This Week's ChessVideos Show: The Quick Ruy, Part 7: Intro to the Berlin Ending
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 7:12PM We resume our series on the Ruy Lopez this week with our first look at the Berlin endgame that arises after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8. In subsequent shows we'll cover some of the key variations in this ending (or queenless middlegame), but in this show, by way of an overview, we introduce the "cast". Every piece and pawn, for both sides, is discussed: what it does, where it's likely to go and why, and - at least as importantly - when it will go there.
By having an idea of what jobs each piece has, and by having some context about the timing of the various pieces' moves, following the variations in the weeks to come will be much easier than it might otherwise have been.
The show is here, it's free (free registration is required), and will be available on-demand for the next month or so.
Reader Comments (6)
Yawn... lets just skip ahead to the Marshall Gambit already! Of course, I'm only (partially) kidding.
[DM: C'mon, the Berlin is interesting! Besides, we'll be up to the Marshall before you know it...how's early 2015? There's only the Berlin, the Exchange Variation, the delayed Schliemann, delayed Steinitz, the Norwegian Variation, the Open Ruy, lines with d3, lines with an early d4, the Delayed Exchange and Delayed Exchange Deferred, the Archangelsk and Neo-Archangelsk and the Worrall to cover first. (And I'm probably forgetting something. Even if not, another variation might be invented by the time we're up to the Marshall.)]
You forgot the Breyer, the Chigorin, the Gajewski, the Bird, the classical, the cozio, the a4 system, the central attack, and the smyslov.
[DM: No, I didn't forget any of those, except, in a sense, a4. I already covered the Bird, Classical and Cozio systems; I mentioned the Central Attack ("lines with an early d4"); and the Breyer, Chigorin, Gajewski and Smyslov all come after the Marshall. But yes, there is the Anti-Marshall, which while part of the same "chapter" will come before the Marshall proper.]
I made this post before watching your presentation on it, and it does seem more interesting than I originally thought. In the video you said the Berlin is not for people who like direct play, but for people who can remain more flexible. I'd say I'm a fairly inflexible chess player, but this is precisely why I'm interested in the upcoming videos on the Berlin. Even though I don't play the Berlin, I think your videos on them will be a good way for me to learn something about playing more flexible chess. Since I'm so used to playing sharp positions I always feel like every move I make has to have a direct threat to it, and I feel a bit uncomfortable playing slowly. However, It seems the better that I get the more risk-averse i become, although I assume that my risk tolerance is still higher than most players.
this is the show I have been looking forward to! You really are a little star, Dennis. :o)
Khalifman goes into enormous detail in his Anand series but, all the same, it is very hard to see the wood for the trees.
I was intrigued by a comment I heard on the ICC during one of its GM tourney coverage. Yasser Seirawan and Alex Yermolinsky, iirc, were talking of how sharp the Berlin endgame is. Yes -- sharp! The sharpness is in the imbalance. If white fluffs it, those bishops will make his life hell. The McShane-Kramnik, London Chess Classic 2010 game comes to mind. Luke bt his position did look suspect.
And Chigorin, Smyslov, Moller, Breyer, Zaitsev?
[DM: The Moller I was thinking of under the "Archangelsk" heading, but that may be a bit sloppy. The other systems are logically considered after the Marshall, not before.]
my post was mangled. The last line should read: Luke drew but his position did look suspect.