Opening family
Ruy Lopez Lines and Variations
The Ruy Lopez family contains 234 named lines in this opening book, spanning ECO C60 to C99. Use this page as the map, then open individual lines for exact move orders and diagrams.
How to study this family
White
White pressures the e5 pawn indirectly, keeps a durable center, and often builds slowly before opening the position.
Black
Black chooses between solid development, early queenside expansion, or central breaks with ...d5 when the timing works.
Start with the shortest line, then branch to the variations that change the pawn structure or tactical target. Memorizing every branch before understanding the family plan is usually wasted work.
Main named lines
- C60 · Ruy Lopez
- C60 · Ruy Lopez: Alapin Defense
- C60 · Ruy Lopez: Brentano Gambit
- C60 · Ruy Lopez: Bulgarian Variation
- C60 · Ruy Lopez: Cozio Defense
- C60 · Ruy Lopez: Fianchetto Defense
- C60 · Ruy Lopez: Lucena Variation
- C60 · Ruy Lopez: Nürnberg Variation
- C60 · Ruy Lopez: Pollock Defense
- C60 · Ruy Lopez: Retreat Variation
- C60 · Ruy Lopez: Rotary-Albany Gambit
- C60 · Ruy Lopez: Spanish Countergambit
- C60 · Ruy Lopez: Vinogradov Variation
- C61 · Ruy Lopez: Bird Variation
- C62 · Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense
- C63 · Ruy Lopez: Schliemann Defense
- C64 · Ruy Lopez: Classical Variation
- C65 · Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense
- C70 · Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense
- C62 · Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense
- C63 · Ruy Lopez: Schliemann Defense, Dyckhoff Variation
- C63 · Ruy Lopez: Schliemann Defense, Exchange Variation
- C63 · Ruy Lopez: Schliemann Defense, Jaenisch Gambit Accepted
- C63 · Ruy Lopez: Schliemann Defense, Schönemann Attack
Deep theory branches
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d4 Bd6 13. Re1 Qh4 14. g3 Qh3 15. Be3 Bg4 16. Qd3 Rae8 17. Nd2 Re6 18. a4 Qh5 — Ruy Lopez: Marshall Attack, Main Line, Spassky Variation
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d4 Bd6 13. Re1 Qh4 14. g3 Qh3 — Ruy Lopez: Marshall Attack, Modern Main Line
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Bd7 13. Nf1 Rfe8 14. Ne3 g6 — Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin, Yugoslav System
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 Na5 9. Bc2 c5 10. d4 Qc7 11. Nbd2 O-O 12. Nf1 Bg4 13. Ne3 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 — Ruy Lopez: Closed, Alekhine Gambit
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. Bxd5 cxd5 13. d4 Bd6 14. Re3 — Ruy Lopez: Marshall Attack, Re3 Variation
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8. dxe5 Nb7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Re1 Nc5 11. Nd4 Ne6 12. Be3 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 c5 — Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Rio de Janeiro Variation
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 Na5 9. Bc2 c5 10. d4 Qc7 11. h3 Nc6 12. d5 Nb8 13. Nbd2 g5 — Ruy Lopez: Closed, Leonhardt Variation
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Be7 10. Re1 O-O 11. Nd4 Qd7 12. Nxe6 fxe6 13. Rxe4 — Ruy Lopez: Open, Tarrasch Trap
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Nc6 13. dxc5 — Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 cxd4 13. cxd4 — Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense, Panov System
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Qe2 Be7 10. Rd1 O-O 11. c4 bxc4 12. Bxc4 Qd7 — Ruy Lopez: Open, Howell Attack, Ekstrom Variation
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Bb7 10. d4 Re8 11. Nbd2 Bf8 12. a3 h6 — Ruy Lopez: Closed, Smyslov-Breyer-Zaitsev Hybrid
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Nb8 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 c5 — Ruy Lopez: Closed, Breyer Defense
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Nc6 — Ruy Lopez: Closed, Chigorin Defense
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d4 — Ruy Lopez: Marshall Attack, Main Line
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Bc5 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. Bc2 Nxf2 — Ruy Lopez: Open, Dilworth Variation