title: 1992 Indian stock market scam

text: Techniques used by Mehta involved having corrupt officials signing fake cheques, misusing market loopholes, and fabrication to drive the prices of stocks up to 40 times their original price. Stock traders making good returns as a result of the scam were able to fraudulently obtain unsecured loans from banks. When the scam was discovered in April 1992, the Indian stock market collapsed, and the same banks suddenly found themselves holding millions of INR in now useless debt.


title: 1992 Indian stock market scam

text: The scam was the biggest money market scam ever committed in India, amounting to approximately 5000 crores. The main perpetrator of the scam was a stock and money market broker Harshad Mehta. It was a systematic stock scam using bank receipts and stamp paper that caused the Indian stock market to crash. The scam exposed the inherent loopholes of the Indian financial systems and resulted in a completely reformed system of stock transactions, including an introduction of online security systems.


title: 1992 Indian stock market scam

text: Security frauds refer to the idea of diversion of funds from the banking system to various stockholders or brokers. The 1992 scam was a systematic fraud committed by Mehta in the Indian stock market which led to the complete collapse of security systems. He committed a scam of over 1  billion from the banking system to buy stocks on the Bombay Stock Exchange. This impacted the entire exchange system as the security system collapsed and investors lost hundreds of thousands of rupees in the exchange system. The scope of the scam was so large that the net value of the stocks was higher than the combined health and education budget of India. The scam was orchestrated in such a way that Mehta secured securities from the State Bank of India against forged cheques signed by corrupt officials and failed to deliver the securities. Mehta made the prices of the stocks soar high through fictitious practices and sold the stocks that he owned in these companies. The impact of the scam had many consequences, which included the losses incurred by lakhs of families and the immediate crash of the stock market. The index fell from 4500 to 2500 representing a loss of 1000  billion in market capitalization. The 1992 scam raised many questions involving bank officials responsible for being in collusion with Mehta. An interview with Montek Singh Ahluwalia (Secretary, economic affairs at the Ministry of Finance) revealed that many top bank officials were involved.


title: 1992 Indian stock market scam

text: In the early 90's, banks in India were not allowed to invest in the equity markets. However, they were expected to post profits and to retain a certain ratio (threshold) of their assets in government fixed interest bonds. Mehta squeezed capital out of the banking system to address this requirement of banks and pumped this money into the share market. He promised the banks higher rates of interest, while asking them to transfer the money into his personal account, under the guise of buying securities for them from other banks. At that time, a bank had to go through a broker to buy securities and forward bonds from other banks. Mehta used this money temporarily in his account to buy shares, hike up demand of certain shares (such as that of ACC, Sterlite Industries, and Videocon) dramatically, sell them off, pass on a part of the proceeds to the bank and keep the rest for himself. This resulted in stocks like ACC, which was trading in 1991 for ₹200/share, catapult to nearly ₹9,000 in just 3 months.


title: 1992 Indian stock market scam

text: Another major instrument was the bank receipt (BR). In a ready forward deal, securities were not moved back and forth in actuality. Instead, the borrower, i.e. the seller of securities, gave the buyer of the securities a BR. The BR serves as a receipt from the selling bank, and also promises that the buyer will receive the securities they have paid for at the end of the term. Having figured this out, Mehta needed banks, which could issue fake BRs, or BRs not backed by any government securities.


title: 1992 Indian stock market scam

text: Once these fake BRs were issued, they were passed on to other banks and the banks in turn gave money to Mehta, plainly assuming that they were lending against government securities when this was not really the case. He took the price of ACC from ₹200 to ₹9,000. That was an increase of 4,400%. Since he had to book profits in the end, the day he sold was the day when the markets crashed.


title: 1992 Indian stock market scam

text: The ready forward deal is a way where a single broker liaisons between two banks. When one bank wants to sell securities, it approaches the broker. This broker goes to another bank and tries to sell the securities and vice versa for buying. Since Mehta was a renowned broker, he got cheques issued in his name instead of the bank. When the bank wanted money for the securities, he approached another bank and repeated the same process, and invested the bank money in the stock market. Mehta used the ready forward deal and applied it to the Bank Receipts system of the Indian financial systems. This system was the most flawed system as the Janakiraman Committee restructured the entire Bank Receipts system after the 1992 scam.


title: 1992 Indian stock market scam

text: Mehta used forged BR's to gain unsecured loans, and used several small banks to issue BRs on demand. Since these banks were small, Mehta held on to the receipts as long as he wanted. The cheques in favour of both the banks were credited into the brokers' accounts which was the account of Mehta. As a result, banks made heavy investments in BOK and MCB as they showed positive signs of growth. Using the BR scam, Mehta took the price of ACC from ₹200 to ₹9000 in a short span of time. This 4400% percent increase was seen in several other stocks and as he sold the stocks, the market crashed.


title: 1992 Indian stock market scam

text: This went on as long as the stock prices kept going up, and no one had a clue about Mehta's operations. Once the scam was exposed, though, a lot of banks were left holding BRs which did not have any value – the banking system had been swindled of a whopping . They knew that they would be accused if their involvement in issuing cheques to Mehta was discovered. Subsequently, it transpired that Citibank, brokers like Pallav Sheth and Ajay Kayan, industrialists like Aditya Birla, Hemendra Kothari, a number of politicians, and the RBI Governor S.Venkitaramanan all had played a role in allowing or facilitating Mehta's rigging of the share market.


title: 1992 Indian stock market scam

text: The scam first became apparent in late April 1992, when it became clear that Mehta was a disproportionately large investor in government securities. At the time, Mehta was doing more than a third of the total securities business in India. When the public realized that Mehta's investments were illegitimate and that his stocks were likely worthless, it set off a selling frenzy of Mehta's stocks. The banks that had loaned money to Mehta were suddenly holding hundreds of millions in unsecured loans. The combination of the selling frenzy and the fact that numerous banks been defrauded crashed the Indian stock market, with prices dropping 40% immediately. Stocks eventually dropped 72%, and a bear market lasted for about 2 years.


title: 1992 Indian stock market scam

text: Exploiting several loopholes in the banking system, Mehta and his associates siphoned off funds from inter-bank transactions and bought shares at a premium across many segments, triggering a rise in the BSE SENSEX. When the scheme was exposed, banks started demanding their money back, causing the collapse. He was later charged with 72 criminal offences, and more than 600 civil action suits were filed against him.


title: 1992 Indian stock market scam

text: He was arrested and banished from the stock market with investors holding him responsible for causing losses to various entities. Mehta and his brothers were arrested by the CBI on 9 November 1992 for allegedly misappropriating more than 2.8 million shares of about 90 companies through forged share transfer forms. The total value of the shares misappropriation was placed at .


title: 1992 Indian stock market scam

text: Mehta made a brief comeback as a stock market guru, giving tips on his own website as well as a weekly newspaper column. However, in September 1999, Bombay High Court convicted and sentenced him to five years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of . On 14 January 2003, The Supreme Court of India confirmed High Court's judgement in a 2–1 decision. While Justice B.N. Agrawal and Justice Arijit Pasayat upheld his conviction, Justice M.B. Shah voted to acquit him.


title: 1992 Indian stock market scam

text: Mehta raised a furore on announcing that he had paid ₹10 million to the then Congress President and Prime Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao, as a donation to the party, for getting him off the scandal case.


title: 1992 Indian stock market scam

text: The immediate impact was a drastic fall in share prices and market index, causing a breakdown of the securities control system operation with the commercial banks and the RBI. Around ₹35 billion from the ₹2,500 billion market was withdrawn, causing the share market collapse. The Bombay Stock shares resorted to records tampering in the trading system. It caused panic with the public and banks were severely impacted. Banks like Standard Chartered and ANZ Grindlays were implicated in the scam for bank receipt forgery and transfer of money into Mehta's personal account. The government realized that the fundamental problem with the financial structure of the stock markets was the lack of computerized systems which impacted the whole stock market.


title: 1992 Indian stock market scam

text: Various bank officers were investigated and implicated in fraudulent charges. The five main accused officials were related to the Financial Fairgrowth Services Limited (FFSL) and Andhra Bank Financial Services Ltd (ABFSL). The chairman of Vijaya Bank committed suicide following the news about the bank receipt scam. The scam led to the resignation of P. Chidambaram who was accused of owning shell companies connected to Mehta. Mehta was convicted by the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court of India for his part in the financial scandal valued at ₹49.99 billion (US$740 million). Various bank officials were arrested, leading to a complete breakdown of banking systems


title: 1992 Indian stock market scam

text: The first reform was the formation of the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE). It was followed by the development of the CII Code for Desirable Corporate Governance by Rahul Bajaj. The CII Code commanded the formation of two major committees headed by Kumar Mangalam Birla and N. R. Narayana Murthy, and overseen by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The objective was to monitor corporate governance and prevent future scams. The SEBI were to monitor the NSE and the National Securities Depository. For the equity market, the government introduced ten acts of parliament and one constitutional amendment based upon the principles of economic reform and legislative changes. The introduction of online trading by NSE changed the dynamics of stock buying and selling. The financial market opened up nationally rather than being confined to Bombay (now, Mumbai).


title: 1992 Indian stock market scam

text: The 1992 scam collapsed the Indian stock market; around 40% of the market value or ₹1,000 billion was wiped out. It led the authorities to reconsider existing financial systems and restructure it. The first structural change was to record payments made for purchasing investments in reconciled bank receipts and subsidiary general ledgers to prevent fraudulent transactions. On the advice of the Janakiraman Committee, a committee was established to oversee the Securities and Exchange Board of India. The primary recommendation of the committee was to limit ready forward and double ready forward deals to government securities only. All banks were made custodians rather than principals in transactions. Banks were to have a separate audit system for portfolios, and it were to be monitored by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).


title: 1992 Indian stock market scam

text: "Gafla" is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language crime drama film directed by Sameer Hanchate inspired by this incident. The scam was dramatized in the 2020 web series "Scam 1992", created by Hansal Mehta, with Pratik Gandhi and Shreya Dhanwanthary playing the roles of Harshad Mehta and Sucheta Dalal respectively. The series was adapted from journalist Sucheta Dalal and Debashish Basu's 1992 book "The Scam: Who Won, who Lost, who Got Away". The scam was portrayed in the 2020 Indian webseries, "The Bull Of Dalal Street" on Ullu. "The Big Bull" is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Kookie Gulati, starring Abhishek Bachchan as Harshad Mehta loosely based on his life and the 1992 scam.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Ruy Lopez (; ), also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Ruy Lopez is named after 16th-century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura. It is one of the most popular openings, with many variations. In the "Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings" ("ECO"), all codes from C60 to C99 are assigned to the Ruy Lopez.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The opening is named after the 16th-century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess "Libro del Ajedrez", written in 1561. Although it bears his name, this particular opening was included in the Göttingen manuscript, which dates from c.1490. Popular use of the Ruy Lopez opening did not develop, however, until the mid-19th century, when the Russian theoretician Carl Jaenisch "rediscovered" its potential. The opening remains the most commonly used amongst the open games in master play; it has been adopted by almost all players during their careers, many of whom have played it with both colours. Due to the difficulty for Black in achieving equality, a common nickname for the opening is "The Spanish Torture".


