc3. Basically, the Ruy is not usually an open game- it usually is a closed more strategic game which is why the GMs play it. If you are a beginner, you should probably play the center attack line or else another king pawn opening that is more open to begin with,such as the Scotch.
Apr-30-04  Dudley: Well, I think I misinterpted your question <matt>. Playing against the Open Defense as white is pretty well booked-there is not a lot of variety in it for either side because it's a forcing line. If I played the Ruy Lopez regularly, I would just avoid the open completely by playing the Worrall attack with an early Qe2 to defend the king's pawn, instead of the standard move 0-0. One less thing to worry about.
Apr-30-04  refutor: none of them have been refuted <rochade18> but the smyslov variation is rarely played as it just throws a tempo away with ...h6 compared to the zaitsev variation
May-01-04  ruylopez900: What do people think of the Schliemann? It's not that common, but it can confuse an unprepared opponent. Does it weaken Black's kingside too much?
May-01-04  BiLL RobeRTiE: Schliemann looks sort of iffy to me if White knows his theory: i.e., 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 f5 4 Nc3 fxe4 (4...Nf6 5 exf5 looks not good for Black, see Opening Explorer 5 Nxe4 d5 (5...Nf6 is playable but seems bad: after 6 Nxf6+ gxf6 7 d4 it seems Black has wrecked his kingside for no apparent reason, 6 Nxf6+ Qxf6 7 Qe2 wins the e-pawn, and 6 Qe2 also scores well for White) 6 Nxe5 dxe4 7 Nxc6 and now Black's best option 7...Qg5 looks rather dangerous for him. Maybe somebody could tell me why after 8 Qe2 Black doesn't respond 8...Qxg2?
May-01-04
Premium Chessgames Member
  tpstar: On 8 ... Qxg2? 9. Qh5+ wins outright - 9 ... g6 10. Qe5+ Ne7 11. Nxe7+ Bd7 (11 ... Kd8 12. Rf1 is simplest) 12. Nc6+! Kf7 13. Bc4+ mates, or 11 ... c6 12. Nxc6+ Kf7 (12 ... Kd7 13. Nb8+) 13. Nd8+ Kg8 14. Bc4+ mates. Or 9 ... Kd7 10. Qf5+ Kd6 11. Qe5+ Kd7 12. Nb8+ Kd8 13. Qe8++, or 10 ... Ke8 11. Ne5+ Ke7 12. Qf7+ Kd6 13. Nc4+ Kc5 14. b4+! mates. And not 9 ... Qg6?? 10. Ne5+.
May-01-04  ruylopez900: <BILL>

Perplexing question here, I think the reason that Qxg2 is not seen is because after Qh5+ from White, White gets a nice attack going, I haven't analyzed everything to the end (most only to two or three ply deep) but this looks plausible.

May-01-04  acirce: tpstar's analysis seems correct. Black's only playable move is 8...Nf6, then 9. f4 and there is a branch again 9...Qxf4 or 9...Qh4+.
May-01-04  BiLL RobeRTiE: Interesting - thanks a lot ! =]
May-02-04
Premium Chessgames Member
  tpstar: <BiLL RobeRTiE> Au contraire, mon frere, thank you for posting 6 ... Qxf6 7. Qe2. I always wondered why Black got such crappy Pawns, then you explained it, now I get it. Note 7. Qe2 d6 8. d4 Bg4 9. Qe4 Bxf3 10. gxf3 0-0-0!? 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. Qxc6 ed with a tense game. In the OE, Black tends to let the e Pawn go and use the Two Bishops on the open board. If 7. 0-0 & 8. Re1, there's a neat exchange sacrifice line = Kupreichik vs Jonkman, 1995. FYI, refutor loves the Schliemann, so he'll set us straight real soon.
May-02-04  SicilianDragon: All you guys need to refute the Schliemann is "Opening for White According to Volume 1" which covers everything after 1. e4 e5 except for the 3...a6 Ruy Lopez lines (which are covered independently in volume 2). Anyone seeking to play the Lopez from the White side should definitely get these 2 books by GM Khalifman.
May-02-04  BiLL RobeRTiE: That's a bit expensive, though. Would you mind typing out some analysis for us, after the main line following 7...Qg5 8. Qe2?
May-03-04
Premium Chessgames Member
  Chessical: <BiLL RobeRTiE> After 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 f5 4 Nc3 fxe4 5 Nxe4 d5 6 Nxe5 dxe4 7 Nxc6 Qg5; I believe that the following is a usual line:

