Chess openings - Ruy Lopez Berlin variation
I am continuing with my favorite chess opening Ruy Lopez. Today we'll see modern or so called "Berlin" variation reintroduced by Russian Grand Master Vladimir Kramnik. He used this variation to defeat the most famous player at his time Gary Kasparov. Even present chess champion Magnus Carlsen plays it from time to time. Like we saw in previous articles it's starting with those moves:e4, e5 2. Nf3, Nc6 3. Bb5, Nf6 4. 0-0 Ne4 For entering in this variation white need to play now d4 following by black Nd6. Black is attacking white light Bishop knowing white will probably initiate Bishop-Knight exchange and try to get e5 pawn. This looks bad for black to me as amateur player because Knights are blocking pawns, but I guess chess Grand Masters know what they are doing. 5. d4, Nd6 6. Bc6, d7-c6 7. e4, Nf5 8. Qd8, Kd8 Black has doubled f pawns now and have one more on right side, but white has one more clear pawn on left side. However black has 2 Bishops which are stronger than 2 Knights or Knight and Bishop in such open positions, but has lost ability to do castle. Queen exchange in early stage of the game against great attacker like Kasparov was good approach for Kramnik. The most powerful piece is out of play. Once in the past main move after this was Rd1 check after which black would just move King back to e8. Disadvantage of this move for white is fact that other Rook from h1 will have very little space to develop. d1 should be his field not of Rook from a1. White looks better now, but his weakness is e5 pawn which is over advanced and will be hard to defend. Goal for white would be to exchange peaces because he has clear pawn advantage on left side, while black is equal or have slight advantage when all peaces are on the board. White can try Ng5 too threatening to f7 and double King-Rook attack, but black can just move his King back to e8. Correct way to continue this variation is: 9. h3, Ke8 10. Nc3, h5 11. Bf4, Be7 12. Rd1, Be6 13. Ng5, Rh6 Plans are clear, black wants to attack while white wants to exchange pieces. White put right Rook to d1 and want to take Bishop on e6 after which black would take Knight with his Rook from a6. Removing pawn on c7 would not be to smart from white because he would give Bishop plus Knight for Rook and black will remain with 2 dangerous Bishops and clear b line. It's not non playable, but I think black would be in better position because of more peaces. However the most playable continuation from move 9 between Grand Masters is 9. Nc3, Ke8 10. h3, h5 11. Bf4, Be7 12. Rd1, Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 and we came to same position like above. If we want to avoid this Berlin variation we can return to position before white did castle. We see another solid move which is d3 protecting e4 pawn and giving white dark Bishop chance to develop. 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 0-0 6. 0-0 d6 7. Nd2, a6 8. Ba5, b5 9. Bc2 Bb6 10. d4 Now black tries to move Knight from c6 to b1 and finally to d7, while white will try Rook e1 and then Nf1-g3-f5. I hope you enjoyed this article. Thanks for reading.
Chess openings - Ruy Lopez Berlin variation
I am continuing with my favorite chess opening Ruy Lopez. Today we'll see modern or so called "Berlin" variation reintroduced by Russian Grand Master Vladimir Kramnik. He used this variation to defeat the most famous player at his time Gary Kasparov. Even present chess champion Magnus Carlsen plays it from time to time. Like we saw in previous articles it's starting with those moves:e4, e5 2. Nf3, Nc6 3. Bb5, Nf6 4. 0-0 Ne4 For entering in this variation white need to play now d4 following by black Nd6. Black is attacking white light Bishop knowing white will probably initiate Bishop-Knight exchange and try to get e5 pawn. This looks bad for black to me as amateur player because Knights are blocking pawns, but I guess chess Grand Masters know what they are doing. 5. d4, Nd6 6. Bc6, d7-c6 7. e4, Nf5 8. Qd8, Kd8 Black has doubled f pawns now and have one more on right side, but white has one more clear pawn on left side. However black has 2 Bishops which are stronger than 2 Knights or Knight and Bishop in such open positions, but has lost ability to do castle. Queen exchange in early stage of the game against great attacker like Kasparov was good approach for Kramnik. The most powerful piece is out of play. Once in the past main move after this was Rd1 check after which black would just move King back to e8. Disadvantage of this move for white is fact that other Rook from h1 will have very little space to develop. d1 should be his field not of Rook from a1. White looks better now, but his weakness is e5 pawn which