title: Ruy Lopez

text: At the most basic level, White's third move attacks the knight that defends the e5-pawn from the attack by the f3-knight. White's apparent threat to win Black's e-pawn with 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nxe5 is illusory—Black can respond 5...Qd4, forking the knight and e4-pawn, winning back the with a good position. White's 3.Bb5 is still a good move, however; it a piece, prepares castling, and sets up a potential pin against Black's king. Since White's third move carries no immediate threat, Black can respond in a wide variety of ways.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: Traditionally, White's objective in playing the Ruy Lopez is to spoil Black's pawn structure; either way Black recaptures following the exchange on c6 will have negative features, although recapturing gains the . In modern practice, however, White does not always exchange bishop for knight on c6, preferring the retreat 4.Ba4 if chased by 3...a6.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The theory of the Ruy Lopez is the most extensively developed of all Open Games, with some lines having been analysed well beyond move thirty. At nearly every move there are many reasonable alternatives, and most have been deeply explored. It is convenient to divide the possibilities into two groups based on whether or not Black responds with 3...a6, the Morphy Defence, named after Paul Morphy, although he was not the originator of the line. The variations with Black moves other than 3...a6 are older and generally simpler, but the Morphy Defence lines are more commonly played.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The most commonly played third move for Black is the Morphy Defence, 3...a6, a move which forces White to decide whether to retreat or to exchange for Black's knight. The Morphy Defence thus "puts the question" to the white bishop, a traditional usage which Larry Evans attributed to Aron Nimzowitsch. The main point of 3...a6 is that after the common retreat 4.Ba4, Black will have the possibility of breaking a future pin on the by playing ...b5. White must take some care not to fall into the Noah's Ark Trap, in which Black traps White's on the b3-square with a ...a6, ...b5, and ...c4 pawn advance on the .


title: Ruy Lopez

text: Ercole del Rio, in his 1750 treatise "Sopra il giuoco degli Scacchi, Osservazioni pratiche dell'anonimo Modenese" (On the game of Chess, practical Observations by an anonymous Modenese), was the first author to mention 3...a6. The move became popular after it was played by Paul Morphy, however, and it is named for him. An influential chess player at that time, Wilhelm Steinitz, did not approve of the move, however; in 1889, he wrote, "on principle this ought to be disadvantageous as it drives the bishop where it wants to go". Steinitz's opinion did not prevail, however; today, 3...a6 is played in over 65 percent of all games beginning with the Ruy Lopez.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: After 3...a6, the most commonly played line is the Closed Defence, which goes 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7, discussed in the two following sections. Alternatives to the Closed Defence described in this section are:


title: Ruy Lopez

text: In the Exchange Variation, 4.Bxc6, ("ECO" C68–C69) White damages Black's pawn structure, giving them a ready-made long-term plan of playing d4 ...exd4 Qxd4, followed by exchanging all the pieces and winning the pure pawn ending. Max Euwe gives the pure pawn ending in this position (with all pieces except kings removed) as a win for White. Black gains good compensation in the form of the bishop pair, however, and the variation is not considered White's most ambitious, though former world champions Emanuel Lasker and Bobby Fischer employed it with success.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: After 4.Bxc6, Black almost always responds 4...dxc6. The similar move 4...bxc6 is rarely played due to the reply 5.d4 exd4 6.Qxd4 which gives White control of the centre. After 4...dxc6, the obvious 5.Nxe5 is weak, since 5...Qd4 6.Nf3 Qxe4+ 7.Qe2 Qxe2+ 8.Kxe2 leaves White with no compensation for Black's bishop pair.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Emanuel Lasker had great success with 5.d4 exd4 6.Qxd4 Qxd4 7.Nxd4, most notably his famous win against José Raúl Capablanca in the St. Petersburg 1914 chess tournament.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: Since then, better defences for Black have been developed, and this line is considered to slightly favour Black. Jon Jacobs wrote in the July 2005 "Chess Life" (p. 21): "A database search (limited to games longer than 20 moves, both players FIDE 2300+) reveals the position after 7.Nxd4 was reached 20 times from 1985–2002. White's results were abysmal: +0−7=13."


title: Ruy Lopez

text: After 5.Nc3, Black usually plays 5...f6 to defend the e-pawn. A notable game is Adhiban–Nakamura from the 2013 FIDE World Cup.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The flexible 5.0-0 is sometimes called the Barendregt Variation, but it was Fischer who developed it into a serious weapon in the 1960s. Unlike 5.d4, it forces Black to defend the e-pawn, usually with 5...f6, 5...Bg4, 5...Qd6 (the sharpest line, preparing queenside castling), 5...Qf6, 5...Qe7, or 5...Bd6. Some other moves that have been played are 5...Ne7, 5...Be7, and 5...Be6. The idea behind these three moves is that if White plays 6.Nxe5, Black plays 6...Qd4, forking the knight and the e4-pawn. The move ...Qd4, regaining the pawn at e4, is usually impossible in these variations once White has castled, due to the open e-file.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: Notable games are Fischer–Portisch, and Fischer–Gligorić, both played at the 17th Chess Olympiad in Havana 1966.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: White may also delay the exchange for a move or two: 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.Bxc6 or 5.0-0 Be7 6.Bxc6 (the Delayed Exchange Deferred), for example; at first glance this seems a waste of time, but Black having played ...Nf6 rules out defending the pawn with ...f6, and the bishop already being on e7 means that ...Bd6 would be a loss of tempo.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Norwegian Variation (also called the Taimanov or Wing Variation) ("ECO" C70), 3...a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 Na5 aims to eliminate the white bishop but is generally considered too time-consuming for Black. The usual continuation is 6.0-0 d6 7.d4 Nxb3, but the speculative sacrifice 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Nxe5+, which drives the black king out, has been played. With accurate play, however, Black can avoid any disadvantage while holding onto the extra piece.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: In the 1950s, Mark Taimanov played it with some success, though it remained a sideline, as it has to this day. This defence has been known since the 1880s and was reintroduced in 1901 by Carl Schlechter. The Norwegian connection was first introduced by Svein Johannessen who played the line from 1957 and later strengthened when Simen Agdestein and some other Norwegian players adopted the variation. In 1995 Jonathan Tisdall published the article "Ruy Lopez. The Norwegian Variation" in New in Chess "Yearbook" 37.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Graz Defence, Classical Defence Deferred, and Møller Defence combine 3...a6 with the active move ...Bc5.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: For a century it was believed that it was safer for Black to place the bishop on e7, but it is much more active on c5.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: White can gain time after playing d4 as the black bishop will have to move, but this does not always seem to be as important as was once thought.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Møller Defence, 3...a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Bc5 was already an old line in 1903 when Jørgen Møller (1873–1944) analysed it in "Tidskrift för Schack". Alexander Alekhine played this for Black in the early portion of his career; despite his advocacy, it never achieved great popularity, and even he eventually came to consider it dubious.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Graz Defence, 3...a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 Bc5, was analysed by Alois Fink (b. 1910) in "Österreichische Schachzeitung" in 1956 and in "Wiener Schach Nachrichten" in 1979, although it did not become popular until the 1990s.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: In the Modern Steinitz Defence (also called Neo-Steinitz Defence) ("ECO" C71–C76), Black interpolates 3...a6 4.Ba4 before playing 4...d6, which was frequently played by Alexander Alekhine, José Raúl Capablanca, and Paul Keres. The possibility of breaking the pin with a timely ...b5 gives Black more latitude than in the Old Steinitz Defence; in particular, in the Old Steinitz, White can practically force Black to give up the stronghold at e5, but in the Modern Steinitz, Black is able to maintain control of the . Most plausible White moves are playable here, including 5.c3, 5.c4, 5.Bxc6, 5.d4, and 5.0-0. The sharp Siesta Variation arises after 5.c3 f5, while a manoeuvring game results from the calmer 5.c3 Bd7 6.d4. The game is also sharp after 5.Bxc6+ bxc6 6.d4 ("ECO" C73) or 5.0-0 Bg4 6.h3 h5 ("ECO" C72). The older lines starting with 5.c4 and 5.d4 are not regarded as testing for Black, though the latter offers a tricky gambit. There are six "ECO" classifications for the Modern Steinitz. White's responses 5.d4, 5.Nc3, and 5.c4 are included in C71, while 5.0-0 is C72. The delayed exchange 5.Bxc6+ bxc6 6.d4 is C73. C74–C76 all begin with 5.c3. C74 covers 5...Nf6, but primarily focuses on 5...f5 6.exf5 Bxf5 with 7.d4 or 7.0-0. C75's main continuation is 5...Bd7 6.d4 Nge7, the Rubinstein Variation. C76 is characterised by the Black fianchetto 5...Bd7 6.d4 g6.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Schliemann Defence Deferred, 3...a6 4.Ba4 f5, is rarely seen, with practically its only top-level appearance being in the 1974 Candidates Final, when Viktor Korchnoi adopted it versus Anatoly Karpov. It is considered inferior to the regular Schliemann, since White can answer effectively with 5.d4! exd4 6.e5.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The variation 5.d4 ("ECO" C77), named after George Henry Mackenzie who employed it on a regular basis, is an old line which, according to modern theory, does not promise White any advantage, though is adopted as an alternative to the main variation 5.0-0. The main line continues with 5...exd4 (5...Nxe4 6.0-0 transposes to the Open Defence) 6.0-0 (6.e5 Ne4 is harmless) Be7 (6...Nxe4 transposes to the Riga Variation of the Open Defence) which leads to the Centre Attack ("ECO" C84) of the Closed Defence.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Steinitz Defence Deferred ("ECO" C79) also called Russian Defence. With the move order 3...a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 d6, Black waits until White castles before playing ...d6. This can enable Black to avoid some lines in the Steinitz Defence Deferred in which White castles queenside, although the position of the knight on f6 also precludes Black from supporting the centre with ...f7–f6. These nuances seem to have little importance today, as neither the Steinitz Defence Deferred nor the Russian Defence have been popular for many years.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: Mikhail Chigorin played the Russian Defence in the 1890s, and later it was adopted by Akiba Rubinstein and Alekhine. The last significant use of the Russian Defence was in the 1950s, when it was played by some Russian masters. Today, however, it has purely practical value, as White has found numerous ways to an opening advantage by quickly opening lines in the center, where Black's developmental lag seems to be a significant factor.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Arkhangelsk Defence (or Archangel Defence) ("ECO" C78) was popularized by Soviet players from the city of Arkhangelsk such as GM Vladimir Malaniuk. The variation begins 3...a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bb7. This line often leads to sharp positions in which Black wagers that the fianchettoed bishop's influence on the centre and kingside will offset Black's delay in castling. White has several options, including attempting to build an ideal pawn centre with c3 and d4, defending the e-pawn with Re1 or simply developing. The Arkhangelsk Defence is tactically justified by Black's ability to meet 7.Ng5 with 7...d5 8.exd5 Nd4! (not 8...Nxd5, when White gets the advantage with 9.Qh5 g6 10.Qf3).


