The Ruy Lopez for beginners
The Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5), also called the Spanish Opening, works for beginners if you learn its one main idea: White's bishop attacks the knight on c6, the piece that defends Black's e5 pawn. The pressure is slow, not an immediate threat, so Black has time to develop. In my 50 rapid games in the Ruy Lopez, I scored exactly 50%.
Those games are mine (nacsol3 on Chess.com), played between January and November 2024, when my rapid rating in them ranged from 863 to 1140. I had Black in 46 of them and White in 4. One club player's results are not general statistics, but they show the mistakes that decide games at that level. Most of my games used the same reply, the Cozio Defense, so this page spends time on it.
What the Ruy Lopez is
Chess.com's Ruy Lopez page (checked as of November 2026) defines it as 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 and says it "was first analyzed by the priest Ruy Lopez de Segura" in a book from 1561. It names three lines a beginner should recognise:
- The main line, 3...a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O. Black asks the bishop at once, and White keeps it.
- The Berlin Defense, 3...Nf6, which the page calls one of Black's most solid replies.
- The Exchange Variation, 3...a6 4.Bxc6, where White gives up the bishop to double Black's pawns. Doubled pawns are two pawns of the same colour on one file.
It starts like the other King's Pawn Opening games, with 1.e4 e5. The Ruy Lopez differs from the Italian Game, where the bishop goes to c4 and aims at f7, and from the Scotch Game, where White opens the centre with 3.d4. The Chess.com page warns about its "large amount of theory", and that is the honest downside for beginners playing it as White.
My results in the Ruy Lopez
| Colour | Games | Wins | Losses | Draws | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 46 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 50% |
| White | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 50% |
My average accuracy in these games was 79.2%. For comparison, my score with Black across all my rapid games is 45%, and in the Italian it was 42%. The Ruy Lopez was one of my better openings as Black.
My usual answer was 3...Nge7, the knight to e7. Chess.com named it the Cozio Defense in my game records. The idea is simple: if White takes on c6 with the bishop, my other knight takes back and my pawns stay healthy. I played it 32 times and won 18, lost 14. Here is how White's fourth move went:
| White's 4th move against 3...Nge7 | Games | Wins | Losses |
|---|---|---|---|
| O-O (castling) | 12 | 7 | 5 |
| d3 | 7 | 3 | 4 |
| Nc3 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| d4 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Bxc6 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
The direct 4.d4, opening the centre, gave me the most trouble. Stockfish marked 35 of my moves in these 50 games as opening blunders, 51 in the middlegame and 6 in the endgame.
Mistake 1: a quiet move that allows a pin
August 2024, against joeyburner (1005), with me at 1001. After 3...Nge7 4.d3 d6 5.Nc3, I prepared to put my bishop on g7.
Stockfish rates the pawn move to a6, which attacks the bishop, as about equal. After my pawn move to g6, it rates the position as clearly better for White. Its reply is the bishop to g5, attacking my knight on e7 with my queen behind it on d8. That is a pin: the knight can't move without exposing the queen. The engine's line then brings White's knight to d5, so two pieces hit e7.
White castled instead and missed it, and I won this game with 93.1% accuracy. But the weakness is typical of the Cozio: the knight on e7 blocks my bishop and can be pinned. Asking the b5 bishop a question with a6 first was the engine's choice.
Mistake 2: missing a free counterattack
June 2024, against Nigela31 (957), with me at 933. White had just pushed the pawn to d4, and Stockfish marked that push as a blunder.
Taking on d4 attacks White's knight on c3. Stockfish rates it as clearly better for Black. In its line, White's knight takes back on d4, my bishop on g7 takes that knight along the long diagonal, White's bishop takes my knight on e7, and my bishop then takes on f2 with check. My pawn move to f6 also attacks a piece, the bishop on g5, but it gives White time to fix things: the engine rates the position after it as about equal.
The lesson: when two moves both attack something, compare what each one leaves behind. Taking a pawn while opening my bishop's diagonal was worth much more than chasing a bishop. I lost this game.
Mistake 3: the bishop on c5 and the f7 trick
October 2024, against MaikiTiger (1046), with me at 1009. After 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Nxd4 6.Qxd4 a6 7.Ba4 b5 8.Bb3 Nc6 9.Qd1, I developed my bishop to c5.
Stockfish rates the safe bishop moves (to d6, b7 or e7) as about equal. After the bishop to c5, it rates the position as clearly better for White, because of a trick on f7. White's bishop takes on f7 with check; if my king takes it, the queen jumps to h5 with check, and then takes my bishop on c5, which has no defender. A fork is one piece attacking two targets at once, and here the queen hit my king and the bishop together.
White played the queen to f3 instead and missed it. This is the same f7 weakness as in the Italian Game: even in the Ruy Lopez, a bishop that ends up on b3 aims straight at f7.
How to play the Ruy Lopez as a beginner
- As Black, develop and castle. The pressure on c6 is slow, so you have time. In my Cozio games, plain development won 18 games and lost 14.
- Consider a6 early. In the main line and in my Cozio games, asking the bishop with a6 was often the engine's choice.
- Watch the pin from g5. With the knight on e7 and the queen on d8, a bishop on g5 can pin it. See Mistake 1.
- Count defenders of f7 and of your bishops. Loose pieces lose to forks; see the guide to stopping hanging pieces.
- As White, know the trade-off. I only played the Ruy Lopez four times as White (two wins, two losses). If you want less theory to learn, the Italian or the Scotch is a simpler start.
The games above appear in my weekly diaries: the pin in week 32, the missed counterattack in week 23 and the f7 trick in week 43. My Cozio game against Rothria, where a knight move to d4 cost me a pawn, is in week 16, and week 30 is where I started playing 1.e4 as White. The whole series starts at the journey hub.
How Chess Coach helps with the Ruy Lopez
Chess Coach is a connector for Claude and ChatGPT that reviews finished Chess.com and Lichess games with Stockfish. The opening_report tool shows the openings you play or face with each colour and your score in each, so you can see whether the Ruy Lopez or a line like the Cozio is costing you points. With review_game you pick one of those games and get its key moments explained in plain words, with a red arrow for your move and a green arrow for the better one. Practice mode then lets you replay your own mistakes.
It only works on finished games, never games in progress. New accounts get 14 days of full access free, no card needed. Setup takes a few minutes: see how to connect Chess Coach.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Ruy Lopez good for beginners?
It can be, but it has more theory than the Italian or the Scotch. Chess.com's opening page says players of all levels can enjoy it while noting its large amount of theory. As Black, a beginner can meet it with simple development and still do fine: I scored 50% against it.
What are the moves of the Ruy Lopez?
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5. The bishop attacks the knight that defends the e5 pawn. The main line continues 3...a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O.
What is the Cozio Defense?
It is 3...Nge7: Black develops the king's knight to e7, so that if White takes on c6, the other knight can take back. Chess.com labelled 33 of my 50 Ruy Lopez games as Cozio lines.
Why is it called the Ruy Lopez?
Chess.com says the priest Ruy Lopez de Segura first analysed it in a book published in 1561. It is also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game.
Should beginners play the Ruy Lopez or the Italian?
Both are fine. The Italian aims straight at f7 and gives quicker tactics; the Ruy Lopez puts slower pressure on Black's centre. If you are just starting, the Italian or the Scotch has less theory to learn.