In high-Tc superconductors the magnetic and electronic properties are determined by the probability that valence electrons jump virtually from site to site in the CuO2 planes, a mechanism opposed by on-site Coulomb repulsion and favoured by hopping integrals. The spatial extent of the latter is related to transport properties, including superconductivity, and to the dispersion relation of spin excitations (magnons). Here, for three antiferromagnetic parent compounds (single-layer Bi2 Sr0.9 La1.1 CuO6+δ , double-layer Nd1.2 Ba1.8 Cu3 O6 and infinite-layer CaCuO2 ) differing by the number of apical atoms, we compare the magnetic spectra measured by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering over a significant portion of the reciprocal space and with unprecedented accuracy. We observe that the absence of apical oxygens increases the in-plane hopping range and, in CaCuO2 , it leads to a genuine three-dimensional (3D) exchange-bond network. These results establish a corresponding relation between the exchange interactions and the crystal structure, and provide fresh insight into the materials dependence of the superconducting transition temperature.