9 Best Books and Courses About Ruy Lopez Opening
Ruy Lopez’s opening is one of the most popular in chess. This opening is played by many strong players such as Caruana Fabiano, Hikaru Nakamura, Ivanchuk, Anand, etc. Almost every top player played Ruy Lopez opening in their career. Ruy Lopez’s line is derived from the famous player Ruy Lopez.
Ruy Lopez’s opening is very hard to understand and prepare for both players. There are always novelties and new lines which are coming in Ruy Lopez. Some of these books give a direct repertoire, some of them provide instructive games, while some just touch upon key concepts in the Ruy Lopez.
There are various variations in Ruy Lopez. These variations are also very deep. To study Ruy Lopez, it is important to read books and watch some awesome DVDs. Here we are giving some books and course suggestions on Ruy Lopez. Some of the books are for the white side, and some are for the black side.
9 Best Ruy Lopez Books and Courses
Following are some of the best chess courses for every chess player. I recommend you buy only one course or book at one time, study it and then only buy another.
Play the Ruy Lopez by GM Ivan Cheparinov
GM Ivan Cheparinov comes with a brand new chess course in collaboration with Modern Chess. This chess course consists of 2 parts. The total video time for this course is more than 11 hours.
This is a new brand chess course which is launched in early 2023.
In the first part of his Ruy Lopez course, GM Cheparinov covers everything except the position arising after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6. In the second part, he covered every opening in variation 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6.
This is one of the best and most affordable chess courses for beginner to advanced chess players. Ivan is famous for his analysis, and he showed this in the course. You can also watch a free video on the product page.
You can save 45% savings on all Modern Chess courses, including this one, by using code NIKHIL45.
Fighting the Ruy Lopez
This book was written by Milos Pavlovic and published by Everyman Chess. This book is perfect for beginners who want to learn how to play against Ruy Lopez. They have suggested a Marshall Attack from the black side, which is a very famous defense against Ruy Lopez.
The Marshall is a perfect weapon for Black, as it avoids passive positions and the so-called ‘Spanish torture’ of many other variations.
A Spanish Repertoire for Black by Mihail Marin
This book is published by quality chess and written by Mihail Marin. Mihail Marin is a well-known Grandmaster, author of many chess books, and recorded chess DVDs. In this book, he covered Spanish Opening, which is a variation in Ruy Lopez.
Spanish opening variation is 5th move N*e4. Spanish opening is very much a popular opening against Ruy Lopez. This book is very old but still a gem. This book is recommended for beginners and intermediate chess players.
Understand the Ruy Lopez by GM Dejan Bojkov
Very different type of opening course. In this course, GM Dejan tries to explain concepts about Ruy Lopez instead of repertoire. According to GM Bojkov, “The more we study and the deeper we dive into the Ruy Lopez the more and more secrets will be revealed and the better the understanding of the structure and the typical ideas would become.”
I would highly recommend this course to those who already know the basics of Ruy Lopez. If you already have purchased Ivan Cheparinov’s chess course from Modern Chess, this course will not be effective.
You can use code NIKHIL45 and get a flat 45% off on sitewide purchases.
The Ruy Lopez Move by Move
This book is published by everyman chess publication. Move by Move is the best series to learn openings for beginners. Neil Mcdonald writes this book. He is a well-known chess player. The Move by Move series is my favorite and covers all essential knowledge for beginners. It covers the following things.
- Essential guidance and training in the Ruy Lopez
- Important ideas absorbed by continued practice
- Covers both mainline and d3 repertoire options for White
Complete Ruy Lopez with GM Marian Petrov
Again the complete Ruy Lopez repertoire by GM Marian Petrov. Marian is a very famous Grandmaster from Europe and a very famous chess coach. In this course, he divided Ruy Lopez into ten chapters and spent around 1 hour on each chapter. You will also receive complete PGN files in the downloadable version.
GM Marian also represented as a coach of the Wales team at the Baku Olympiad. Again this course is too deep to prepare for and recommended for those who are looking to go deeper and aiming to become a professional player.
Understanding before Moving 1: Ruy Lopez – Italian
This book is published by a thinkers publication.
This book is written by Herman Grooten. This book provides an overview of the positions and corresponding plans arising from the Ruy Lopez and Italian Openings. If you are looking to learn Ruy Lopez in a different way, this book is for you!
This learning method was developed by the author enabling the chess player to understand any structure that is derived from both opening set-ups.
How To Win With The Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation
Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation starts with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6. This is the safest option for white to play in Ruy Lopez. Black usually don’t get anything if white play properly. In this course, IM Keaton Kiewra explained key ideas of this and how you can beat your opponent by using this idea.
This course is on chess.com. You will need chess.com Platinum or Diamond Membership to access this chess course. I highly recommend every beginner player have at least chess.com membership. You can literally everything from this website.
We have written the following review articles on chess.com memberships. Check out by clicking the following links.
The Chigorin Bible – A Classic Defence to the Ruy Lopez
This book is written by a very well-known author Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov and published by Thinkers publication. Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov is a very famous coach also. He has coached the Iranian team, which included GM Firouzja Alireza, GM Parham Magsoodloo, etc.
Grandmaster Mathew Sadler said this about this book in a new Chess magazine 2019 – “Probably not an easy read for the club player, but still an original and high-class exploration of one of the most important openings in chess. It’s a really good book! 5 stars.”
These are some of the best chess courses on Ruy Lopez and on the Spanish Opening. Apart from this, there are hundreds of good chess videos available on Youtube which are totally free. You can read our article regarding the 14 Best Chess Youtube Channels to find and consume more chess content.
I have also written an article on How to Counter Ruy Lopez and also a detailed article regarding Jaenisch Gambit, which is a popular Gambit opening in Ruy Lopez Variation. You can click and read this article by clicking the following buttons.
