Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense
The most popular response. Allows a6 and b5.
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1. e4 › Ruy Lopez › Morphy Defense
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Sequence
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bb5a64.Ba4Nf65.O-Ob56.Bb3d6
Possible Variations1
7. Ng5Rabinovich Variation7. Ng5 7... d5 8. exd5 8... Nd4
About this opening
The Morphy Defense (3...a6) is the main reply to the Ruy Lopez: by chasing the b5 bishop, Black forces it to choose between 4.Ba4, keeping the pin, and the Exchange Variation 4.Bxc6. It is the starting point of the great closed lines, where Black deploys ...Nf6, ...Be7, ...b5 and ...d6. Named after Paul Morphy, it shapes most of the modern theory of the Spanish.