Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation


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This is to give you initial but essential knowledge on the Ruy Lopes chess opening, on its Exchange Variation, and this information is designed for chess beginners. To learn the Exchange variation of the Ruy Lopez on this site, read the description in Part I just below and see Video in Part II at the bottom of this page.

I. Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation: Description


The Ruy Lopez, Exchange variation is popular today at all levels of chess.
Moves: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6
ECO Codes: C68-C69

Exchange variation of Ruy Lopez

After 3... a6, White simply takes the knight on c6... Playing the Exchange variation of the Ruy Lopez, White and Black use the following tactics. White: To damage the whole pawn structure and get advantage on the King side. In the endgame - to break through, promote his pawn, and win.

Black: To keep and explorer the advantage of 2 bishops vs the bishop and knight. If White has changed the pawn structure, Black should not exchange any of his bishop until proper compensation in the opening phase. The Exchange variation of the Ruy Lopes has 7 subvariations:

• Exchange, Alekhine variation [simple, useful for chess beginners]:
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d4 exd4 6.Qxd4 Qxd4 7.Nxd4 Bd7
• Exchange, Keres variation:
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nc3

• Exchange, Romanovsky variation:
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nc3 f6 6.d3
• Exchange, 5.O-O variation:
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O

• Exchange, Alapin Gambit variation [very exciting but sharp and risky]:
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O Bg4 6.h3 h5

• Exchange, Gligoric variation:
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O f6
• Exchange, Bronstein variation:
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O Qd6

To provide King safety, White makes short castling while Black makes short castling or long. Within the Exchange variation, the typical White moves are d4 and then Nxd4 or Qxd4 - to preferably change the pawn structure. The typical Black move is f6 which works good for the Exchange variation.

II. Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation: Video


Video "Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation" (this is video 4 on the Ruy Lopez on this site) is located below. This video will help you learn the Exchange variation of the Ruy Lopez in a visible way. It runs for 4 minutes 40 seconds. To see the video on the Ruy Lopez Exchange variation, click the Play button below:




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On this page, you have studied the Exchange variation of the Ruy Lopez chess opening which is popular today at all levels of chess... The variation starts with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6; it occupies ECO codes C68-C69 in the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings.

Ruy Lopez 14 Main Variations


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Today on chess-openings-for-beginners.blogspot.com we will discuss the main variations of the Ruy Lopez chess opening. This page about the Ruy Lopez main variations includes the text and special Video on the above topic (this is video 3 on the Ruy Lopez on this site). You can read the description below and find the video at the bottom of this page.

The Ruy Lopez opening has 184 variations, and today we will study the names and designated moves of 14 main variations of the Ruy Lopez. First you are recommended to find the figure below depicting the initial Ruy Lopez position after the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5. Use the next Ruy Lopez figure to learn 14 main variations (the variation moves are written in bold)...

I. Ruy Lopez: 14 Main Variations List


Ruy Lopez main variation list

The list of 14 main variations of the Ruy Lopez follows:
• The Morphy Defense variation: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6
• The Closed variation: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7

• The Exchange variation: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6
• The Open variation: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4
Note. The full name of the Open is the Open (Tarrasch) Defence variation.

• The Marshall Counter-Attack 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
• The Closed, anti-Marshall 8.a4 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.a4

• The Berlin Defense variation: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6
• The Berlin Defense, 4.O-O variation: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O
• The Old Steinitz Defence variation: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6

• The Classical (Cordel) Defense variation: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Bc5
• The Schliemann Defense variation: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5
• The Cozio Defense variation: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nge7

• The Bird's Defence variation: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4
• The Fianchetto [Smyslov/Barnes] Defense variation: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6.
Note. The above variations are shown in the order of play popularity.

II. Ruy Lopez: 14 Main Variations Video


The special Video "Ruy Lopez Main Variations" is located below (this is video 3 on the Ruy Lopez chess opening on this website). The video will help you learn 14 main variations of the Ruy Lopez in a simple and visible way (and the video runs for 2:58). To see the video on the Ruy Lopez main variations, just click the Play button below:




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Use the next links to download PDF ebook (Ruy Lopez all variations) or return to the main page:

Ruy Lopez All Variations Get Free PDF eBook

To the Main Page of the Ruy Lopez | Lesson 38

On this page of chess-openings-for-beginners.blogspot.com, we have learned information about the main variations of the Ruy Lopez. The Ruy Lopez opening variation list includes 14 main variations: the Morphy Defense, Closed, Exchange, Open, Marshall Counter-Attack, Anti-Marshall 8.a4, Berlin Defense; Berlin Defense, 4.O-O; Old Steinitz Defence, Classical (Cordel) Defense, Schliemann Defense, Cozio Defense, Bird's Defence, Fianchetto [Smyslov/Barnes] Defense.

Ruy Lopez The Answering Statistics


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Designed for chess beginners, this lesson on the Ruy Lopez chess opening includes Video under the name "Ruy Lopez Answering Statistics". Find Video below on this page. To see all material on the Ruy Lopez, click the link "Return to the Main Page of the Ruy Lopez" at the top or bottom of this page...

