Ruy Lopez Closed Defense

[Alacoque Whitchurch]

heyi was wondering if there's an open variation of the morphy defense of the ruy lopez, i absolutely hate the closed variation (Be7), i usually play b5 after white has castles followed by Bc5, but i wonder if there really is an official open variation, any help is welcomed :D :P

Instead of playing Be7, Nxe4 leads to the open variation. The open variation is said to give black more weaknesses, but achieve better piece play. The variation you said you normally play is the Archangel

Actually the variation he is playing is the Moeller . The archangelisk variation plays 6.... Bb7 . These two variations often transpose but do have their independent lines. They are both classified under C78 in the ECO.

Until now I played the two Knights (Berlin defense) also against the Ruy Lopez. My main concern is if its worth to learn a closed variation against the Ruy or if I should stick with the Berlin. In the Berlin defense I can after 4. 0-0 play 4. Nxe4 and after 5. d4 play 5 a6 and switch to the open defense to avoid the berlin wall but it's not possible against 5. Re8

Really? With tons of freaking search engines and chess databases you decide it's best to ask in a forum full of trolls?If you like Open positions then play the OPEN Spanish (wasn't it obvious?), and no, I'm not joking.

Every game in this book deserves to be there, however, including one win by Lakdawala against the Open Variation, showing how White can get a quick win if Black is slow on the draw in that hyper-active defense:

Cyrus and Carsten are back with their second entry into the Origins: Ruy Lopez series, which tackles everything in the Ruy Lopez opening after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 (also known as the \u201CMorphy Defense\u201D).

6.Re1 is the absolute main line where most theoretical blood has been spilt, so it makes sense for them to reserve an entire book dedicated to the myriad variations such as the Chigorin Defense, Breyer Variation, Marshall Attack(!), Zaitsev Variations, etc., etc. There\u2019s a lot there \u2014 they have their work cut out for them!

A lot of what I said about the writing style of their first foray into this series applies to this second expedition: Cyrus seems to have the main voice in the annotations, and his sense of humor is either a bright or dark spot depending on the reader\u2019s tastes. The selection of games is instructive and generally also entertaining. Every important variation gets at least one historical example of how it was played at first, and then following in chronological order you see how the theory of that variation evolved. The authors do not purport to bring an entire repertoire for the reader, and they aren\u2019t trying to stand on the cutting edge of novel chess computer ideas. They just want you to understand the general ideas behind the opening through lots of examples. You won\u2019t find many novelties here, but on occasion they may point out an \u201Cuntried\u201D move.

The book is organized rather well and starts off on good footing with the Exchange Variation chapter. The first game is Lasker - Capablanca, St. Petersburg, 1914, which is perhaps the most famous example of this variation, in which the World Champion pressed hard against the Cuban upstart in a must-win situation to eventually take first place. This happens to be one of my favorite games of the pre-war time period, but it\u2019s also instructive to show how White can play the Exchange for a win and that Black cannot defend passively but must go for active counterplay, a lesson that even Capa had to learn. Then comes the next treat \u2014 seeing Fischer batter Spassky using the Exchange Spanish in their 1992 rematch, a practical miniature with a beautiful finish.

Then comes everything after 4.Ba4. Every deviation from 4\u2026Nf6 is covered well here: Steinitz Deferred (4\u2026d6) both in its Kings Indian Defense-esque and Fishing Pole trap variations, and others; the Arkhangelsk and Moller complex, the Delayed Schliemann (frankly, I\u2019m not sure this line deserved its own chapter) and Norwegian Defense. These are all considered second-rate by the authors.

I have to say, in the defense of the Steinitz Deferred (which, yes, is part of my repertoire, why do you ask?), though they think White is better in the d5 lines of the Steinitz Deferred main line, the bishops don\u2019t matter as much in closed positions and Black is generally fine without the light-squared bishop. It is interesting that Lakdawala and Hansen describe the below position as reminiscent of \u201Cthe depirvation of Lent\\\", even if they aren\u2019t Catholic\u201D, while Gawain Jones in his extremely excellent Chessable course calls this a good King\u2019s Indian that stronger players with White tend to avoid. Lichess\u2019s database shows that Black scores excellently in this position, but the authors picked a win for White. In the end, I appreciate the authors giving their opinions on the matter even when others may disagree.

