Ruy Lopez: Open
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4
What Is The Open?
5...Nxe4 is not a pawn grab, it is a structural decision. White recovers the pawn with 6.d4, and after 6...b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 material is level: White holds a pawn on e5, Black a pawn on d5 that props a knight on e4. You trade the Spanish squeeze for open lines and piece play, and you accept a permanent target on d5.
Every plan flows from the knight on e4: White spends the middlegame dislodging it with c3, Nbd2 and Bc2, while Black keeps it alive with ...Bc5, ...f5 or the freeing push ...d4. Once that knight goes without compensation, White's kingside majority and the pressure of Bb3 against d5 and f7 decide. Hold it, and Black's activity is worth more than the structure.
How Should You Respond To The Ruy Lopez: Open?
The two main tries split almost evenly: 49% play 6.Re1 and 45% 6.d4. Black has grabbed the e4 pawn, which is temporarily fine and permanently committal, because the knight on e4 will be chased and the resulting structure is unbalanced.
The Open Ruy Lopez trades Black's solidity for piece activity, so the answer is to challenge the active pieces rather than to hold the pawn. 6.d4 hits the centre immediately and opens lines toward the exposed knight. Black gets ...d5, ...Be6 and genuine counterplay, so this is a real fight rather than a pawn grab. The sample is small at 75 games, so treat the split as a hint about fashion.
What Do Players Choose At The Decision Point?
| Move | Share | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Be7 | 39% | 385 | |
| b5 | 34% | 339 | |
| Bc5 | 9% | 91 | |
| d6 | 9% | 88 |
How Does Play Continue From Here?
| Move | Share | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Re1 | 49% | 37 | |
| d4 | 45% | 34 | |
| Qe2 | 1% | 1 | |
| Nxe5 | 1% | 1 |
The Named Lines Of The Open
| Line | Moves |
|---|---|
| Knorre Variation | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.Nc3 |
| Skipworth Gambit | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.Re1 d5 |
| Riga Variation | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 exd4 |
| Richter Variation | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.d5 |
| Friess Attack | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Nxe5 |
| Harksen Gambit | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.c4 |
| Schlechter Defense | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.a4 Nxd4 |
| 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 |
| Zukertort 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 Ne7 |
| Howell Attack | 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.c4 |
| Bernstein 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.Nbd2 |
| Berlin 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 Nc5 |
| Italian 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 Bc5 |
| Classical Defense | 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.Nbd2 Nc5 10.c3 Be7 |
| Motzko Attack | 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.Qd3 |
| Classical Defense, Main Line | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 Be7 7.Re1 b5 8.Bb3 d5 9.dxe5 Be6 10.c3 |
| St. Petersburg 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 Bc5 10.Nbd2 |
| Berger Variation | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.a4 Nxd4 9.Nxd4 exd4 10.Nc3 |
| Bernstein Variation, Luther 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.Nbd2 Bc5 10.Qe1 |
| Motzko Attack, Nenarokov 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 Bc5 10.Qd3 Ne7 |
| Karpov Gambit | 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.Nbd2 Nc5 10.c3 d4 11.Ng5 |
| Malkin 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.Nbd2 O-O 11.Qe2 |
| Breslau 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 Nxe5 |
| Dilworth 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 Bc5 10.Nbd2 O-O 11.Bc2 Nxf2 |
| Howell Attack, Ekstrom 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.Qe2 Be7 10.Rd1 O-O 11.c4 bxc4 12.Bxc4 Qd7 |
| Tarrasch Trap | 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 |