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Modern Arkhangelsk Defence (or Modern Archangel Defence) ("ECO" C78) is a refinement of the regular Arkhangelsk Defence by incorporating ideas similar to the Møller Defence. Black normally does not fianchetto the Queen's bishop, which would transpose to regular Arkhangelsk setups, but plays ...Bg4 to increase the pressure against White's pawn centre. White's main continuation is 7.a4 after which Black responds with the typical move 7...Rb8 reaching the starting point of this highly complex variation. Another line is the more traditional 7.c3 d6 8.d4 and after 8...Bb6 Black's position is fine. 8...exd4 occurred in Löwenthal–Morphy, London 1859, which seems to be the first time this variation was ever played. Fabiano Caruana is one of the most notable players of this variation, employing it in the Candidates Tournament 2020.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: In the Open Defence, 3...a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Nxe4, Black tries to make use of the time White will take to regain the pawn to gain a foothold in the centre, with play usually continuing 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 (but not 7...exd4? 8.Re1 d5 9.Nc3!, Bobby Fischer–Petar Trifunović, Bled 1961).


title: Ruy Lopez

text: Here 8.Nxe5, once adopted by Fischer, is much less often seen, and Black should equalise after the accurate 8...Nxe5 9.dxe5 c6, which avoids prematurely committing the light-squared bishop and solidly defends d5, often a problem in the Open.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Riga Variation, 6...exd4, is considered inferior; the main line runs 7.Re1 d5 8.Nxd4 Bd6! 9.Nxc6 Bxh2+! 10.Kh1! (10.Kxh2 Qh4+ 11.Kg1 Qxf2+ draws by perpetual check.) Qh4 11.Rxe4+! dxe4 12.Qd8+! Qxd8 13.Nxd8+ Kxd8 14.Kxh2 Be6 (14...f5 15.Bg5!) and now the endgame is considered to favour White after 15.Be3 or Nd2 (but not 15.Nc3 c5!, playing to trap the bishop). A famous example of this line is the game José Raúl Capablanca–Edward Lasker, New York 1915. White is objectively better here, but Black keeps some good practical chances owing to the sharp positions that occur.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The classical line starts with 9.c3 when Black may choose 9...Be7 (the main line) or the aggressive 9...Bc5.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: After 9.c3 Bc5 10.Nbd2 0-0 11.Bc2, Black must meet the attack on e4, with the following possibilities from which to choose: 11...f5, 11...Bf5, both of which aim to maintain the strongpoint on e4, or the forcing line 11...Nxf2, introduced by the English amateur Vernon Dilworth.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: Today, 9.Be3 Be7 10.c3 is often used to transpose into the main line, 9.c3, while obviating the option of the Dilworth.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: An old continuation is 11...f5, when after 12.Nb3 Bb6 13.Nfd4 Nxd4 14.Nxd4 Bxd4 White can gain some advantage with Bogoljubov's 15.Qxd4. Instead, the very sharp La Grande Variante continues 15.cxd4 f4 16.f3 Ng3 17.hxg3 fxg3 18.Qd3 Bf5 19.Qxf5 Rxf5 20.Bxf5 Qh4 21.Bh3 Qxd4+ 22.Kh1 Qxe5, with unclear consequences. Perhaps the most famous game in this variation is Smyslov–Reshevsky, 1945 USSR–USA Radio Match. An analysis of the line had just been published in a Russian chess magazine, and Smyslov was able to follow it to quickly obtain a winning position. Reshevsky had not seen the analysis and he struggled in vain to solve the position over the board with his chess clock running. The Dilworth Variation (or Attack), 11...Nxf2 12.Rxf2 f6 13.exf6 Bxf2+ 14.Kxf2 Qxf6 has scored well for Black, with many traps for the ill-prepared White player. The main line leads to unbalanced endgames which are difficult to play for both sides, though with a strong drawing tendency. Artur Yusupov is one of the few grandmasters who has adopted the Dilworth repeatedly.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: In the Howell Attack ("ECO" C81), 9.Qe2, White aims for play against d5 after Rd1. The game usually continues 9...Be7 10.Rd1 followed by 10...Nc5 or 10...0-0. Paul Keres played this line against Max Euwe and Samuel Reshevsky at the World Chess Championship tournament 1948. This has been played at the top by World No.2 Fabiano Caruana among others, and he recommends this in his video series for Chessbase.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: Karpov's move, 9.Nbd2, limits Black's options. In the 1978 Karpov–Korchnoi World Chess Championship match, following 9.Nbd2 Nc5 10.c3 d4 (10...Be7 is an old move that remains popular) Karpov introduced the surprising 11.Ng5, a move suggested by his trainer, Igor Zaitsev. If Black takes the knight with 11...Qxg5 White regains the material with 12.Qf3. This variation played a decisive role in a later World Championship match, Kasparov–Anand 1995, when Anand was unable to successfully defend as Black.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: In the main line, White normally retreats the bishop with 4.Ba4, when the usual continuation is 4...Nf6 5.0-0 Be7.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: Usually White defends the e-pawn with 6.Re1 which, in turn, threatens Black with the loss of a pawn after 7.Bxc6 and 8.Nxe5.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: Although it is possible to defend the pawn with 6...d6, Black most commonly averts this threat by driving away the white bishop with 6...b5 7.Bb3.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: After 4...Nf6 5.0-0 Be7, the most frequently seen continuation is 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0, discussed in the next section.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Delayed Exchange Variation Deferred (or Exchange Variation Doubly Deferred) ("ECO" C85), 6.Bxc6, loses a tempo compared to the Exchange Variation, though in compensation, the black knight on f6 and bishop on e7 are awkwardly placed. The knight on f6 prevents Black from supporting the e-pawn with ...f7–f6, and the bishop is somewhat passively posted on e7.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Centre Attack (or Centre Variation) ("ECO" C84), 6.d4, leads to sharp play. After 6...exd4 (6...Nxe4 and 6...b5 are viable alternatives) 7.Re1 b5 (7...0-0 8.e5 Ne8 is a playable alternative) White can play either 8.Bb3 or the sharp 8.e5. In case of the immediate 7.e5 Black takes advantage of the absence of the white rook from e1 and plays 7...Ne4 with the idea of 8...Nc5.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: In the Worrall Attack ("ECO" C86), White substitutes 6.Qe2 for 6.Re1. The idea is that the queen will support the e-pawn, leaving the rook free to move to d1 to support the advance of the d-pawn, although there is not always time for this. Play normally continues 6...b5 7.Bb3 followed by 7...0-0 8.c3 and 8...d5 or 8...d6.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: Paul Keres played the line several times. More recently, Sergei Tiviakov has played it, as has Nigel Short, who essayed it twice in his 1992 match against Anatoly Karpov and won both games.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: By playing 6.d3 White steers clear of the Marshall Attack and any of the anti-Marshall lines. White threatens 7.Bxc6 winning the e5-pawn leaving Black a choice of either 6...d6 or 6...b5. After 6...d6 the e5-pawn is firmly defended and Black threatens to trade off White's Ruy Lopez bishop with 7...b5 and 8...Na5. White normally continues with 7.c3, and after 8...0-0 White can choose between 9.Nbd2 or 9 Re1. Black can also play 6...b5, and after 7.Bb3 d6 (7...0-0 is a viable alternative) White has to deal with the threat of 8...Na5 by playing 8.a3 (8.c3 or 8.a4 are perfectly playable as well), and after 8...0-0 (the immediate 8...Na5 is also feasible) 9.Nc3 we have reached a modern of the Ruy Lopez. This position was first reached in a high-level encounter between Viswanathan Anand and Michael Adams, Grenke Chess Classic 2013. 6.d3 has gained wide popularity among the top players and has almost supplanted the Ruy Lopez main line with 6.Re1.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: This variation can transpose into 6.Re1 lines but with a potentially advantageous move order. For example, in the 8.a4 anti-Marshall variation which can ensue after 6.Re1, one of the mainlines is 8...Bb7 9.d3, which can also be reached by way of 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.a4 Bb7 9.Re1. A perhaps more challenging response to the anti-Marshall is 8...b4, after which White may wish to ambitiously play 9.a5 (preventing ...Na5) d6 10.d3 Be6!, where White cannot avoid the trade of bishops (the main moves being either 11.Bxe6 or 11.Nbd2 Bxb3). If Black elects not to exchange, however, we may see 11.Nbd2 Rb8 12.Nc4 where White may retain some pull in the position. On the other hand, to be considered is 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.a4 b4 9.a5 d6 10.Nbd2 Be6 11.Nc4!, where White has avoided the exchange and can transpose directly to the anti-Marshall line if desired by playing Re1 later. Play may also in some rare cases transpose to a traditional closed Spanish (with 7...d6) after something like 6.d3 d6 7.c3 0-0 8.Re1 b5 9.Bc2 Bb7 10.Nbd2 Re8 11.h3 Bf8 12.d4, reaching a reasonably well-trodden position in the Zaitsev system, though both players may deviate at many points in this line.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: In the Averbakh Variation (C87), named for Yuri Averbakh, Black defends the threatened e-pawn with 6...d6 instead of driving away the white bishop with the more common 6...b5. This defence shares some similarities with the Modern Steinitz and Russian Defences as Black avoids the ...b5 advance that weakens the queenside. White can reply with either 7.Bxc6 bxc6 8.d4 or 7.c3 Bg4 (it is too late for Black to transpose into the more usual lines of the Closed Defence, because 7...b5 would allow 8.Bc2, saving White a tempo over the two-move sequence Bb3–c2 found in other variations). The pin temporarily prevents White from playing d2–d4. In response, White can either force d4 with 8.h3 Bh5 9.Bxc6 bxc6 10.d4, or postpone d4 for the time being and play 8.d3 followed by manoeuvering the queen knight to the kingside with Nbd2–f1–g3.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: An alternative to 6...d6 is 6...b5 7.Bb3 Bb7. This is known as the Trajković Variation. Black may sacrifice a pawn with 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 Nf4.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: After 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3, Black often plays 7...0-0. White can circumvent the Marshall Attack after 8.c3 d5 and play any of the alternative moves 8.a4, 8.h3, 8.d4, and 8.d3, which are commonly referred to as "anti-Marshall" systems, as they try to deter Black from playing ...d5.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: When White opts for 8.c3, Black, in addition to transposing to the main line with 8...d6, can play 8...d5, introducing the Marshall Attack.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: One of Black's more aggressive alternatives is the Marshall Attack: after 3...a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 Black plays the gambit 8...d5, sacrificing a pawn. The main line begins with 9.exd5 Nxd5 (9...e4?!, the Herman Steiner variation, is considered weaker) 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 (Marshall's original moves, 11...Nf6, and 11...Bb7 are considered inferior, but have also yielded good results at top levels of play for Black. GM Joel Benjamin suggests that 11...Bb7 is inferior due to 12.Qf3 ). The resulting position is shown in the diagram. To the casual observer it might seem that Black has been careless and lost a pawn; however, the sacrifice has also stripped off White's kingside defenders, given Black a lead in development, and rendered White's 8.c3 irrelevant. Since Black's compensation is based on rather than considerations, it is difficult or perhaps impossible to find a refutation. Black generally goes all-in with a massive kingside attack, which has been analysed to great depth (sometimes beyond move 30) with no definite conclusion as to the Marshall's soundness. The Marshall Attack is a very sharp opening system in which a great amount of theoretical knowledge is vital, and many White players, including Garry Kasparov, avoid it by playing one of the anti-Marshall systems, 8.d4, 8.a4 or 8.h3 instead of 8.c3.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: This gambit became famous when Frank James Marshall used it as a against José Raúl Capablanca in 1918; nevertheless, Capablanca found a way through the complications and won. It is often said that Marshall had kept this gambit a secret for use against Capablanca since his defeat in their 1909 match. The most common counterclaim is that Marshall had used a similar approach in 1917 against Walter Frere. However, Edward Winter found no clear evidence of the date for Frere–Marshall; several games between 1910 and 1918 where Marshall passed up opportunities to use the Marshall Attack against Capablanca; and an 1893 game that used the same line as in Frere–Marshall.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: Improvements to Black's play were found (Marshall played 11...Nf6!? originally, but later discovered 11...c6!) and the Marshall Attack was adopted by top players including Boris Spassky, John Nunn, and more recently Michael Adams. In the Classical World Chess Championship 2004, challenger Peter Leko used the Marshall to win an important game against World Champion Vladimir Kramnik.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The main lines of the Closed Ruy Lopez continue 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0. White can now play 9.d3 or 9.d4, but by far the most common move is 9.h3 which prepares d4 while preventing the awkward pin ...Bg4. This can be considered the main line of the opening as a whole, and thousands of top-level games have reached this position. White aims to play d4 followed by Nbd2–f1–g3, which would firmly support e4 with the bishops on open diagonals and both knights threatening Black's kingside. Black will try to counter this knight manoeuver by expanding on the queenside, taking action in the centre, or putting pressure on e4.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Pilnik Variation, named for Hermann Pilnik, is also known as the Teichmann Variation from the game Teichmann–Schlechter, Karlsbad 1911. White plays 9.d3 intending to later advance to d4 under favourable circumstances. Although d2–d3–d4 appears to lose a tempo compared to d2–d4, White may be able to omit h3 regaining the tempo, especially if Black plays ...Bb7.