Today we will discuss the answering statistics on the Ruy Lopez chess opening. You should learn these statistics in order to know which lines of the Ruy Lopez are the most common today. The Ruy Lopez chess opening starts with the following moves: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 (see them in the picture below).

I. Ruy Lopez: Answering Moves


Ruy Lopez

The Ruy Lopez: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5.
Then, Black may answer by the following 3rd move:

3... a6, or 3... Nf6, or 3... d6, or 3... Bc5, or 3... f5, or 3... Nge7, or 3... Nd4, or 3... g6, or 3... f6, or 3... Be7, or 3... Na5, , or 3... g5, or 3... Qe7. But do you know how often Black answers, to say, 3... a6, 3... Nf6, 3... g6, or 3... Nge7? The Ruy Lopez answers which were popular in 1900 may be not popular today...

Ruy Lopez: Answering Statistics Video


Video 2 "Ruy Lopez: The Answering Statistics" is below, and it will show you which 3 Black answering moves to the Ruy Lopez are being played today in 90% of the games. The video runs for 2 min 01 sec. To see the video on the Ruy Lopez on the topic, just click the Play button below:




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On this page, we discussed the answering statistics of the Ruy Lopez chess opening... To sum up what you have seen in the above video: In 90% of the games, Black answers to the Ruy Lopez with 3... a6, 3... Nf6, or 3... d6 with the following distribution: a6 ~ 65%, Nf6 ~ 20%, and d6 ~ 5%.

Ruy Lopez | Lesson 38


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This lesson on chess-openings-for-beginners.blogspot.com will help you learn the Ruy Lopez opening and explain you how to play a major opening correctly. This is the Main Page for the Ruy Lopez opening on this chess opening website. Find below the needed information on the Ruy Lopez to see all the links to the Ruy Lopez videos, PGN and PDF files. The following is 2 sample links on the Ruy Lopez:

Ruy Lopez All Variations Get Free PDF eBook

The Answering Statistics to the Ruy Lopez Opening

Latest Information and New Links on This Website

I. Ruy Lopez: Data and Description


Chess Opening Name: Ruy Lopez
Synonyms: Spanish Opening, Spanish Game
Type: Open Game [begins with 1.e4 e5]
Moves: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5
ECO Codes: C60-C99

Ruy Lopez

Today, the Ruy Lopez is one of the most popular openings in chess. The Ruy Lopez is also the most popular Open Game chess opening. It is beautiful and promising for White and Black. The Ruy Lopez has 184 variations. Some of them are very popular, many not. All the variations can be divided into 2 big groups.

The Group 1 variations are mostly new systems which start with 3... a6. Group 1 includes 131 variations. The Group 2 variations are mostly older systems which start with 3... other than a6 [Nf6, d6, Bc5, f5, Nge7, Nd4, g6, f6, Be7, Na5, g5, and Qe7]. Group 2 includes 53 variations of the Ruy Lopez.

The opening is named after Spanish priest Ruy Lopez de Segura. He made a study of the opening in 1561. The Ruy Lopez was developed by Wilhelm Steinitz, Carl Jaenisch, Mikhail Chigorin, Siegbert Tarrasch, Frank Marshall, Paul Keres, Vasily Smyslov, Isaac Boleslavsky, Alexander Alekhine, Max Euwe,

Igor Zaitsev (a trainer of Anatoly Karpov), Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov... Below you will find 7 videos on the Ruy Lopez (About, Answering Statistics, Main Variations, Exchange Variation, Morphy Defense Variation, Berlin Defense Variation, Schliemann Defense Variation) and a link to download PDF ebook "Ruy Lopez All Variations".

II. Ruy Lopez: 7 Videos to Play


This is Video 1 on the Ruy Lopez chess opening. The video name is "Ruy Lopez: Starting Out." The English term "to start out" stands for "to begin a journey." Let's begin our journey on learning the beautiful Ruy Lopez chess opening. To start Video 1 (it runs for 2:38), click the Play button below:




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Find Video 2 on another page, by clicking this link:
Video 2: Ruy Lopez - The Answering Statistics

Find Video 3 on another page, by clicking this link:
Video 3: Ruy Lopez - Main Variations

Find Video 4 on another page, by clicking this link:
Video 4: Ruy Lopez - Exchange Variation

Find Video 5 on another page, by clicking this link:
Video 5: Ruy Lopez - Morphy Defense Variation

Find Video 6 on another page, by clicking this link:
Video 6: Ruy Lopez - Berlin Defense Variation

Find Video 7 on another page, by clicking this link:
Video 7: Ruy Lopez - Schliemann Defense Variation

Download free chess PDF ebook on the Ruy Lopez on this page:
Free pdf eBook - Ruy Lopez All Variations

See all opening lessons on chess-openings-for-beginners.blogspot.com:
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This is the Main Page for the Ruy Lopez on this chess opening website. On this page of chess-openings-for-beginners.blogspot.com, you can find information on the Ruy Lopez opening and see the links to access the required information. Because the Ruy Lopez belongs to the main chess openings, more links will be added soon to explain in details how to play the main variations with moves in pictures...