RUY LOPEZ
      Berlin Defense
    1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Nf6


(Click on Colum Number to see System in Action)

                   7                        8                             9                             10                             11                             12

 4             0—0 .................................................................................................................. Qe2 .........................d4(q)
                Bc5.................. Nxe4                                                                                        Be7!(m)                    exd4(r)

 5            Nxe5(a)            d4............................................................. Rel                          c3                               e5
               Nxe5(b)            Nd6 ......................He7                            Nd6!(k)                   0—0                           Ne4

 6            d4                      Bxc6(d)                 Qe2                           Nxe5                       Bxc6(n)                     0—0
               a6!                     dxc6                      Nd6                            Be7(l)                      bxc6(o)                     a6

 7            Be2(c)              dxe5                       Bxc6                         Bd3                         NxeS                         Bxc6(s)
               Ba7                   Nf 5(e)                    bxc6                          0—0                        Re8                            dxc6

 8           dxe5                  Qxd8+                    dxe5                         Nc3                          0—0                           Qe2
              Nxe4                  Kxd8                      Nb7(h)                     Nxe5                        Bd6                            Bf5

 9           Bd3                   b3(f)                        Bf4(i)                        Rxe5                        f4                                Rd1
              Qh4                   h6                            0—0                         Bf6                           Bxe5                           Bc5

10         Qf3                     Nc3                         Nc3                          Re3                           fxe5                           Be3
              d5                      Be6                         Nc5                          g6                              Rxe5                         Qe7
 
 11        exd6                 Bb2                           Ne4                          b3                             d3                             Nxd4
             Nxd6                 Kc8(g)                     Ne6(j)                       Bd4 =                       Ba6(p)                     Bxd4 =


(a) 5 c3 transposes to column 5.

(b) On 5.. . Nxe4 6 Qe2 NxeS 7 Qxe4 Qe7 8 d4 Nc6 White can play a slightly better ending with 9 Qxe7t Bxe7 10 c3 or the complicated 9 Qg4 h5 10 Qxg7 Bxd4 ~.

(c) A better try is 7 Ba4 Nxe4 8 Qe2 Be7 9 Qxe4 Ng6 10 c4 (10 f4 0—0 11 f5 d5 12 Qd3 Nh4
13 g3 c5 14 dxc5 HxcS± 15 Khi Qa5 o~, Zapata—Torre, Thessaloniki 1988) 10 ... 0—0 11
Nc3 d6 12 Nd5 with a small edge, de Firmian—Fishbein, New York 1989. The column is
Chandler—Spassky, London 1984.

(d) Amusing is 6 dxe5 NxbS 7 a4 winning hack the knight. After 7 ... Nbd4 8 Nxd4 Nxd4 9 Qxd4 d5 Black is equal, Suetin—Bannik, Vladimir 1960.

(e) Bisguier has often played 7 ... Ne4, yet Gulko—Reshevsky, Vilnius 1978, continued 8 Qe2 Nc5 (8 ... Bf5 9 Rdl Qc8 10 Rd4!, Lohron—Lombardy, New York 1987) 9 Be3 Bg4 10 Nc3 Qe7 11 Rfel with an edge for White.

(f) Also giving White a slightly better ending is 9 Nc3 Ke8 10 Ne2 Be6 11 Nf4 Bd5 12 Nxd5, Fischer—Bisguier, US Chp. 1963.

(g) 12 Ne2 Bd5 13 Nd2 c5 14 Nf4 ±, Tseshkovsky—Romanishin, USSR Chp. 1976.

(h) 8... Nf5 9 Qe4 g6 10 h3 0—0 11 Bh2 Bb7 12 Nhd2 is better for White, Morovi&-Spassky, New York 1987.

(i) Another good plan is 9 Nc3 0—0 10 Ret Nc5 11 Nd4 Ne6 12 Be3.

(j)  12 Bg3 f5 13 exf6 Bxf6 14 c3 Be7 15 Radl gives White more fii~epower in the center, de Firmian—Kne~evit~, Reykjavik 1984.

(k) 5 ... Nf6 6 NxeS Be7?! (6. . . Nxe5 ±) 7 d4 0—0 8 Nc3 leaves Black in a bind, MUller— Behting, Riga 1899.

(I) Also reasonable is 6 . . . Nxe5 7 Rxe5t Be7. The column is Sherwin—Bisguier, US Chp. 1962.

(M) 4 .. . d6 allows 5 d4 exd4 6 e5! dxe5 7 Nxe5 with some advantage, A. Ivanov—
Roinanishin, USSR Chp. 1980. 4

(n) It is probably better to play 6 d4 exd4 7 cxd4 d5 8 e5 Ne4 9 0—0.

(o) In Kupreichik—Levin, Kiev 1976, Black achieved equality with 6... dxc6 7 NxeS Bd6 8 d4 c5 9 0-0 Re8 10 14 cxd4 11 cxd4 c5.

(p) 12 c4 ds 13 Nc3 dxe4 14 dxe4 Qd4t, Dzindzichashvili—Shamkovich, New York 1983. 6 Black is better.

(q) In the last century 4 d3 was commonly seen. This is playable, of course, but it does not 7 set Black any problems. 4 . .. d6 5 c3 and either 5 .. . Be7 or 5 .. . g6! Gives Black an
  equal game.

(r) 4 . . . Nxe4 5 0—0 transposes to 4 0—0 Nxe4 5 d4 (col. 2).
(s) 7 Ba4 transposes to col. 106. Column 12 is Kuindzi—Tseitlin, USSR 1977.