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: White usually plays 9.h3 instead of 9.d4 (the Yates Variation) because after 9.d4 Bg4 (the Bogoljubow Variation), the pin of the white king knight is troublesome. The variation takes its name from the game Capablanca–Bogoljubow, London 1922.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Chigorin Variation was refined by Mikhail Chigorin around the turn of the 20th century and became the primary Black defence to the Ruy Lopez for more than fifty years. With 9...Na5 Black chases the white bishop from the a2–g8 diagonal and frees the c-pawn for queenside expansion. After 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 the classical Black follow up is 11...Qc7, reinforcing e5 and placing the queen on the c-file which may later become open after ...cxd4. Other Black moves in this position are 11...Bb7 and 11...Nd7; the latter was adopted by Keres a few times in the 1960s. The Chigorin Variation has declined in popularity because Black must spend some time bringing his offside knight on a5 back into the game.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Chigorin is divided into four "ECO" classifications. In C96, Black or White deviate after 10.Bc2, and do not reach the classical main line position 10...c5 11.d4 Qc7. In C97, White proceeds from the diagram with 12.a4, 12.d5, 12.b4, or the main line 12.Nbd2 when Black responds with ...Be6, ...Rd8, ...Re8, ...Bb7 or ...Bd7. The C98 classification covers 12.Nbd2 Nc6, while C99 covers 12.Nbd2 cxd4 13.cxd4.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Breyer Variation was recommended by Gyula Breyer as early as 1911, but there are no known game records in which Breyer employed this line. The Breyer Variation did not become popular until the 1960s when it was adopted by Boris Spassky and others. In particular, Spassky's back to back wins over Mikhail Tal at Tbilisi in 1965 did much to enhance its reputation, and Spassky has a career-plus score with the Breyer. The variation was the choice of many top level players as White has had trouble proving an advantage against it. Nowadays, however, this variation is considered too passive, and players prefer to play the Berlin or the Petroff as they seem to equalise more easily.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: With 9...Nb8 Black frees the c-pawn and intends to route the knight to d7 where it supports e5. If White fortifies the centre with 10.d3 the opening is classified "ECO" code C94. The more common continuation, 10.d4, is "ECO" C95. The main line continues 10.d4 Nbd7 11.Nbd2 Bb7 12.Bc2 Re8 13.Nf1 Bf8. Black is threatening to win the e4-pawn via ...exd4 uncovering an attack on the pawn, so White plays 14.Ng3. Black generally plays 14...g6 to stop White's knight from going to f5. White then usually tries to attack the Black queenside via 15.a4. Black seeks in the centre via 15...c5. White can attack either the kingside or the queenside. This forces resolution of the centre via 16.d5. Black can exploit the weak squares on the queenside via 16...c4. White will try to attack on the kingside via 17.Bg5, moving forces to the kingside. Black will kick the bishop with 17...h6. The logical retreat is 18.Be3, which is met by 18...Nc5. White plays 19.Qd2, forcing 19...h5. The point of this manoeuver was to weaken Black's kingside.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Zaitsev Variation (also called the Flohr–Zaitsev Variation) was advocated by Igor Zaitsev, who was one of Karpov's trainers for many years. A Karpov favourite, the Zaitsev remains one of the most important variations of the Ruy Lopez. With 9...Bb7 Black prepares to put more pressure on e4 after 10.d4 Re8 11.Nbd2 Bf8, when play can become very sharp and tactical. One drawback of this line if Black is playing for a win is that White can force Black to choose a different defence or allow a draw by repetition of position with 11.Ng5 Rf8 12.Nf3. Today the theory in the Zaitsev variations extends beyond the middlegame, and it is rarely seen at the top levels because of the need to remember a lot of theory.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: Karpov tried 9...Nd7 several times in the 1990 World Championship match, but Kasparov achieved a significant advantage against it in the 18th game. It is solid but slightly passive. Confusingly 9...Nd7 is also called the Chigorin Variation so there are two variations of the Ruy Lopez with that name, but 9...Na5 is the move more commonly associated with Chigorin. This defence is also known as the Keres Variation, after Paul Keres.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Kholmov Variation, 9...Be6, was popular in the 1980s but is now played less often at the master level. The main line runs 10.d4 Bxb3 11.axb3 (11.Qxb3 is another option) exd4 12.cxd4 d5 13.e5 Ne4 14.Nc3 f5 15.exf6 Bxf6 16.Nxe4 dxe4 17.Rxe4 Qd5 18.Rg4, when it has been shown that White's extra pawn is more valuable than Black's more active and harmonised pieces.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Smyslov Variation ("ECO" C93) is a plan similar to that of the Zaitsev Variation. With 9...h6 Black prepares to play 10...Re8 and 11...Bf8 without fear of 10.Ng5. The loss of a tempo with 9...h6 gives White enough time to complete the Nbd2–f1–g3 manoeuver, and the pawn move can also weaken Black's kingside. The Zaitsev can be considered to be an improved Smyslov in which Black tries to save a tempo by omitting ...h6.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: Kasparov played the Smyslov Variation in a loss to the Deep Blue chess computer in Game 2 of their 1997 Man vs. Machine match.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: Of the variations in this section, the Berlin and Schliemann Defences are the most popular today, followed by the Classical Defence.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Cozio Defence (part of "ECO" C60), 3...Nge7, is distinctly old-fashioned and the least popular of the defences at Black's third move. Although Bent Larsen used it occasionally with success, it remains one of the least explored variations of the Ruy Lopez.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Smyslov Defence, Fianchetto Defence, Barnes Defence, or Pillsbury Defence (part of "ECO" C60), 3...g6, is a quiet positional system played occasionally by Vasily Smyslov and Boris Spassky, becoming popular in the 1980s when it was shown that 4.c3 a6! gives Black a good game.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: It was later discovered that 4.d4 exd4 5.Bg5 gives White the advantage, and as such the variation is rarely played today. An interesting gambit line 4.d4 exd4 5.c3 has also been recommended by Alexander Khalifman, although some of the resulting positions have yet to be extensively tested.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: Bird's Defence ("ECO" C61), 3...Nd4, is an uncommon variation in modern praxis. With careful play White is held to gain an advantage. The best moves are 4.Nxd4 exd4 5.0-0 Bc5 6.d3 c6 7.Ba4 Ne7.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: This defence was published in 1843 in Paul Rudolf von Bilguer's "Handbuch des Schachspiels" and explored by Henry Bird in the late 19th century. Bird played it as Black at least 25 times, scoring +9−13=3 (nine wins, thirteen losses, three draws). Bird's Defence was later used a few times in tournament play by Siegbert Tarrasch, Boris Spassky, and Alexander Khalifman. Although it is still sometimes seen as a surprise weapon, no strong master since Bird has adopted it regularly. The world champion Magnus Carlsen played it as Black in the 2014 Chess Olympiad against Ivan Šarić and lost.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Steinitz Defence (also called the Old Steinitz Defence) ("ECO" C62), 3...d6, is solid but passive and cramped. Although the favourite of the first world champion Wilhelm Steinitz, and often played by world champions and expert defensive players Emanuel Lasker, José Capablanca, and occasionally by Vasily Smyslov, it largely fell into disuse after World War I, as its inherent passivity spurred a search for more active means of defending the Spanish.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: White's most direct approach is 4.d4 immediately challenging Black's pawn on e5, while 4.c3 and 4.0-0 remain viable alternatives. Following 4.d4, Black proceeds with 4...Bd7 which breaks the pin but also defends against White's threat of winning a pawn with 5.Bxc6 and 6.dxe5. Next White plays 5.Nc3 protecting e4 and renewing the threat of winning a pawn to which Black responds with 5...Nf6. After 6.0-0 Be7 7.Re1 Black is forced to concede the centre with 7...exd4, since 7...0-0? leads to the Tarrasch Trap.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Schliemann Defence or Schliemann–Jaenisch Gambit ("ECO" C63), 3...f5, is a sharp line in which Black plays for a kingside attack, frequently sacrificing one or two pawns. This variation was originated by Carl Jaenisch in 1847 and is sometimes named after him. Although later named for German lawyer Adolf Karl Wilhelm Schliemann (1817–1872), the line Schliemann actually played in the 1860s was a gambit variation of the Cordel Defence (3...Bc5 4.c3 f5). The most common responses for White to 3...f5!? are 4.d3 or 4.Nc3, with play after 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 going 5...d5, with great complications to follow, or 5...Nf6, which generally leads to quieter play. This line is considered to be a good practical weapon, but is positionally risky, especially against a strong and prepared opponent. Jozef Boey played it in the ICCF correspondence chess world championship final and wrote a book about it.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Classical Defence or Cordel Defence ("ECO" C64), 3...Bc5, is possibly the oldest defence to the Ruy Lopez, and has been played occasionally by former world champion Boris Spassky and Boris Gulko. White's most common reply is 4.c3, when Black may choose to play 4...f5, the Cordel Gambit, leading to sharp play, after which 5.d4 is considered the strongest reply. More solid for Black is 4...Nf6, when 5.0-0 0-0 6.d4 Bb6 leads to the Benelux Variation. White's principal alternative to 4.c3 is 4.0-0, when Black can transpose to the Classical Berlin with 4...Nf6 or play 4...Nd4, which is not so bad for Black.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: An alternative for White is the fork trick 4.Nxe5. Few games have been played with this line, but there is no clear refutation for Black. The name derives from White's play if Black captures the knight: 4...Nxe5 5.d4.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Berlin Defence, 3...Nf6, has long had a reputation for solidity and drawishness and is commonly referred to as "the Berlin Wall". The Berlin Defence was played in the late 19th century and early 20th century by Emanuel Lasker and others, who typically answered 4.0-0 with 4...d6 in the style of the Steinitz Defence. This approach ultimately fell out of favour, as had the old form of the Steinitz, due to its passivity, and the entire variation became rare. Arthur Bisguier played the Berlin for decades, but always chose the variation 4.0-0 Nxe4. Ever since Vladimir Kramnik successfully used the line as a against Garry Kasparov in their 2000 World Chess Championship match, the Berlin has experienced a remarkable renaissance: even players with a dynamic style such as Alexei Shirov, Veselin Topalov, Hikaru Nakamura, and Kasparov himself have tried it, and Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand both used it (Carlsen extensively so) during the 2013 World Chess Championship and 2014 World Chess Championship. Today this variation is the most common opening after 1.e4 e5 and almost all the top players regularly play it.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: Since Black's third move does not threaten to win the e-pawn—if Black captures it, White will win back the pawn on e5—White usually castles. After 4.0-0, Black can play either the solid 4...Nxe4 (the Berlin Main Variation) or the more combative 4...Bc5 (the Berlin Classical Variation). After 4...Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 (5...Be7 is the Rio de Janeiro Variation) 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 (l'Hermet Variation), White is considered to have a small advantage from a somewhat better pawn structure and Black's awkwardly placed king. Black, by way of compensation, possesses the and has no positional weaknesses, so it is difficult for White to exploit the structural superiority without opening the game for Black's bishops; all four of the games in the Kasparov–Kramnik match in which this line was employed ended in draws. An alternative for Black, though seldom seen since the 1890s, is 6...bxc6 7.dxe5 Nb7, although White keeps an advantage despite Black's two bishops, as it is difficult for him to gain active counterplay. Despite its drawish tendency, however, the Berlin endgame remains the sternest test of the entire variation beginning with 3...Nf6, and a lot of theory has evolved here. Today's consensus is that Black will hold with accurate play in the Berlin endgame, so players have moved on to the lines with 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.Re1, the modern main line, considered to be White's best try for an opening advantage, and advocated by Fabiano Caruana in his Chessbase Series on the Ruy Lopez opening.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: An important alternative is 4.d3, dubbed the Anti-Berlin, which avoids the notorious Berlin endgame. Wilhelm Steinitz scored many spectacular successes with it during his reign as World Champion. The main replies for Black are 4...d6 and 4...Bc5, the latter being more popular. White's most important continuations after 4...Bc5 are 5.0-0, 5.Bxc6, and 5.c3. An uncommon reply to 4.d3 is 4...Ne7, which tries to set up the Mortimer Trap.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: Another alternative is playing 4.Bxc6 immediately. The main replies for Black are 4...dxc6 and 4...bxc6, the latter of which is playable in the Berlin Defense, unlike the Exchange Variation in the Morphy Defense. This may transpose into the Anti-Berlin above if White continues with 5.d3, or in the case of 4...bxc6, to the main line with 5.0-0 Nxe4 or 5.d4 Nxe4, but White has other continuations to 4...bxc6, such as 5.Nc3, and Black has other replies to both 5.0-0 and 5.d4.