After 4\u2026Nf6, White has some sidelines involving an early Qe2 or 5.d4 push. These lines are covered in a bit of detail, and they explain the ideas behind them well, and why 5.O-O is to be preferred.

Once we get to 5.O-O, we get some delicious treats in the chapter on the Open Variation. Two heroes of 5\u2026Nxe4 were Johannes Zukertort and Victor Kortchnoi. The authors make sure we get to see them both multiple times in action. Zuke\u2019s games are impressive considering that this was his novelty he was showing off; but the games in which Karpov and Kortchnoi clashed left the deepest impression upon me. These games were electric, and this rivalry between the two can be felt even in the tension of the positions of these games. This was by far my favorite chapter in the book. It\u2019s unfortunate that so many of these games, except for Zukertort\u2019s and a single win by Mamedyarov vs Caruana, end in a loss for Black. I wish more examples of Black winning were included. However, this maybe also suggests why Black still overwhelmingly chooses the Closed defense with 5\u2026Be7 at the highest levels. One other small critique I should give this chapter: I think that it was worth covering, even for a single game, both the Riga Variation (6.d4 exd4?! \u2014 White should know how to bust this dubious gambit) and 6\u2026Be7 (they award this move a \u201C?\u201D but the difference in evaluation vs 6\u2026b5, at depth 43 on Lichess\u2019s Stockfish 16, is about 0.1).

In the final chapter, we get a treatment to White\u2019s \u201Cunusual\u201D (their words) 6th moves. While I agree that 6.Bxc6 and 6.d4 are unusual, and not particularly good, I protest a little that 6.d3 (the Martinez Variation) is virtually relegated to the status of theoretical b-side, going so far as to claim \u201Cthis move gives White no advantage\u201D which is a bit misleading. In their defense, they also say \u201Con the plus side, White dodges all sharper engine prep and gets the slow maneuvering game they want.\u201D I think their main argument is that this move represents a loss of time over the main line 6.Re1, in which White may plan c3+d4 later, rather than spending time on d3 which is admittedly a slower move. 6.d3 is a serious move that has seen a lot of master play in recent years (one extremely instructive example was Giri-Artemiev in Round 1 of the Shenzhen Masters tournament, 2024):

If we have any doubts as to the veracity of this move, the authors themselves give us one extremely famous example in recent history: Nepomniachtchi - Ding, 2023 World Championship. Nepo may be the champion of this line in top-level chess today, given his liberal use of it in that match. I digress \u2014 the games in here are good. And I admit some ulterior motive that since 6.d3 is the move I play, I\u2019d like to see it see more coverage one day \u2014 it deserved at least as much coverage as 5\u2026Nxe4.

Game 18: Morphy-Hammond (I noted this one in particular because Morphy is always fun to watch, but also, it\u2019s rather rare to see him play the Spanish, so for historical reasons I thought this was a great inclusion)

Per the usual, this book is also loaded with practical advice for players looking to improve. Any player at the level where people are actually playing any theoretical move after 3\u2026a6 4.Ba4 in the Ruy Lopez is a prime candidate for this one. It\u2019s typical of Lakdawala\u2019s books to include prompts such as Principle, or Calculation Exercise, Combination Alert, and others of that nature, to perk up the reader\u2019s attention and look for the win or carefully consider the coming explanations. Even where there isn\u2019t an immediate principle, being an attentive reader rewards with lots of wisdom they can take into any game, Ruy Lopez or not. Strikingly, they have this to say about studying chess theory in today\u2019s day and age near the beginning of the book:

Being untethered from theory is no longer the same as being untethered from understanding. At the club level, players forget their theory all the time. This doesn\u2019t mean you forget your understanding. This is why we go about in a progression from past to present since it\u2019s all about recognizing the distinct architectural elements of the lines\u2019 structures, plans, and typical tactical motives[sic] without worrying (too much!) about the details. How are we to memorize so many variables within the Lopez? The answer for the great majority of club players; we don\u2019t. Just play through the games and absorb/understand rather than memorize.

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