<8.Qe2> Nf6 9.f4 Qxf4 [9...Qh4+?!10.g3 Qh3 11.Ne5+ c6 12.Bc4] 10.Ne5+ c6 11.d4 [11.Nxc6?! a6 12.Ba4 Bd7] 11...Qh4+ 12.g3 Qh3 13.Bc4 Be6 14.Bg5 0-0-0 15.0-0-0 Bd6 16.Nf7 Bxf7 17.Bxf7 =

Good luck if you are brave enough to play this!

May-12-04  ruylopez900: Game Collection: -Winning with the Ruy Lopez-
Nov-14-04  TheGreatNN: Everybody seems to be looking at this from the white side of the board. With that in mind, does anybody have a collection like "Losing with the Ruy Lopez"?
Sep-07-05  get Reti: What about 5. Nc3? After Nd5 and Nxe7, Black loses his bishop pair.
Aug-20-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  WTHarvey: Here are some traps n' zaps in the C77 miniatures: http://www.wtharvey.com/c77.html
Feb-17-09  Robin01: I was in a game where black decided to play Bc5 in this position, after already having put his bishop on e7. But how to take advantage of this double bishop move though!?


click for larger view

Feb-17-09  blacksburg: <Robin01> in general, to take advantage of an extra tempo, one must open the position. this would be accomplished by d4, but consider that this would also be a double move, as you have already played d3. so black gets away with moving the bishop twice because white has not played aggressively with d4. by playing d3 instead of the typical "spanish" 0-0, Re1, c3, d4, white allows black a lot more wiggle room. incidentally, i would probably prefer black in the diagram position, black already has a lead in development.
Feb-18-09  Robin01: <blacksburg>Thanks for your answer. I do prefer white here. In this particular game (OTB), I did go on to win this game.
Dec-23-09  refutor: in the position after 5.d3 Fischer mentioned a way to try and play (since the e-pawn is protected) is Nbd2, Nf1, Ne3/g3 without castling. The rook isn't necessarily better on e1 than f1 so this "saves" a tempo over the mainlines if you go for a kingside attack. i found it a neat idea...Smyslov couldn't punish it in Fischer vs Smyslov, 1965 it might be a bit slow but it's something that the marshall guys wouldn't see every day :) food for thought...
Aug-23-10  rapidcitychess: <ruylopez><<Vischer> The Archangel (or the Arkangaelsk [the city it was named after]) goes 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 Bb7. This is just the defining position, no theory or anything since I usually play the Zaitsev Closed Defense. It isa said to be good, but not as good as others. > It seems it is more mainstream nowadays, but it's under the radar due to it's cousin the Moller, 5...Bc5. Both are good, active defenses.
search thread:   
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing>

NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

  1. No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
  2. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts.
  3. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members.
  4. Nothing in violation of United States law.
  5. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members.
  6. No trolling.
  7. The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited.
  8. Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers.

Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times.

Blow the Whistle

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator.


NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific opening only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.
All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration.

Home | About | Login | Logout | F.A.Q. | Profile | Preferences | Premium Membership | Kibitzer's Café | Biographer's Bistro | New Kibitzing | Chessforums | Tournament Index | Player Directory | Notable Games | World Chess Championships | Opening Explorer | Guess the Move | Game Collections | ChessBookie Game | Chessgames Challenge | Store | Privacy Notice | Contact Us

Copyright 2001-2023, Chessgames Services LLC