title: Ruy Lopez

text: The Berlin is assigned "ECO" codes C65–C67. Code C65 covers alternatives to 4.0-0, including 4.d3 as well as 4.0-0 Bc5. Code C66 covers 4.0-0 d6, while C67 is 4.0-0 Nxe4.


title: C-3PO

text: C-3PO () or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the "Star Wars" franchise who appears in the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Built by Anakin Skywalker, was designed as a protocol droid intended to assist in etiquette, customs, and translation, boasting that he is "fluent in over six million forms of communication". Along with his astromech droid counterpart and friend , provides comic relief within the narrative structure of the films, and serves as a foil. Anthony Daniels has portrayed the character in eleven of the twelve theatrical "Star Wars" films released to date, with the exception of "", where the character does not appear.


title: C-3PO

text: Despite his oblivious nature, has played a pivotal role in the galaxy's history, appearing under the service of Shmi Skywalker, the Lars homestead, Padmé Amidala, Bail Organa, Raymus Antilles, Luke Skywalker, Jabba the Hutt, and Leia Organa. In the majority of depictions, physical appearance is primarily a polished gold plating with a silver plated right leg (from knee joint to ankle), although his appearance varies throughout the films; including the absence of metal coverings in "The Phantom Menace", a dull copper plating in "Attack of the Clones", and a red left arm in "The Force Awakens". also appears frequently in both canon and "Star Wars Legends" continuities of novels, comic books, and video games, and was a protagonist in the animated television series "."


title: C-3PO

text: In "Star Wars", C-3PO is introduced to the audience when he and R2-D2 are aboard the consular ship "Tantive IV" when it is attacked by the Imperial Star Destroyer "Devastator". When R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) attempts to leave the ship to deliver a secret message from Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) to Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), C-3PO follows him into an escape pod, which lands on the planet Tatooine. There, the droids are captured by Jawas, and are taken to be sold. In the process of being sold to Owen Lars (Phil Brown), C-3PO convinces his new owner to buy R2-D2 as well (after they originally bought R5-D4 and his motivator exploded on the way back to the garage). The duo ultimately lead Lars' nephew, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), to Obi-Wan, for whom R2-D2 plays Leia's message. After Imperial stormtroopers destroy the Lars homestead, C-3PO and R2-D2 go along with Luke and Obi-Wan on a mission to rescue Leia, transported by smugglers Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) on board the "Millennium Falcon". When the ship is taken hostage on the Death Star, C-3PO helps R2-D2 shut down the space station's trash compactor, saving their human companions' lives, before escaping on board the "Falcon". When R2-D2 is damaged during the Battle of Yavin, a grief-stricken C-3PO offers to donate his own parts to help repair his counterpart. C-3PO and a repaired R2-D2 are present at the celebration of the Death Star's destruction at the end of the film.


title: C-3PO

text: Throughout the film C-3PO is a foil to R2-D2's antics, even when C-3PO translates R2-D2's machine speech for the audience. C-3PO is originally the property of the captain on the "Tantive IV", but seems to follow R2-D2 in a relationship akin to those between human children; C-3PO often following R2-D2 around, and R2-D2 needing C-3PO to translate for him. When R2-D2 is damaged in the Battle of Yavin, C-3PO offers to donate any mechanical parts helpful in his repair; but this transference is never confirmed.


title: C-3PO

text: In "The Empire Strikes Back", C-3PO is responsible for identifying the Empire's probe droid, alerting the Rebels to the Empire's awareness of their location on the sixth planet of the Hoth system. C-3PO escapes with Han, Chewbacca, and Leia in the "Millennium Falcon", while R2-D2 joins Luke in his search for Yoda (Frank Oz). During this time C-3PO and Han are often shown as foils, with C-3PO quoting odds and Han defying them. After a chase through an asteroid field, the "Falcon" escapes to Cloud City at Bespin.


title: C-3PO

text: While exploring a room in Cloud City, C-3PO is blasted by an off-camera stormtrooper. In search of C-3PO, Chewbacca heads to the Ugnaught recycling facility where he finds the dismembered parts of the droid. When Darth Vader (portrayed by David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones) reveals his presence to the group that same day, Chewbacca is sent into a holding cell, but is permitted to rebuild the droid, which he does poorly. Thereafter, Chewbacca carries the partially rebuilt C-3PO on his back during Han's encasement in carbonite.


title: C-3PO

text: With the help of the city's administrator, Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO escape the city. Having C-3PO on Chewbacca's back proves to be beneficial, in that when Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch) escapes the city with a frozen Han, C-3PO notifies them of pursuing stormtroopers. While escaping Vader's forces, R2-D2 begins repairing C-3PO. Upon making their way to the Rebel's rendezvous point, C-3PO is fully repaired.


title: C-3PO

text: In "Return of the Jedi", Luke commands C-3PO and R2-D2 to deliver a message to Jabba the Hutt from Luke, who offers 3PO's services as a translator and R2-D2's on Jabba's flying sail barge. C-3PO's first translation for the crime lord is of the bounty hunter Boushh—Leia in disguise—claiming the bounty for Chewbacca as part of her plan to rescue Han. Later, Luke infiltrates the palace and kills Jabba's rancor in a duel; whereupon Jabba transfers his court to the sail barge with Luke, Han, and Chewbacca as food for the Sarlacc, while Leia serves as Jabba's slave. When Luke attempts escape, R2-D2 tosses him his lightsaber, with which he attacks Jabba's guards. In the midst of the battle, C-3PO is attacked by Jabba's pet Salacious Crumb, who pulls out his right photoreceptor before being driven off by R2-D2. Thereafter the two escape the sail barge and are retrieved by the protagonists.


title: C-3PO

text: C-3PO accompanies the strike force to the Forest Moon of Endor to disable the shield generator protecting the second Death Star. When he, Han, Luke, Chewbacca, and R2-D2 are captured by the Ewoks, C-3PO is perceived to be a god by the latter. When the human prisoners are threatened by the Ewoks, Luke uses the Force to levitate the droid above the crowd as demonstration of the supposed god's ability. Later that night, C-3PO narrates the history of the Rebel Alliance's fight against the Galactic Empire to the tribe, convincing them to help the Rebels at the Battle of Endor. After the Empire's second Death Star is destroyed, C-3PO joins the protagonists on Endor in celebrating the fall of the Empire.


title: C-3PO

text: C-3PO returns in "", the first chapter of the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy, where it was revealed that nine-year-old slave Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) built him out of spare parts. C-3PO meets his future partner, R2-D2, along with Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), Queen Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) of Naboo, and Gungan Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best). C-3PO and R2-D2 help perfect Anakin's podracer for the Boonta Eve Classic race.


title: C-3PO

text: Shortly afterwards, C-3PO becomes part of Anakin's pit crew, where he sees Anakin defeat Sebulba. C-3PO and Anakin part ways when Qui-Gon frees the boy after winning a bet with Anakin's master, Watto. Before parting from C-3PO, Anakin assures the droid that his mother Shmi (Pernilla August) will not sell him.


