How to counter the Ruy Lopez/Spanish Game?

Sort:
Greymiles

Everytime i play against someone who starts out with the Ruy Lopez, I go into the Berlin Defence and not the Philidor, yet after that he takes my Knight with his bishop I dunno what to do

NimzoRoy

Stop playing the Berlin Defense and try playing the Schliemann or Classical Defense instead. Or else you could try looking it up right here in the Game Explorer and start analyzing every game after it's over, win lose or draw. Or else start playing the Petroff Defense.

Greymiles

Thanks for the help everyone.

easylimbo

just play the main line to every response. if Bb5, a6. if Bxc6, dxc6. if Ba4, Nf6.

Crazychessplaya

4.Bxc6 may look like a dumbass move in the Berlin, but it was played by Sutovsky, Delchev, Ljubojevic, Khachian and Mastrovasilis. Probably as a draw offer.

Crazychessplaya
[COMMENT DELETED]
Vyomo

Well, I'd suggest..... the Pirc!

Simplest way to forego all of this Spanish stuffWink

Greymiles

One time I did the Mortimer's Trap and my opponent fell for it. 

Greymiles
paulgottlieb wrote:

I don't understand your problem. The Berlin Defense is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6. If White now plays 4.Bxc6, you just play 4...dxc6 and you have virtually equalized after only 4 moves.


The problem is, when I go into the Berlin Defense, my opponent immediately takes my Knight forcing me to double my pawns. After that, he takes my King's Pawn and I immediately lose the control for the center. 

Arctor

In these types of positions, when White  takes on e5 without first defending his own pawn (either with d3 or Nc3 or indirectly with O-O threatening a pin on the e-file with Re1) you can regain it with a good game by playing Qd4

Greymiles
Arctor wrote:

In these types of positions, when White  takes on e5 without first defending his own pawn (either with d3 or Nc3 or indirectly with O-O threatening a pin on the e-file with Re1) you can regain it with a good game by playing Qd4


That's seems like a good recommendation. I'll try it next time.

funnymadman
AugustB3

Awesome reply. Glad I checked this out.

blueemu

funnymadman posted: "Black does have a doubled Pawn on the c file, but White can no longer castle"

Neither factor is all that important. The doubled Pawns are on the same side of the board as White's majority, so they are not much of a handicap. Loss of castling rights means little with the Queens gone, especially since White has the option of Re1 and then Kf1.

Black's pair of Bishops is rather more meaningful.

konhidras

As a player of the white side of the Ruy lopez exchange ( you can see that in my games mostly blitz) my only advise is to study the endings that arise from this opening. You really ought to know the ending brother or youll also miss your chance of winning drawn positions that mostly occur in the exchange. (my second tip: study fischer's games as white in the exchange and that of the Lasker-capablanca game in st. petersburg 1914. youll get the idea).

Chesseer007

This is a good line for black to help against the Ruy Lopez that I have played in my games. I recommend this as it avoids any double pawn structures.

king5minblitz119147

once you decide to play the spanish as black, i think you absolutely have to study the exchange variation structures down to the king and pawn endgame. you can't really avoid it, unless you play the bird variation 3..nd4 which i think is bad due to the kasparov-khalifman model game. further, white can take on c6 in many different move orders and there are certain nuances that need to be understood. if you play the berlin, white takes on c6 anyway as it is currently the main anti-berlin line. he normally plays d3 first though, to defend e4 and see what black does.

Rockroyal

That is absolutely true, but you can play 3. ...a6 and they may take on c6, but they will most likely play Ba4, avoiding the early endgame.

Chesseer007
Rockroyal wrote:

That is absolutely true, but you can play 3. ...a6 and they may take on c6, but they will most likely play Ba4, avoiding the early endgame.

 

I thank you for your comment. However, I do not think that any player will miss a chance to mess up their enemy's structure in the early moves of the game.

ShamusMcFlannigan
Chesseer7 wrote:
Rockroyal wrote:

That is absolutely true, but you can play 3. ...a6 and they may take on c6, but they will most likely play Ba4, avoiding the early endgame.

 

I thank you for your comment. However, I do not think that any player will miss a chance to mess up their enemy's structure in the early moves of the game.

When I used to play e5 most players didn't exchange.  It usually didn't turn out well for those that did.  I'm not saying that the exchange is bad, but the stronger players I would face seemed to prefer piling on the pressure.  If your that worried about Bxc6, you should try the classical variation.