GM Fabiano Caruana – Navigating the Ruy Lopez Volume 1: The Closed Spanish, One Move at a Time

Navigating the Ruy Lopez is a three-volume ChessBase series recorded in the Hamburg studio, with Caruana at the board and IM Oliver Reeh asking the questions. The publisher sums up the project in one line: “In a total of three volumes, Caruana examines all Black replies after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5.” Volume 1 takes the heaviest part of that job — the closed Spanish after 5…Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3, where Black chooses between 7…0-0 (the Marshall invitation) and 7…d6 (the classical main lines).

Caruana’s answer is coherent rather than encyclopedic. Against both 7…0-0 and 7…d6 he plays 8.a4, so the two systems share plans, structures and even transpositions. He then adds the traditional 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 main lines as a second weapon, because, in his words from the introduction, there is “no need to limit ourselves to just one opening that we play for life.” The Open, Berlin and Arkhangelsk are in Volume 2, the third-move sidelines in Volume 3. More opening courses sit in our chess courses list.

What Caruana Teaches in Volume 1

Why 8.a4 is the answer to the Marshall

The first lesson starts by showing what White is avoiding. After 7…0-0 8.c3 d5 Black gets the Marshall Gambit, a line where, as Caruana puts it, you can prepare well “but you’re still going to have to memorize thousands of variations.” He walks through 8.h3 and 8.d3, mentions the Karjakin–Carlsen game from their 2016 World Championship match that reached a forced draw, and then settles on 8.a4 — “a move I’ve come back to time and again.” The logic is simple: Black has played …b5 early, so White asks direct questions about that pawn. “Black has weakened his structure early on, and so we start to ask him uncomfortable questions.”

8…b4 and 8…Bb7: two different middlegames

Four lessons go into 8…b4 9.d4 d6. After 10.dxe5 dxe5 Caruana shows how the a4/…b4 exchange leaves a6 and Black’s queenside pawns as long-term targets, and he repeats one rule you should memorise: once Black’s queen stops covering d5, the bishop goes there. After 10…Nxe5 11.Nxe5 dxe5 12.Qe2 he covers 12…a5 and 12…Bc5, keeping the queens on the board — “most of the lines I’ve recommended do keep the queens on.” The 8…Bb7 lesson changes the character of the game: White plays d3 to blunt the bishop and starts with Nbd2. Kasparov–Short from the 1993 World Championship match is the model game here.

The Anti-Classical: same move, fewer surprises

Against 7…d6 Caruana again plays 8.a4, so the Anti-Classical lines often transpose straight back into the Anti-Marshall. The one independent try is 8…Bg4. After 9.c3 0-0 10.h3 he shows why 10…Bh5 usually ends with the bishop stranded on g6 or lost outright, and why most strong players simply give it up with 10…Bxf3. The practical argument is as important as the theory: this is a rare line, so the Black player is less likely to know it in depth.

Chigorin, Breyer, Zaitsev: the classical battlefield

The last three theory videos cover 8.c3 0-0 9.h3, which Caruana calls “the richest battlefield of ideas throughout chess history.” In the Chigorin (9…Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4) the theme is the misplaced knight on a5. In the Breyer the knight takes two tempi to reach d7, and White follows the Nbd2–f1–g3 manoeuvre before a4. In the Zaitsev the fight is about the e4-pawn, and you learn the well-known repetition White has in hand if a draw is enough — Karpov allowed it often in his matches with Kasparov. Caruana also shares his own history with these lines from both sides, which explains why some recommendations are deliberately practical rather than maximal.

If you want a deeper single-line study of the Breyer after finishing Caruana Ruy Lopez Volume 1, GM Pavel Eljanov’s Ruy Lopez Breyer Variation is the natural next step.

Caruana Ruy Lopez Volume 1: Lesson Index

Who Caruana Ruy Lopez Volume 1 Is Built For

• 1.e4 players who want the Ruy Lopez as their main weapon and need a reliable reply to 7…0-0 that avoids the Marshall Gambit.
• Tournament players who prefer one coherent system (8.a4 against both 7…0-0 and 7…d6) to a patchwork of unrelated lines.
• Classical Spanish fans who want a modern update on the Chigorin, Breyer and Zaitsev from a player who has handled them from both sides.
• Black players of the closed Spanish who want to know exactly what a top-level White player will try against them.

It is not a Black repertoire and it does not teach the Marshall Gambit itself. If you want to play the Marshall with Black, look at GM Jan Gustafsson’s Marshall Attack repertoire instead.

FAQ

Does Caruana Ruy Lopez Volume 1 teach the Marshall Attack?

Only as context. The opening lesson explains the Marshall and why it is hard for White, then the repertoire avoids it with 8.a4. Volume 1 is a White course from start to finish.

Is the classical 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 a main recommendation or an extra?

The core repertoire is 8.a4 against 7…d6. The Chigorin, Breyer and Zaitsev lessons are there as a second system, because Caruana believes a Ruy Lopez player should know the classical positions too.

Do I need the other two volumes?

For a complete 3.Bb5 repertoire, yes: Volume 2 covers the Open, Berlin, Arkhangelsk and Averbakh, and Volume 3 the sidelines from 3…Bc5 to the Norwegian. You can also get all three in the Navigating the Ruy Lopez Vol. 1–3 bundle.

What files are included, and how is it delivered?

Caruana Ruy Lopez Volume 1 comes as the ChessBase Fritz Trainer app with HD videos, compact MP4 copies of each lesson and PGN/ChessBase databases. Digital files. Crypto payment only. Fast delivery is handled manually after payment confirmation. Download links remain available for 7 days; save your files locally.