title: C-3PO

text: In "Episode II – Attack of the Clones", set 10 years later, Shmi is kidnapped by a group of Tusken Raiders. Sensing that his mother is in danger, Anakin (now portrayed by Hayden Christensen) travels with Padmé to Tatooine, where they reunite with C-3PO, now with a metallic gray-colored body. He recognizes Anakin and Padmé and presents them to Anakin's stepfamily, Owen (Joel Edgerton) and Cliegg Lars (Jack Thompson) and Beru Whitesun (Bonnie Piesse). When Anakin returns with his mother's body, C-3PO attends her funeral.


title: C-3PO

text: After Anakin and Padmé's visit to Tatooine, C-3PO accompanies them to the planet Geonosis to rescue Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) from Sith Lord Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). Shortly afterward, he follows R2-D2 into a droid-construction site, where his head is temporarily attached to the torso of a battle droid, while the head of the droid is placed onto C-3PO's torso. Influenced by the battle droid's programming, he reluctantly participates in the film's climactic battle scene, where he is stopped by Jedi Kit Fisto (Silas Carson). Having been restored by R2-D2, he leaves Geonosis with the other protagonists. At the end of the film, he is a witness to Padmé and Anakin's marriage on Naboo.


title: C-3PO

text: In "Episode III – Revenge of the Sith", C-3PO is aware of Padmé's pregnancy and, in a deleted scene, is present during a secret meeting held with Senators Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits) and Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly). After Anakin falls to the dark side of the Force and becomes the Sith Lord Darth Vader, he takes C-3PO and R2-D2 with him as he massacres the Jedi; C-3PO rationalizes Vader's behavior by saying he has been under a great deal of stress. C-3PO accompanies Padmé to Mustafar, and witnesses Vader using the Force to choke her into unconsciousness; whereupon C-3PO and R2-D2 take her to safety. When Obi-Wan returns to their spaceship following a duel with Vader, C-3PO pilots it to Polis Massa and witnesses Padmé give birth to the Skywalker twins, Luke and Leia, and die shortly afterward. C-3PO and R2-D2 become Organa's property, and he gives them to Captain Raymus Antilles (Rohan Nichol) to serve aboard the "Tantive III", and orders C-3PO's memory erased in order to protect the Skywalker children from their father and the newly created Galactic Empire.


title: C-3PO

text: Anthony Daniels reprised the role of C-3PO in "The Force Awakens", the first installment of the sequel trilogy. C-3PO is seen with a red left arm, but gets a gold arm at the end of the film. He has been upgraded to seven million forms of communication. In the film, he is first seen along with Leia and a Resistance team, picking up Han, the stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega), the droid BB-8, the scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley), and Chewbacca on the planet Takodana. During their adventures, C-3PO is reunited with R2-D2, who is reactivated after having been shut off for years.


title: C-3PO

text: In "The Last Jedi", C-3PO mostly serves as an assistant for Leia and, while she is unconscious, Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac); he spends much of the film voicing his concern over the protagonist's chances in missions such as the evacuation of D'Qar at the start of the film and Finn and Rose Tico's (Kelly Marie Tran) mission on the "Mega"-class Star Dreadnought "Supremacy" later on. At the end of the film, C-3PO has a brief reunion with Luke, who winks at him before confronting the film's villain, First Order leader Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).


title: C-3PO

text: According to Daniels, "In "The Last Jedi" I became a table decoration, which I regretted, because Threepio was worth more than that."


title: C-3PO

text: In "The Rise of Skywalker", he accompanies Rey, Finn, Poe, Chewbacca, and BB-8 to Pasaana to meet with Luke's contact, who knows about a Sith artifact; the contact turns out to be Lando. During the journey, they discover a Sith dagger and try to translate its inscriptions as they hold a clue to the whereabouts of Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) and the Sith Eternal's fleet, the Final Order, but it is revealed that C-3PO's programming prevents him translating such a language directly. The heroes manage to find a hacker on the planet Kijimi who can bypass the protocols preventing C-3PO from translating the message, but at the cost of wiping his memories. Reactivated after he has provided the translation, C-3PO accompanies the group until they return to the Resistance camp, at which point R2-D2 is able to restore his memory from an earlier back-up created just prior to Rey's first mission. He celebrates the Sith Eternal's defeat with the rest of the Resistance at the end. In part of the film, the character appears with red eyes.


title: C-3PO

text: C-3PO makes a brief appearance alongside R2-D2 in "Rogue One" (2016), accompanying Rebel Alliance troops to Scarif alongside Princess Leia.


title: C-3PO

text: After the events of "Return of the Jedi", C-3PO continues to serve Leia Organa in several novels including "".


title: C-3PO

text: C-3PO appears in Marvel's "Star Wars" comic series and accompanies Han Solo on a raid on an Imperial outpost in the miniseries "". The circumstances that caused his left arm to be replaced with a red one is told in Marvel's one-shot "Star Wars" special, "". He also appears in "Star Wars: Poe Dameron".


title: C-3PO

text: In April 2014, most of the licensed "Star Wars" novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film "Star Wars" were rebranded by Lucasfilm as "Star Wars Legends" and declared non-canon to the franchise.


title: C-3PO

text: According to the "Star Wars" comic strip, was activated hundreds of years before the events of the original film on the planet Affa. "A Guide to the Star Wars Universe" affirms Affa as the droid's planet of origin, narrowing down his activation date to 112 years before "A New Hope". In "The Phantom Menace" (1999), it is revealed that was built by a young Anakin Skywalker. In the non-canon "Star Wars Tales" story "Thank the Maker", Vader remembers finding the defunct droid in Watto's junk heap and guessing it is several decades old.


title: C-3PO

text: In "Star Wars" media involving the Clone Wars, C-3PO serves as Padmé Amidala's personal protocol droid. In "The New Face of War", a story in "", Queen Jamillia appoints the droid to serve as liaison to the Jedi during that campaign following the defense of Naboo and the bio-plague of Ohma-D'un by the Separatists. He is a reluctant participant in many of Padmé's adventures, including a hazardous mission during the Battle of Ilum, in which his loyalty is essential in helping Jedi Master Yoda rescue fellow Jedi Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee.


title: C-3PO

text: In Expanded Universe material set after "Return of the Jedi", C-3PO assists Leia, Luke, and their allies in the Alliance (and later, the New Republic) on many missions. Due to his function as a protocol droid, he most often stays with Leia Organa-Solo on Coruscant, assisting her political duties, while R2-D2 often stays with Luke at the Jedi Academy.


title: C-3PO

text: In "The Truce at Bakura", C-3PO translates Ssi-ruuvi, the language of the Ssi-ruuk, to aid the Alliance. In "The Glove of Darth Vader", C-3PO and R2-D2 are members of the Senate Planetary Intelligence Network (SPIN), and undergo transformation by the Droid Modification Team to be disguised as Kessel droids so that they could infiltrate a gathering of Imperials to find out who is planning to take control of the Empire.


title: C-3PO

text: In "The Courtship of Princess Leia", C-3PO is led to believe that Han Solo is ancestrally the King of Corellia during Han's competition with Prince Isolder for Leia's hand in marriage. C-3PO agrees to assist Han as a counselor droid; but is shocked when Han kidnaps Leia and takes her to Dathomir. Despite this, he continues to present Han in the best possible light and writes a song for him entitled "The Virtues of King Han Solo", which he backs with the sound of a full symphony orchestra. He later discovers that Han's ancestor was merely "a pretender to the throne", but is present at Han and Leia's wedding.


title: C-3PO

text: Following the events of Han and Leia's marriage, C-3PO returns with them to Tatooine in "Tatooine Ghost". There he helps Han and Leia in their search for an Alderaanian moss painting storing a valuable code. He also reunites with Kitster Banai and Wald, childhood friends of Anakin Skywalker from "Episode I". With their help, C-3PO and the others discover Shmi Skywalker's diary, whereof Leia remarks that the droid described reminds her of C-3PO. Due to his memory wipe in "Episode III", C-3PO does not mention to Han and Leia his connection to Anakin. The code is eventually found and destroyed.


title: C-3PO

text: In "Heir to the Empire", Lando reprograms C-3PO to sound like Leia in order to hide from Imperials on Nkllon; but the Empire, led by Grand Admiral Thrawn, sees through the deception. In "Dark Force Rising", C-3PO goes to Honoghr with Leia during the Thrawn Crisis to discover what had caused the plight of the Noghri. He is forced to hide with Leia and Chewbacca when Imperial forces arrive overhead, but he later returns with Leia to Coruscant, where she gives birth to Jaina and Jacen Solo. He serves as caretaker to the twins, and later Anakin Solo as well. In "The Last Command", C-3PO also accompanies Han, Lando, R2-D2, Luke, Chewbacca, and Mara Jade to Wayland on a mission to destroy the Mount Tantiss storehouse. Thanks to C-3PO and some Noghri, the party recruits aid from the local population and destroys the storehouse.


title: C-3PO

text: In "Dark Apprentice", the Solo twins escape from Chewbacca's and C-3PO's watch during a trip to a zoo on Coruscant and arrive in the planet's sub-levels. C-3PO frantically searches for them, but they had been found by King Onibald Daykim and are reunited with their parents.


title: C-3PO

text: In "Planet of Twilight", C-3PO and R2-D2 accompany Leia on a diplomatic mission to Nam Chorios but are unable to prevent her kidnapping and fail to stop the Death Seed plague unleashed on the crew by Seti Ashgad and Dzym. Eventually rescued by Han and Lando, the two droids convey their message for help.


title: C-3PO

text: In "The Crystal Star", C-3PO accompanies Luke and Han to Crseih Station to investigate the possible existence of Jedi trainees; but instead find Waru, a creature from another dimension, from whom they learn of Waru's alliance with Lord Hethrir and of the kidnapping of the Solo children. Hethrir is destroyed following a confrontation with Leia, Han, and Luke while Waru returns to his dimension.


title: C-3PO

text: In "The Black Fleet Crisis", C-3PO accompanies Lando, R2-D2, and Lando's associate Lobot to investigate the runaway alien ship ""; eventually to discover that the ship contains the last vestiges of the Quella civilization.


title: C-3PO

text: In "The New Rebellion", C-3PO, along with R2-D2 and a young mechanic named Cole Fardreamer, is instrumental in stopping Kueller from regaining power by disabling the explosive devices he had placed in a large number of droids.


title: C-3PO

text: In "Ambush at Corellia", during the outbreak of the First Corellian Insurrection, C-3PO and Chewbacca retrieve Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin from the burning Corona House. In "Showdown at Centerpoint", Threepio accompanies Luke, Gaeriel Captison, Belindi Kalenda, and Lando Calrissian to Centerpoint Station, and alerts them to the fact that the temperature inside Hollowtown is increasing to dangerously high levels. In "Vision of the Future", C-3PO participates in Talon Karrde's expedition to the Kathol Sector to find Jorj Car'das, serving as a translator.


title: C-3PO

text: During the "" series, set between "Revenge of the Sith" and "A New Hope", C-3PO and R2-D2 are traded to various masters.


title: C-3PO

text: In "", C-3PO's outer plating are upgraded to a shiny bronzium coating due to his tenure as Padmé's servant. He also disapproves of combat droids, once demanding to "have a serious talk with their programmer".


