After the vote to leave the EU it is time to reclaim the good old English names for traditional openings such as the Ruy Lopez and the Centre Counter.
Foreign subversion has gradually altered the correct name for the Ruy Lopez (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5) to the less evocative Spanish Opening, while the Centre Counter (see this week’s game), which was good enough for Howard Staunton when he played Paul Morphy, was quietly changed on the continent to the Scandinavian Defence.
I see no reason whatsoever why our Viking cousins should be able to lay any claim to the naming of this defence.
This week, a brilliant game in the Centre Counter and a famous position from the Ruy Lopez, an opening recommended by the Spanish priest himself in his book of 1561 Libro de la invención liberal y arte del juego del axedrez.
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