Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation

ECO C68 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6

The Exchange Variation, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6, gives up the bishop pair to damage Black's pawn structure. Emanuel Lasker played it and Bobby Fischer made it a weapon again in the 1960s.

Plans for White

White castles and plays d4 to trade pawns, aiming for an endgame where the kingside 4-vs-3 majority can create a passed pawn while Black's doubled c-pawns cannot.

Plans for Black

Black uses the bishop pair and active pieces, often with ...f6, ...Bg4, ...Qd6 or ...Bd6, and avoids pure pawn endgames.

Typical pawn structures

Black's doubled c-pawns and White's healthy kingside majority after d4 exchanges.

Who it suits

White players who like simple, endgame-oriented positions and want to avoid the long theory of the closed Ruy Lopez.

Common traps

Note that 5.Nxe5? Qd4 regains the pawn immediately, so White normally castles first. Black, in turn, should avoid trading into a pawn ending where White's kingside majority wins.

Variations

Related variations

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