is over advanced and will be hard to defend. Goal for white would be to exchange peaces because he has clear pawn advantage on left side, while black is equal or have slight advantage when all peaces are on the board. White can try Ng5 too threatening to f7 and double King-Rook attack, but black can just move his King back to e8. Correct way to continue this variation is: 9. h3, Ke8 10. Nc3, h5 11. Bf4, Be7 12. Rd1, Be6 13. Ng5, Rh6 Plans are clear, black wants to attack while white wants to exchange pieces. White put right Rook to d1 and want to take Bishop on e6 after which black would take Knight with his Rook from a6. Removing pawn on c7 would not be to smart from white because he would give Bishop plus Knight for Rook and black will remain with 2 dangerous Bishops and clear b line. It's not non playable, but I think black would be in better position because of more peaces. However the most playable continuation from move 9 between Grand Masters is 9. Nc3, Ke8 10. h3, h5 11. Bf4, Be7 12. Rd1, Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 and we came to same position like above. If we want to avoid this Berlin variation we can return to position before white did castle. We see another solid move which is d3 protecting e4 pawn and giving white dark Bishop chance to develop. 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 0-0 6. 0-0 d6 7. Nd2, a6 8. Ba5, b5 9. Bc2 Bb6 10. d4 Now black tries to move Knight from c6 to b1 and finally to d7, while white will try Rook e1 and then Nf1-g3-f5. I hope you enjoyed this article. Thanks for reading.
Chess openings - Ruy Lopez Berlin variation
I am continuing with my favorite chess opening Ruy Lopez. Today we'll see modern or so called "Berlin" variation reintroduced by Russian Grand Master Vladimir Kramnik. He used this variation to defeat the most famous player at his time Gary Kasparov. Even present chess champion Magnus Carlsen plays it from time to time. Like we saw in previous articles it's starting with those moves:e4, e5 2. Nf3, Nc6 3. Bb5, Nf6 4. 0-0 Ne4 For entering in this variation white need to play now d4 following by black Nd6. Black is attacking white light Bishop knowing white will probably initiate Bishop-Knight exchange and try to get e5 pawn. This looks bad for black to me as amateur player because Knights are blocking pawns, but I guess chess Grand Masters know what they are doing. 5. d4, Nd6 6. Bc6, d7-c6 7. e4, Nf5 8. Qd8, Kd8 Black has doubled f pawns now and have one more on right side, but white has one more clear pawn on left side. However black has 2 Bishops which are stronger than 2 Knights or Knight and Bishop in such open positions, but has lost ability to do castle. Queen exchange in early stage of the game against great attacker like Kasparov was good approach for Kramnik. The most powerful piece is out of play. Once in the past main move after this was Rd1 check after which black would just move King back to e8. Disadvantage of this move for white is fact that other Rook from h1 will have very little space to develop. d1 should be his field not of Rook from a1. White looks better now, but his weakness is e5 pawn which is over advanced and will be hard to defend. Goal for white would be to exchange peaces because he has clear pawn advantage on left side, while black is equal or have slight advantage when all peaces are on the board. White can try Ng5 too threatening to f7 and double King-Rook attack, but black can just move his King back to e8. Correct way to continue this variation is: 9. h3, Ke8 10. Nc3, h5 11. Bf4, Be7 12. Rd1, Be6 13. Ng5, Rh6 Plans are clear, black wants to attack while white wants to exchange pieces. White put right Rook to d1 and want to take Bishop on e6 after which black would take Knight with his Rook from a6. Removing pawn on c7 would not be to smart from white because he would give Bishop plus Knight for Rook and black will remain with 2 dangerous Bishops and clear b line. It's not non playable, but I think black would be in better position because of more peaces. However the most playable continuation from move 9 between Grand Masters is 9. Nc3, Ke8 10. h3, h5 11. Bf4, Be7 12. Rd1, Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 and we came to same position like above. If we want to avoid this Berlin variation we can return to position before white did castle. We see another solid move which is d3 protecting e4 pawn and giving white dark Bishop chance to develop. 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 0-0 6. 0-0 d6 7. Nd2, a6 8. Ba5, b5 9. Bc2 Bb6 10. d4 Now black tries to move Knight from c6 to b1 and finally to d7, while white will try Rook e1 and then Nf1-g3-f5. I hope you enjoyed this article. Thanks for reading.
