This Week's ChessVideos Show: Quick Ruy XXXIII: The Complicated Zaitsev Variation
The quick Ruy Lopez series is almost at an end - there's just one more episode left after this one! As the coverage now is of big main lines, there's a lot to discuss, and this week's episode on the Zaitsev Variation (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Bb7) is huge: 83 minutes long.
So here's my recommendation: break your viewing up into three parts. The first part, through 19:30, examines relative sidelines for both sides. Everything after that starts with the position reached after 10.d4 Re8 11.Nbd2 Bf8 12.a4 h6 13.Bc2 exd4 14.cxd4 Nb4 15.Bb1 c5 16.d5 Nd7 17.Ra3, and now there are two main lines: 17...f5 and 17...c4. I cover the first from 19:30 through about 52:45, which is where I'd recommend taking a(nother) break, and then the rest is on 17...c4.
I think I've managed to provide a good overview of the line, a decent summary of a lot of the theory, and - on a number of occasions - some new analysis that goes beyond and corrects existing theory. The show is free, as always, and I hope you enjoy it. Next week is the grand series finale, on the Breyer (9...Nb8)!