Ruy Lopez: free opening course

Key ideas

• Pressure on e5: the b5 bishop attacks the c6 knight, its defender, so Black must constantly watch that pawn.
• Build the ideal centre with c3 and d4, preparing it with Re1 and h3 so that ...Bg4 or ...Ng4 never disturb it.
• The light-squared bishop retreats a4-b3-c2, where it supports e4 and points at Black's king.
• The queen's knight goes the long way, Nbd2-f1-g3 (or e3), to reach f5 and the kingside.
• In the Exchange Variation, trade queens and aim for an endgame where White's 4-vs-3 kingside majority makes a passed pawn and Black's doubled c-pawns cannot.

The 6 variations in the course

• Closed Ruy Lopez: Chigorin with 9.h3 Na5: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 … — The classical main line: White builds the c3-d4 centre after h3 stops ...Bg4. Black gains queenside space with ...Na5 and ...c5, and White re-routes the queen's knight to the kingside.
• Berlin Defence: 4.O-O Nxe4 (Berlin Wall): 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 … — Black takes on e4 and heads for the famous Berlin endgame: queens are traded early, Black's king walks to e8 and White has a kingside pawn majority and space with e5. If you want to avoid this, 4.d3 is a good alternative.
• Exchange Variation: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O f6 6. d4 exd4 … — White gives up the bishop pair to damage Black's pawns. After queens come off, White's healthy kingside majority (4 vs 3) can create a passed pawn, while Black's doubled c-pawns cannot.
• Open Variation: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 … — Black takes on e4 and fights for active piece play. White regains the pawn with d4 and dxe5, then attacks the e4 knight and Black's queenside pawns with c3, Nbd2, Bc2 and Nd4.
• Anti-Marshall: 8.a4: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 … — If Black castles on move 7, 8.c3 allows the Marshall Attack, a famous pawn sacrifice (8...d5). White avoids it with 8.a4, putting pressure on b5, and plays a slow d3 set-up.
• Steinitz Defence: 3...d6: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. d4 Bd7 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. O-O Be7 … — Black defends e5 directly but gets a cramped position. White builds the centre with d4 and Nc3; Black usually has to give up the centre with ...exd4, and White enjoys more space.

Traps you will learn (3)

• Tarrasch Trap (Open Ruy Lopez) — In the Open Variation with ...Be7, Black's natural 11...Qd7? loses the queen: after Nxe6 fxe6, the rook sacrifice Rxe4! dxe4 opens the d-file and Qxd7 wins Black's queen.
• Fishing Pole Trap (warning) — A warning for White: in the Berlin, Black sometimes plays ...Ng4 and ...h5. The knight on g4 is 'bait'; if White takes it with hxg4, the h-file opens and ...Qh4 leads to mate. Ignore the knight (for example with c3 and d4) instead.
• Mortimer Trap (warning) — A warning for White: after 4.d3 in the Berlin, Black's 4...Ne7 seems to hang e5. If White grabs it with Nxe5, ...c6 and ...Qa5+ fork the king and the e5 knight.

How the opening courses work

Each course teaches an opening in a few main variations. For every move you read why it is played, which other moves are good, and which tempting moves are mistakes and why. Each course also shows the traps of the opening: the ones you can set and the ones to avoid.

After a lesson you play the moves yourself in a drill. The lines you learn go into your review, which brings them back when you are about to forget them (spaced repetition). 30 line courses add many short lines per opening, a few new ones a day, and every named opening, more than 3,800 lines, has a lesson of its own.