---

When playing with the black pieces and facing an e4 player, it’s not uncommon to come across the Ruy Lopez opening. The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest documented openings in chess and can lead to some complex and dynamic games. As I don’t play the Ruy Lopez opening, I have little knowledge of its opening theory. However, I managed to hold my own in the game that I played yesterday.

In this game, white played the opening inaccurately, leading to them being down a pawn after an early trade in pieces. One of the learnings that I took away is that it’s important to know your opening well, at least for the first few moves. The Ruy Lopez opening is quite complicated with many variations, so it isn’t the easiest to learn. Early and unnecessary loss of a pawn can result in an ongoing disadvantage for the rest of the game with an evenly matched player.

Game on chess.com: https://www.chess.com/game/live/31574418541

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.11.25"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Suzgantseva"]
[Black "vitualis"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "1233"]
[BlackElo "1216"]
[TimeControl "1800"]
[EndTime "2:50:44 PST"]
[Termination "vitualis won by resignation"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Nxe4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Qe2 cxb5 8. Qxe4+ Qe7 9. Qxe7+ Bxe7 10. O-O O-O 11. Re1 Bc5 12. a4 b4 13. c3 d5 14. Be3 Re8 15. Nd2 Bxe3 16. Rxe3 Rxe3 17. fxe3 bxc3 18. bxc3 Be6 19. e4 c6 20. Re1 Rb8 21. exd5 cxd5 22. c4 dxc4 23. Ne4 h6 24. Rc1 f5 25. Nc5 Bd5 26. Nd7 Rc8 27. Ne5 c3 28. Ng6 Rc7 29. Kf2 Bb3 30. a5 Rd7 31. Rxc3 Rd2+ 32. Kg3 Bd5 33. Ne7+ Kf7 34. Nxd5 Rxd5 35. Rc7+ Kg6 36. Rxa7 Rd3+ 37. Kf4 Rd4+ 38. Ke5 Rd2 39. Ra6+ Kg5 40. Ra7 g6 41. h3 Re2+ 42. Kd4 Rxg2 43. Rg7 Rh2 44. a6 Rxh3 45. a7 Rh4+ 46. Kc5 Ra4 47. Kb5 Ra1 48. Rc7 h5 49. Rc1 Rxa7 50. Kb6 Ra4 51. Rg1+ Kf6 52. Rc1 Kg5 53. Rg1+ Rg4 54. Rd1 h4 55. Rd6 h3 56. Rd1 h2 57. Rh1 Rg2 58. Kc6 Kh4 59. Kd5 Kh3 60. Ke5 Rg1 61. Rxh2+ Kxh2 62. Kf4 g5+ 63. Kxf5 g4 64. Kf4 g3 65. Kf3 Rf1+ 66. Ke2 g2 67. Kd2 g1=Q 68. Kd3 Qg4 69. Ke3 Rf3+ 70. Ke2 Qg2+ 0-1