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Ruy López de Segura
Luigi Mussini- Leonardo da Cutro e Ruy Lopez giocano a scacchi alla corte di Spagna.jpg
Ruy López playing Leonardo di Bona in the Spanish royal court; also depicted is King Philip II of Spain. (Luigi Mussini, 1883)
Full name Rodrigo López de Segura
Country Spain
Born c. 1530
Segura
Died c. 1580 (aged c. 50)

Rodrigo "Ruy" López de Segura (born around 1530 – died around 1580) was a Spanish chess player, writer, and Catholic priest. His book, Libro de la invención liberal y Arte del juego del Axedrez, published in 1561, was one of the first books about modern chess in Europe.

López greatly helped develop ideas about how to start a chess game, known as chess opening theory. He contributed to openings like the King's Gambit and the Ruy López (or Spanish) opening, which is named after him. For about 20 years, López was known as the best chess player in Spain.

Life of Ruy López

López was born in Segura de León, a town in Extremadura, Spain. In 1559, while living in Zafra, López was called to Rome by Pope Pius IV. He went there for church-related work.

During his time in Rome, López played chess with local players. He seemed to play very well. One of the players he met was a young man named Il Puttino, also known as Leonardo di Bona. López also learned the chess term gambit from the Italian players.

In Italy, López found a chess book by Pedro Damiano. López did not think much of this book. This might have made López want to write his own book. His book, Libro de la Invencion liberal y Arte del juego del Axedrez, was published in 1561.

López was the strongest chess player in Spain for almost twenty years. His main rivals were Alfonso Ceron and Medrano. López and Ceron played chess in front of King Philip II of Spain. The King was so impressed that López received a special payment and a golden chain shaped like a chess rook. López was also very good at playing blindfold chess, where he played without seeing the board.

Around 1574, López was still at the royal court in Spain. That year, di Bona and Paolo Boi arrived in Spain during their travels across Europe. They played chess against López and Ceron in Madrid. These games are sometimes called the first international chess tournament. Boi and a much-improved di Bona beat López and Ceron. López was still able to beat Ceron.

We do not know the exact years López was born or died. People usually say he lived from about 1530 to 1580. He was likely born before 1534 and was alive at least until the chess games in 1574.

Ruy López's Chess Legacy

Ruy López's biggest contribution to chess was in how games start, which is called chess opening theory. Peter J. Monté called him the "father of opening theory." His study of the King's Gambit was much better than earlier writings.

López was the strongest player in Spain for about twenty years. He might have been the best player in Italy too. Some people think he could have been called a world champion, but that title did not exist until much later.

Libro de la Invencion liberal y Arte del juego del Axedrez

Ruy López de Segura (1561) Libro de la invención del ajedez
A page from the original 1561 printing of López's book, Libro de la Invencion liberal y Arte del juego del Axedrez.

Ruy López's book was published in 1561. Its full title is very long!

López divided his book into four parts. The first part talks about the history of chess and its benefits. It also explains the rules and basic strategies. The second part focuses on chess openings. This is where López made his most important contributions. This part is why he is called "the father of opening theory."

The third part of the book criticizes Damiano's chess analysis. López's last chapters are about playing chess with different starting conditions, like giving one player a handicap. He also criticizes Damiano's ideas on these games.

In his book, López shows sixty-six games. Twenty-four of these games were taken from Damiano's 1512 book. López's games often did not end in checkmate. Instead, he would say things like "black must lose his queen" or "white has a very good game."

Example Chess Games

This section uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

We do not have many complete games that we know for sure were played by López. One game was written down by Polerio. It was played during the matches between Italian and Spanish players in front of King Philip II:

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Qe7 5.b4 Bb6 6.a4 a6 7.Ba3 d6 8.Qe2 Bg4 9.d3 Nf6 10.Nbd2

In his book, Ruy López also gives an example of the opening named after him. López believed that Black should avoid the "Ruy López" opening by playing 2... d6 instead of 2... Nc6.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Bc5 4.c3 d6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Nc3 Bd7 8.Bf4 Nf6 9.Qd3 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3

López also showed many ways to play the King's Gambit, such as:

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e5 Qe7 5.Qe2 Nh5 6.Nc3 c6 7.Ne4

Openings Named After Ruy López

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8 {{{square}}} black rook {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black bishop {{{square}}} black queen {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black bishop {{{square}}} black knight {{{square}}} black rook 8
7 {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black pawn 7
6 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black knight {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 6
5 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white bishop {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 5
4 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 4
3 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white knight {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 3
2 {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} white pawn 2
1 {{{square}}} white rook {{{square}}} white knight {{{square}}} white bishop {{{square}}} white queen {{{square}}} white king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white rook 1
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
The Ruy López opening.

Several chess openings are named after López:

  • C20 Open Game: López/Mcleod Opening, 1.e4 e5 2.c3
  • C23 Bishop's Opening: López Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Qe2 Nc6 4.c3 Nf6 5.f4
  • C33 KGA: Bishop's Gambit, Ruy López Defence, 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 c6
  • C33 KGA: Bishop's Gambit, López–Gianutio Countergambit 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 f5
  • C60 Spanish (Ruy Lopez), 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5
  • C41 Philidor: López Countergambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 f5

See also

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