Ruy López de Segura

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Ruy López de Segura
Full name Rodrigo López de Segura
Country  Spain
Born c. 1530
Zafra
Died c. 1580 (aged c. 50)
Leonard di Cutri defeats Ruy López in Spain

Rodrigo (Ruy) López de Segura (c. 1530 – c. 1580) was a Spanish priest and later bishop in Segura whose 1561 book Libro de la invención liberal y arte del juego del Axedrez was one of the first definitive books about modern chess in Europe, only after Pedro Damiano's 1512 book.

He was born in Zafra near Badajoz, probably of Converso Jewish descent, and he studied and lived in Salamanca. He is considered by many to be the first unofficial world chess champion, as he won the first modern chess tournament in Madrid. In 1574–75 he lost matches to Leonardo di Bona, a Calabrian lawyer, and to Paolo Boi.

Contributions to opening [edit]

Some chess openings are named after Lopez. The Ruy Lopez Opening (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5) is named after him, as is a variation in the Petroff Defence (1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Qe7).

References [edit]

External links [edit]