What Openings do you Like?
Your favorite opening defines you as a player. And if you list out your favorite openings they definitely show how you like to play the game. Most casual chess players don't know how to categorize openings or how to get to resources to review different openings. So if I ask your opinion of the London or the English, Scandinavian, or Grunfeld would you know what I was talking about? Fortunately, it doesn't have to be that complicated. There are three basic types of openings. I think the old people label them as open (e4), closed (d4) or mixed (ex, Nc3 or Nf3). I see them mostly labeled as classical (center), modern (I think this is queen's gambit territory as an off-center attack) or hyper-modern (passive and delayed attack developing minor pieces first). In any case, most people use all three at various times but have a couple of favorites that most aptly represents their style of play. The way I look at it is if you like a king's pawn opening (open) you are more of risk-taker and will tend to play a more aggressive game. Not only are you throwing an unprotected pawn out there but also opening the diagonal for the bishop and queen with one pawn move. A queen's pawn is more defensive. That pawn is defended and only one diagonal is opened. Most importantly for me, it preserves a four pawn chain in front of a kingside castle and the f pawn can remain on f2 blocking the king's diagonal. I consider the queen's gambit to be a hybrid that preserves the defensive structure but opens up more offensive opportunities. Not surprisingly this is the most popular. I learned about a couple of hypermodern openings - the Reti and Grunfeld while I was exploring alternatives. We all get tired of doing the same old thing all the time and the hypermodern openings afford me the opportunity to change things up. I really like these openings theoretically speaking. By that I mean I usually lose so I can't play them that often. It takes a little more skill to attack the center passively at first, get everything in position and then, just at the right time, make your move. Still, it's fun to try so I throw them out there every now and then. The best place to learn about openings is at Chessopenings.com hosted by Dereque Kelley. He is by far the best teacher I have run into in the chess world. He teaches openings specifically but he is constantly informing you about overall chess strategy. I highly recommend him if you want to improve your chess game. There is a lot of free content on his site. So what are my favorite openings? I like the English (c4), Queen's Gambit (1.d4,d5 2.c4) if I am white and the Grunfeld (Nf6) when I play black. The English makes the most sense to me because it gets the c pawn out of the way and allows for the development of the knight early. While a lot of openings use the bishops down the board early I tend to hold back unless I see an opportunity. I want to develop the knights first but I want to push them to the third rank instead of the second. And this is the way I tend to play the game. I take a defensive position that allows for a quick offensive attack if I see an opportunity. I usually don't push up the board too quickly. And this is the way I tend to live my life. Mitigate risks but always be on the lookout for opportunity. When it comes don't be afraid to jump. Your chess and thus your opening says a lot about your personality. Even if you don't know anything about chess you can probably describe the opening you would like just by describing yourself. So back to the original question, what openings do you like?
What Openings do you Like?
Your favorite opening defines you as a player. And if you list out your favorite openings they definitely show how you like to play the game. Most casual chess players don't know how to categorize openings or how to get to resources to review different openings. So if I ask your opinion of the London or the English, Scandinavian, or Grunfeld would you know what I was talking about? Fortunately, it doesn't have to be that complicated. There are three basic types of openings. I think the old people label them as open (e4), closed (d4) or mixed (ex, Nc3 or Nf3). I see them mostly labeled as classical (center), modern (I think this is queen's gambit territory as an off-center attack) or hyper-modern (passive and delayed attack developing minor pieces first). In any case, most people use all three at various times but have a couple of favorites that most aptly represents their style of play. The way I look at it is if you like a king's pawn opening (open) you are more of risk-taker and will tend to play a more aggressive game. Not only are you throwing an unprotected pawn out there but also opening the diagonal for the bishop and queen with one pawn move. A queen's pawn is more defensive. That pawn is defended and only one diagonal is opened. Most importantly for me, it preserves a four pawn chain in front of a kingside castle and the f pawn can remain on f2 blocking the king's diagonal. I consider the queen's gambit to be a hybrid that preserves the defensive structure but opens up more offensive opportunities. Not surprisingly this is the most popular. I learned about a couple of hypermodern openings - the Reti and Grunfeld while I was exploring alternatives. We all get tired of doing the same old thing all the time and the hypermodern openings afford me the opportunity to change