title: C-3PO

text: In 1994, Dark Horse Comics, in its self-titled compilation series, serialized a story titled "Droids," which led into a 14-issue comic series continuing the adventures of and before the events of "A New Hope". Lucasfilm did not require these to tie into the animated series of the same name. Anthony Daniels and Ryder Windham also co-wrote a one-shot comic titled "The Protocol Offensive" (1997), based on a story by Brian Daley and with art by Igor Kordey.


title: C-3PO

text: In "Empire's End", C-3PO and R2-D2 are nearly destroyed after they spot an Imperial installing a homing beacon on the" Millennium Falcon"; but are saved by Han Solo and Chewbacca. The resurrected Palpatine and his fleet discover the Alliance's existence, leading C-3PO and the others to flee to Iziz, a city on the planet of Onderon. Palpatine eventually finds them, but is mortally wounded by Han and destroyed when Empatojayos Brand sacrifices himself to save the latter's son Anakin.


title: C-3PO

text: In the non-canon "Star Wars Tales" story "Storyteller", C-3PO is found partially destroyed and abandoned, years after the events of the original trilogy, by two slave boys. He tells them stories of Luke Skywalker's adventures, and they imagine the stories played out by members of their own alien race. As he is finishing his tale, a Vindar slavedriver appears, blasts C-3PO's head off, and kills Otalp. After the Vindar leave the cave, Remoh finds a lightsaber in the remains of C-3PO's body and in so doing, finds hope for his people's freedom.


title: C-3PO

text: The US Department of Health and Human Services sponsored an approximately 1 minute long anti smoking television public service announcement. In the PSA, C-3PO finds R2-D2 holding a cigarette, and warns R2 of the dangerous nature of smoking.


title: C-3PO

text: Anthony Daniels did not initially agree to be cast as C-3PO, but changed his mind after reading the character's part in the script and seeing a concept painting by Ralph McQuarrie, who based his early design largely on Walter Schulze-Mittendorff's "Maschinenmensch" from the Fritz Lang film "Metropolis" (1927). The initial costume had to be roughened so it would not reflect too much light. Daniels tried on the full costume for the first time the day before shooting began, and did not see its final appearance until being shown a Polaroid photograph of it while he wore the suit. George Lucas originally envisioned the character as "more of a con man" with an American accent, but changed his mind after Daniels' voice performance outshone that of 30 other actors that tested for the role. Mel Blanc was considered for the role, but according to Daniels, Blanc told Lucas that Daniels was better for the part.


title: C-3PO

text: C-3PO has been played by Daniels in 11 "Star Wars" films—ten live action (every episode of the "Skywalker Saga" and one Anthology film) and . In "The Phantom Menace", a skeletal C-3PO model was puppeteered by Michael Lynch (who was also a model maker for all three prequel films), with Daniels providing the voice, and Lynch was removed in post-production. Daniels attempted to puppeteer the skeletal droid for "Episode II", but experienced difficulties; the puppet was replaced in favor of a fully plated C-3PO. A filmed scene featured Padmé outfitting C-3PO with his plating, but it was cut to improve the pacing. From "Attack of the Clones" to "The Rise of Skywalker", as well as "Rogue One", Daniels both wore the costume and provided the voice.


title: C-3PO

text: Daniels also played C-3PO in the live-action segments of "Star Wars Holiday Special" (1978), and voiced the character in the animated portion. Daniels appeared as C-3PO at the 50th Academy Awards in 1978 and 88th Academy Awards in 2016. He also voiced C-3PO in the radio drama adaptations of the original trilogy and five "Star Wars" animated series: "Droids" (1985–86), "" (2003–05), "" (2008–14), "Rebels" (2014–18) and "Resistance" (2018–20). He reprised his role in "The Lego Movie", in which has a cameo appearance with crew members of the "Millennium Falcon", and in the "Star Wars Forces of Destiny" episode "Beasts of Echo Base", in which his voice can be heard on Leia's comlink. Daniels also voiced in "Ralph Breaks the Internet" (2018), various animated Lego "Star Wars" productions and video games. "Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures" features some of C-3PO's dialogue from the "Skywalker Saga". C-3PO was featured with R2-D2, BB-8 and Chewbacca in "Star Wars Blips".


title: C-3PO

text: Daniels reprised his role of C-3PO for the Disneyland ride "Star Tours", co-created by George Lucas in 1987. He was videotaped while recording the dialogue, with the tape serving as a reference for the Imagineers to program an audio-animatronic in the queue area. Both it and the audio-animatronic R2-D2 are the original props used in filming. Daniels also donned the costume for certain video segments played before and after the simulator ride itself, also portraying an electronically disguised Ewok announcer. Daniels also appeared in the costume for various promotional materials for Star Tours, including the electronic press kit, a Disney special on Star Tours hosted by Gil Gerard, and various opening day skits. When Star Tours opened a bilingual version at Disneyland Paris, Daniels re-recorded dialogue in French. ends up in the pilot's seat of the Starspeeder 1000 in the attraction's successor, "Star Tours – The Adventures Continue", in which he is also played by Daniels.


title: C-3PO

text: Daniels made several appearances as C-3PO on numerous TV shows and commercials, notably on a "Star Wars"-themed episode of "The Donny and Marie Show" in 1977, "Disneyland's 35th Anniversary", a "Star Wars"-themed episode of "The Muppet Show" in 1980 and "Multi-Coloured Swap Shop" in 1981. Along with R2-D2, he also has a role as the character on "Sesame Street" episodes 1364 and 1396. They also hosted several documentaries including "The Making of Star Wars" and "Star Wars: Connections". Daniels reprised his role in "Obi-Wan Kenobi".


title: C-3PO

text: In 1977, a photograph appeared on a Topps "Star Wars" trading card in which appeared to have a prominent phallus. It was later withdrawn from circulation. In 2007, the official "Star Wars" website hypothesized that this was caused by a part of the suit that had fallen into place just as the photograph was taken. However, in 2019 Daniels clarified that the costume had become compromised during 's oil bath in "A New Hope"; the warm liquid had caused the costume to separate, leading to "an over-exposure of plastic in that region". He further speculated in his 2019 autobiography that an artist had painted in the extended appendage.


title: C-3PO

text: C-3PO was inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame in 2004 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A lifesize replica can be seen at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh.


title: C-3PO

text: In 2012, the United States Navy built a robot called the Autonomous Shipboard Humanoid which they claim was modeled on . The robot was built for the purpose of extinguishing fires, but has similar movement abilities to the "Star Wars" droid by being able to climb ladders and carry hoses. Also similar to , it can respond to human gestures, but at a much more basic level.


title: C-3PO

text: One of NASA programs to collaborate with the private sector in the development of commercial space transportation it's named 'C3PO', acronym for Commercial Crew & Cargo Program Office.


title: C-3PO

text: Nicolas Ghesquière, creative director of Louis Vuitton, and Rodarte have created fashion designs inspired by .


title: C-3PO

text: The cover photo of the August 2015 issue of "GQ" featured comedian Amy Schumer wearing a replica of Princess Leia's bikini and sucking one of fingers. Lucasfilm and Disney objected to this image and tweeted a public statement that it was unauthorized.


title: C-3PO

text: In the Italian version of the original trilogy, was named "D-3BO". Anglicisms were not common in the Italian language during the 1970s and 1980s, and the names of various characters were changed to be easier to pronounce and recognize for Italian speakers. Some of these changes were reverted in the dubbing of the prequel and sequel trilogies, where the original name was used instead. Other name changes in the Italian version of the original trilogy include R2-D2, Han Solo, Leia Organa and Darth Vader, who were called respectively "C1-P8", "Ian Solo", "Leila Organa" and "Dart Fener" (or "Lord Fener").


title: Joe Chill

text: Joe Chill is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, the character first appeared in "Detective Comics" #33 (November 1939).


title: Joe Chill

text: In Batman's origin story, Joe Chill is the mugger who murders young Bruce Wayne's parents, Dr. Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne. The murder traumatizes Bruce, inspiring his vow to avenge their deaths by fighting crime in Gotham City as the vigilante Batman.


title: Joe Chill

text: Not much is known about Chill except that he is, in most versions of "Batman", a petty mugger who kills Bruce's parents Thomas and Martha while trying to take their money and jewelry. When he demands Martha's necklace, Thomas moves to protect his wife and Chill panics and shoots him. He then kills Martha when she screams for help (in later versions up to the 1970s, Martha dies from a heart attack brought on from the shock of seeing her husband murdered). Chill runs away when Bruce begins crying and calling for help — but not before the boy memorizes his features. In at least three versions of the "Batman" mythos, the Waynes' killer is never identified.


title: Joe Chill

text: Batman's origin story is first established in a sequence of panels in "Detective Comics" #33 (November 1939) that is later reproduced in the comic book "Batman" #1 (Spring 1940), but the mugger is not given a name until "Batman" #47 (June–July 1948). In that issue, Batman discovers that Joe Chill, the small-time crime boss he is investigating, is none other than the man who killed his parents. Batman confronts him with the knowledge that Chill killed Thomas and Martha Wayne. Believing there is no way Batman could know this, Chill accuses him of bluffing, but Batman reveals his secret identity quoting "I know because I am the son of the man you murdered! I am Bruce Wayne!!" Terrified, Chill flees and seeks protection from his henchmen. Once his henchmen learn that Chill's actions led to the hated Batman's existence, however, they turn on their boss and gun him down before suddenly realizing how priceless his knowledge of Batman's true identity is. Before the dying Chill has a chance to reveal Batman's identity, the Dark Knight intervenes and knocks out the goons. Chill expires in Batman's arms, acknowledging that the Dark Knight got his revenge after all. Len Wein and John Byrne add a one-panel coda in their retelling of this scene in the first issue of "The Untold Legend of the Batman". Batman stands over Chill's body and says "No, Chill -- The Batman didn't finish you... It was Bruce Wayne!"


title: Joe Chill

text: In "Detective Comics" #235 (1956), Batman learns that Chill was not a mere mugger, but actually a hitman who murdered the Waynes on orders from a mob boss named Lew Moxon. Batman also deduced that was why he himself was left unharmed by Chill: so he would unwittingly support Moxon's alibi that he had nothing to do with a robbery that was really a planned murder.


title: Joe Chill

text: In "The Brave and the Bold" #79 (September 1968), Joe Chill is revealed to have a brother named Max who is also a criminal. Max Chill is suspected of having murdered Boston Brand (AKA Deadman), though the suspicion proves erroneous as Boston Brand was actually killed by Hook. Max is killed when a stack of slot machines falls onto him while he is attacking Batman.


