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Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 · C70–C99

Part of Ruy Lopez

Starting positionWhite to move

0 / 10

Ask the bishop before choosing the structure

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The idea

The main move: Black asks the bishop what it wants immediately, and the game becomes a long fight over whether Black can free the position with ...b5 and ...d5.

Main line: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7

What White wants

  • Keep the bishop on the a4–e8 diagonal and support d4 with c3 and Re1
  • Meet ...b5 with Bb3 and only then open the centre
  • Use the d4 break at the best moment, not the earliest

What Black wants

  • Play ...b5 and ...d6 without letting the b5 pawn become a target
  • Castle and free the position with ...d5 or ...Na5 and ...c5
  • Trade the Spanish bishop with ...Na5 and ...Nxb3

Key idea

Understand this and the moves stop needing to be memorised.

Ask the bishop before choosing the structure

The move ...a6 makes White choose between Ba4 and Bxc6. After Ba4, Black can gain more queenside space with ...b5, while White keeps the bishop for pressure on the centre. This flexibility leads to both the Closed and Open Spanish.

Common mistake

Treating ...a6 and ...b5 as an attack by themselves. They gain space and chase the bishop, but Black still needs central control and king safety; neglecting those jobs lets White open the centre with d4.

Representative position

The position this opening is aiming at. Copy the FEN, or open it in the analysis board and let the engine tell you what it is worth.

r1bqk2r/1pppbppp/p1n2n2/4p3/B3P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQ1RK1 w kq - 4 6

Analyze this position

Variations

4 lines branching from here.

Traps in this opening

Moves in this opening that look natural and lose.

Noah's Ark TrapQd5 centralizes the queen and keeps pressure on f7. White concentrates on queen activity rather than the bishop's remaining retreat squares.
All opening traps

Related openings

Ruy Lopez1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 · C60–C99White develops the bishop to b5, attacking the knight that defends e5 — pressure that lasts for the next twenty moves and defines the whole opening.Ruy Lopez: Closed1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 · C84–C99The classical Spanish: both sides complete development behind their pawn chains and the game becomes a slow manoeuvring battle with a tiny edge for White.Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 · C68–C69White gives up the bishop immediately for the knight, saddling Black with doubled c-pawns and a long, uncomfortable endgame.Ruy Lopez: Open Variation1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 · C80–C83Black captures e4 and meets White's central reply with ...d5, trading the closed Spanish structure for active pieces and an immediate central battle.Ruy Lopez: Schliemann Defense1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 · C63Black ignores the pressure on e5 and hits back with ...f5 at once — the sharpest, most double-edged answer to the Spanish.Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 · C65–C67Black answers the Ruy Lopez by taking on e4 and accepting a queenless endgame with a slightly worse structure — the Berlin Wall, almost impossible to beat.