things up. I really like these openings theoretically speaking. By that I mean I usually lose so I can't play them that often. It takes a little more skill to attack the center passively at first, get everything in position and then, just at the right time, make your move. Still, it's fun to try so I throw them out there every now and then. The best place to learn about openings is at Chessopenings.com hosted by Dereque Kelley. He is by far the best teacher I have run into in the chess world. He teaches openings specifically but he is constantly informing you about overall chess strategy. I highly recommend him if you want to improve your chess game. There is a lot of free content on his site. So what are my favorite openings? I like the English (c4), Queen's Gambit (1.d4,d5 2.c4) if I am white and the Grunfeld (Nf6) when I play black. The English makes the most sense to me because it gets the c pawn out of the way and allows for the development of the knight early. While a lot of openings use the bishops down the board early I tend to hold back unless I see an opportunity. I want to develop the knights first but I want to push them to the third rank instead of the second. And this is the way I tend to play the game. I take a defensive position that allows for a quick offensive attack if I see an opportunity. I usually don't push up the board too quickly. And this is the way I tend to live my life. Mitigate risks but always be on the lookout for opportunity. When it comes don't be afraid to jump. Your chess and thus your opening says a lot about your personality. Even if you don't know anything about chess you can probably describe the opening you would like just by describing yourself. So back to the original question, what openings do you like?
What Openings do you Like?
Your favorite opening defines you as a player. And if you list out your favorite openings they definitely show how you like to play the game. Most casual chess players don't know how to categorize openings or how to get to resources to review different openings. So if I ask your opinion of the London or the English, Scandinavian, or Grunfeld would you know what I was talking about? Fortunately, it doesn't have to be that complicated. There are three basic types of openings. I think the old people label them as open (e4), closed (d4) or mixed (ex, Nc3 or Nf3). I see them mostly labeled as classical (center), modern (I think this is queen's gambit territory as an off-center attack) or hyper-modern (passive and delayed attack developing minor pieces first). In any case, most people use all three at various times but have a couple of favorites that most aptly represents their style of play. The way I look at it is if you like a king's pawn opening (open) you are more of risk-taker and will tend to play a more aggressive game. Not only are you throwing an unprotected pawn out there but also opening the diagonal for the bishop and queen with one pawn move. A queen's pawn is more defensive. That pawn is defended and only one diagonal is opened. Most importantly for me, it preserves a four pawn chain in front of a kingside castle and the f pawn can remain on f2 blocking the king's diagonal. I consider the queen's gambit to be a hybrid that preserves the defensive structure but opens up more offensive opportunities. Not surprisingly this is the most popular. I learned about a couple of hypermodern openings - the Reti and Grunfeld while I was exploring alternatives. We all get tired of doing the same old thing all the time and the hypermodern openings afford me the opportunity to change things up. I really like these openings theoretically speaking. By that I mean I usually lose so I can't play them that often. It takes a little more skill to attack the center passively at first, get everything in position and then, just at the right time, make your move. Still, it's fun to try so I throw them out there every now and then. The best place to learn about openings is at Chessopenings.com hosted by Dereque Kelley. He is by far the best teacher I have run into in the chess world. He teaches openings specifically but he is constantly informing you about overall chess strategy. I highly recommend him if you want to improve your chess game. There is a lot of free content on his site. So what are my favorite openings? I like the English (c4), Queen's Gambit (1.d4,d5 2.c4) if I am white and the Grunfeld (Nf6) when I play black. The English makes the most sense to me because it gets the c pawn out of the way and allows for the development of the knight early. While a lot of openings use the bishops down the board early I tend to hold back unless I see an opportunity. I want to develop the knights first but I want to push them to the third rank instead of the second. And this is the way I tend to play the game. I take a defensive position that allows for a quick offensive attack if I see an opportunity. I usually don't push up the board too quickly. And this is the way I tend to live my life. Mitigate risks but always be on the lookout for opportunity. When it comes don't be afraid to jump. Your chess and thus your opening says a lot about your personality. Even if you don't know anything about chess you can probably describe the opening you would like just by describing yourself. So back to the original question, what openings do you like?
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