title: Joe Chill

text: In "Batman" #208 (January/February 1969), it is revealed that both Joe and Max had changed their name to Chill from Chilton and that their mother was the housekeeper to Bruce Wayne's uncle Philip Wayne, who became Bruce's primary guardian after his parents' deaths. As he was often away on business, Mrs. Chilton played the primary parental role in the boy's life. As an adult, Bruce continues to visit the elderly woman, whom he still calls "Mom Chilton", unaware of her connection with Joe and Max Chill. For her part, Mrs. Chilton knows Bruce is secretly Batman and is proud of him. She is also aware that her sons died fighting him and she still mourns their deaths. Perhaps because they were both domestic servants, Alfred, the adult Bruce's butler, was secretly aware of Mrs. Chilton's connection, but he kept that information from Bruce. He once mused that "in her own way, that dear woman more than made up for her son's heinous crime"..


title: Joe Chill

text: In the 1987 storyline "", Chill played a key role. Several Gotham City crime bosses pool their resources to deal with a lethal vigilante called the Reaper, and Chill, an experienced button man, is hired to take him out. When Batman proposes an alliance with the bosses, they agree that he and Chill will work together — something Batman finds repugnant, but which he nevertheless justifies to himself as necessary to tackle the Reaper. He vows to kill Chill afterwards. Chill is also secretly commissioned to kill Batman after the Reaper has been disposed of. During a major confrontation, the crime bosses are all killed in a shootout at a warehouse, in which the Reaper seemingly also perishes. Chill reasons that he has no reason to fulfill his contract, but Batman takes him to "Crime Alley", the scene of his parents' murder. There he confronts Chill and reveals his identity. Batman has Chill at gunpoint, but the Reaper then appears and guns Chill down. It is left ambiguous as to whether or not Batman would have actually pulled the trigger.


title: Joe Chill

text: In the 1991 sequel to "Year Two", "Batman: Full Circle", Chill's son Joe Chill, Jr. assumes the identity of the Reaper in order to seek revenge for his father's death. He attempts to drive Batman insane by using hallucinogenic drugs in conjunction with a faked video of the Waynes' murder to trigger Batman's survivor's guilt over his parents' death and thus break his will. After the intervention of Robin, Batman frees himself from the drug-induced haze. After the new Reaper is defeated, Batman learns to let go of his hatred of Chill.


title: Joe Chill

text: In "Detective Comics" #678, a "Zero Hour" crossover story, Batman finds himself in an alternate timeline where, instead of his parents, he was killed by a mugger. Investigating the crime, he discovers that Chill, at least in this timeline, did not commit the murder. Once he returns to his own timeline, Bruce Wayne is plagued with doubt. He wonders if there's a possibility that he never actually caught or confronted his parents' killer. He also wonders if that makes any difference regarding his crimefighting career. Ultimately, he concludes that it does not.


title: Joe Chill

text: In 2006, "Infinite Crisis" #6 reestablished that Chill was responsible for shooting Thomas and Martha Wayne, and that he was later arrested on that same night for their murder.


title: Joe Chill

text: In the 2008 Grant Morrison story "Joe Chill in Hell" (featured in "Batman" #673), Chill is reinterpreted as a mid-level crime boss who builds the Land, Sea, and Air Transport company from the ground up (most likely through illegal means). He blames his crimes, including murdering the Waynes, on class warfare that forced him to do things he wouldn't have otherwise. In this story, Batman has visited and frightened Chill every night for a month. Chill is living as a shut-in, but his guards never see or catch Batman during the visits. On his final visit, Batman gives Chill the gun he used to kill the Waynes, with a single bullet loaded in it. Chill finally realizes who Batman is and fears what his fellow gangsters might do if they found out he was responsible for creating him. It is implied that he uses his gun to commit suicide. Considering the issue consists of Bruce's flashbacks and hallucinations from an experiment he undergoes during his early career, however, it is left ambiguous whether the events of the story are real.


title: Joe Chill

text: In 2009's "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" by Neil Gaiman, Joe Chill is seen as the bartender attending Batman's funeral (the funeral itself being a near death experience). Batman, who is observing the event as well as Catwoman, note that Joe Chill should be dead. Chill notes that he was there at the birth of Batman and it is only fitting he should be there to witness the end.


title: Joe Chill

text: In 2011, DC Comics relaunched its entire line of monthly books, and rebooted the fictional continuity of its books in an initiative called "The New 52". An 18-year-old Bruce Wayne tracks Chill down and holds him at gunpoint, demanding to know who hired him to kill his parents. Chill responds that he just wanted Martha Wayne's pearls so he could buy alcohol and that he didn't even know who the Waynes were until the next day. Enraged that Chill killed his parents for no good reason, Bruce prepares to kill him, but relents at the last minute when he realizes that his father would not have wanted that. After sparing Chill's life, Bruce Wayne leaves Gotham City and begins training to fight crime, vowing that he will make sure what Chill did never happens to anyone else.


title: Joe Chill

text: In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called "DC Rebirth", which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". In the 2020 miniseries "", a news report about the massacre of the final members of the Moxon Crime Family stated that they were accused of hiring Joe Chill to kill Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne only for them to be exonerated when Joe Chill confessed that he acted alone. It was also mentioned that Joe Chill is serving a life sentence at Blackgate Penitentiary. Using the fingerprints from Judge Wade Walls' humanitarian trophy, Batman enters Blackgate Penitentiary to see Joe Chill. When Batman finds that he is not in his cell, Batgirl informs Batman that Joe Chill was moved to the infirmary where he is suffering from stage 4 cancer. The Comedian Joker and the Criminal Joker later abduct Joe Chill from the infirmary where they put his hat on him and want him to confess on camera as one of the Jokers asks "Why did you really kill Thomas and Martha Wayne?" Batman, Batgirl, and Jason Todd/Red Hood arrive at the theater where Joe Chill is being held in as a film plays with Joe confessing that he killed the Waynes because he thought they were the kind of rich people who didn't care about the city and it was only after seeing a young Bruce Wayne that he realized his mistake. The Criminal Joker plans to dump Joe Chill in a mixture of the Lazarus Pit and Joker Venom in hopes of making him the ultimate Joker, but Joe Chill is saved by Batman who forgives him. Joe finally learns that Bruce Wayne is Batman. After the death of the Criminal Joker and the surrender of the Comedian Joker who was revealed to be the original Joker, Bruce Wayne visits Joe Chill on his death bed as Bruce shakes his hand. Joe Chill peacefully dies, and Bruce Wayne finally finds closure over his parents' killer.


title: Joe Chill

text: In Frank Miller's 1986 limited series "", Bruce Wayne finally resolves his feelings towards Chill (who is not named). While about to be mugged by street punks, Bruce initially fantasizes that the two amateur criminals are both Joe Chill, so he can take out his rage on them. They leave him alone, however, after realizing he would have fought them: "Look at him. He's into it. No fun when they're into it". Bruce realizes that Chill had not killed his parents for killing's sake, as the two punks wanted to do to him, and thus was not truly evil. "All he wanted was money", he thinks to himself. "He was sick and guilty over what he did. I was naïve enough to think him the lowest sort of man".


title: Joe Chill

text: In the comics featuring the Crime Syndicate of America, it is revealed that on the Syndicate's alternate Earth, Joe Chill was a friend of Dr. Thomas Wayne. One night, a police officer wants to bring the elder Wayne in for questioning. When he refuses, the police officer suddenly opens fire. This Earth's version of Bruce Wayne and Martha Wayne are killed. Chill comes out of an alleyway to discover the dead bodies and the Waynes' younger son Thomas Wayne Jr., leaves with him, blaming his father for his mother and brother's deaths, and seeing Chill as the only father figure he has left.


title: Joe Chill

text: In the alternate universe of the 2011 storyline "Flashpoint", Joe Chill shoots and kills the young Bruce Wayne, and Thomas Wayne seeks to kill him to avenge his son. He locates Chill and attempts to inject him with a drug, but instead beats him to death in a vengeful fury. Afterwards, Thomas puts Chill's gun in a trophy display in the Batcave.


title: Joe Chill

text: Joe Chill is featured in many Elseworld titles, including "", "Citizen Wayne", "", "", "Batman of Arkham", "", and "Dark Knight Dynasty".


title: Joe Chill

text: Joe Chill is featured in the comic book continuation of the television series "Smallville", albeit with no connection to Batman. Instead, he worked as an Intergang contact before being killed by Mr. Freeze.


title: Joe Chill

text: Joe Chill appears in "The Batman Adventures" #17, which is set in the continuity of "" and its DCAU spinoffs. In a story by Ty Templeton entitled "Fear Itself", Chill is shown to have spent his whole life as a career criminal since the night he murdered Bruce's parents. The story begins with Chill being released from prison after finishing a sentence for an unrelated crime, and it is apparent that he has been living in fear since that fateful night. Chill is convinced that Bruce Wayne, now one of the most powerful men on the planet, is biding his time to exact revenge. Chill's paranoia is so severe that he begins to see Bruce's face everywhere around him, even on other people. His paranoia goes into overdrive when he discovers that the retired police detective who originally worked on the Wayne case has finally discovered evidence that he was the killer. Chill tracks the detective to his apartment and attempts to silence him, but Batman intervenes, unaware of who Chill is. In a brief scuffle Chill manages to unmask Batman, revealing the visage of Bruce Wayne. Terrified, Chill falls off a balcony, and Batman jumps after him in an attempt to save his life. Batman nearly catches Chill, who pushes him away in terror and falls to his death. Batman is left at the end of the story wondering who the mysterious man was and why he would rather die than accept his help.


title: Joe Chill

text: In "Batman Beyond Unlimited" set in the DC Animated Universe, Chill is revealed to have a brother. Chill's grandnephew eventually has a child of his own, Jake. In the continuity, Jake Chill is a former security guard at Wayne-Powers, working under Derek Powers' "Quiet Squad". Having killed Warren McGinnis under Mr. Fixx's orders, Jake repeats his great-granduncle's history with the Waynes and indirectly creates another Batman. Though no one discovers his involvement with McGinnis' murder, Jake Chill is wracked with guilt and decides to become a vigilante to redeem his family's sins. Jake takes the name Vigilante, modified the uniform he got from his former employer as his costume, and works with Batman to stop a riot led by the Jokerz. He is eventually killed in the "Mark of the Phantasm" storyline, where he suffers a seizure after being injected with Joker Toxin and inhaling the Phantasm's fear gas. Though Terry lashed out at Jake after discovering Jake killed his father, he ultimately respected Jake as a hero and regretted that he died the way he did.


title: Joe Chill

text: In Andrew Vachss' novel "", Chill (who is never seen) is revealed to have killed Bruce Wayne's parents on the orders of an international ring of pedophiles. They wanted to silence Bruce's mother Martha, who was investigating their network of sexual slavery and child pornography.


title: Joe Chill

text: On the alternate world of Earth-Two as part of "The New 52", Joe Chill is a hired assassin who shoots Thomas and Martha Wayne. Chill is later killed when Thomas Wayne (who had survived the shooting) crushes his skull in retaliation for Martha's death.


title: Joe Chill

text: In the prequel comic to "", Joe Chill is the right-hand man of crime lord Lew Moxon. When Batman corners them during a meeting with the other crimelords, he kills Lew Moxon and drinks Joe Chill's blood. Upon becoming a vampire, Joe Chill later kills Lew Moxon's wife Angela. Batman avenges her death by killing Chill with an axe.