History of Ruy Lopez in chess

The Ruy Lopez is a chess opening played by White and named after 16th-century Spanish bishop Ruy López de Segura. The opening begins with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5.
The idea behind the Ruy Lopez is to control the center with pawns and to develop the pieces quickly. The move 3.Bb5 aims to put pressure on Black's d-pawn and also to prepare to castle kingside. Black has a few options to respond to 3.Bb5, the most popular being 3...a6, which is known as the Berlin Defense.
After 3...a6, White has a few options, one of the most popular being 4.Ba4, attacking the knight on c6 and preparing to castle. Black can then play 4...Nf6, developing another piece and preparing to castle.
From this point, White has many options to continue the game, but the most popular is 5.O-O, castling kingside, and 5...Be7, preparing to castle.
The Ruy Lopez can lead to open and complex positions where both sides have a lot of options to play. It's a good idea to study the different variations and be familiar with the key ideas and plans in each one to play it well.