RUY LOPEZ
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5


(Click on Col Number to see System in Action)
                     13                             14                     15                         16                         17                         18
 
                  Nge7 (Cozio Defense)................................................. Nd4 (Bird s Defense)
 
 4              d4............................ 0—0..................... c3 ......................Nxd4............................................... Bc4(o)
                 exd4                        g6(c)                     a6                       exd4                                                 Bc5(p)

  5             Nxd4                        c3                         Ba4                     0—0                                                 Nxd4
                 g6(a)                         Bg7                     b5(f)                    Bc5...................... c6                       Bxd4

  6             Nc3(b)                       d4                        Bb3                     d3(i)                      Bc4(1)               c3
                 Bg7                           exd4                     d5                        c6                         Nf 6                     Bb6

 7            Be3                            cxd4                     d3(g)                    Bc4(j)                  Rel                      d4
               0—0                           d5                          f6                         d5                         d6                        Qh4

 8             Qd2                           exd5                     Nbd2                  exd5                      c3                       0—0
                d5                              Nxd5                    Be6                     cxd5                      Ng4                    Nf6

 9            0-0-0                         Bg5                       0-0                        Bb5+                      h3                     Nd2
              dxe4                         Qd6                        Ng6                      Bd7                        Ne5                     d6

 10         Nxe4                        Qe2+(d)                  a4                        Bxd7f                     d3!(m)                Nf3
              Nxd4                         Be6                        b4                        Qxd7                       Nxc4                  Qh5

 11         Bxd4                        Nbd2                       a5                      Nd2                           dxc4                  Ng5
              Qxd4 =                      0—0(e)                   Be7(h)              Ne7(k)                       dxc3(n)            Qxdl ±

 (a) 5 ... Nxd4 6 Qxd4 Nc6 7 Qd5 Nb4 8 Qb3 Bc5 9 a3 Nc6 10 Qg3 0—0 11 Bg5 16 12 Bc4t with a minimal advantage.

(b) 6 Nxcfi Nxc6 7 Bxc6 bxc6 8 Qd4 f6 and Black is no worse according to Larsen. The column is analysis by Mechkarov.

(c) 4... Ng6 5 d4 exd4 6 Nxd4 Bc5 7 Nb3 Bb6 8 Nc3 is a little better for White, Dzindzichashvili—Larsen, Tilburg 1978.

(d) White can get a small advantage with 10 Relt Be6 11 Nc3 0—0 12 Ne4 Qb4 13 Bxc6± bxc6 14 Qcl, Mini&Dely, Belgrade 1968.

 (e) Timman—Spassky, Bugojno 1986, which continued 12 Ne4 Qb4 13 a3 Qa5 14 Bxc6 bxc6
15 Ne5?! (With 15 Racl the game would be level. Spassky now gets the opportunity to
play aggressively, disrupting White s pieces.) 15 . . . Rae8 16 Racl 16! 17 Nxc6 Qb6 18
8d2 Bd7 19 Nb4 Qxd4 20 Rc4 Qe5 21 Nd3 Qe7 22 Qf3 Bb5 23 Rd4 c6 24 Ng3 Qd8 25 a4
Ba6 26 Nb4 Qb6 27 RxdS (For 10 moves White has saved all his pieces, but finally he
must lose the exchange.) 27 ... cxd5 28 Nxa6 Qxafi 29 QxdSt Qe6 30 Qxe6t Rxefi 31
Rd 15 32 b4 f4 33 Nfl Bd4 34 Rc4 Re4 35 Khl Rfe8 36 h3 Bxf2 37 Rc6 Rel! 38 Bxel Rxel
39 g4 13 40 Rc8± Kf 7 41 Resigns.

(f) Safer is 5 ... d6 or 5 . .. g6 which gives White only a slight edge.

(g) 7 exds Nxd5 8 d4 exd4 9 Nxd4 Nxd4 10 Qxd4 Be6 was equal in Medlev—Morphy, London 1858.

(h) 12 8a4 with a big advantage, Ornstein—Rantanen, Norway 1978.
(1) 6 Qh5!? Qe7 7 d3 Nf6 8 Qh4 c6 (Kuzmin—Malanyuk, USSR 1986) and now 9 Ba4 looks j promising.

(j) 7 Ba4 Ne7 8 Nd2 d5 9 exd5 Nxd5 10 Rel± Be6 =, Karpov—Kupreichik, Leningrad 1976.

(k) 12 Nb3 Bb6 13 Bg5 f6 14 Bd2 a5 with equal chances, Rohde—Christiansen, US Chp. 1986.

(l) 6 Ba4 Nf6 7 c3 Be7 8 d3 0—0!? 9 cxd4 d5 is an interesting variation shown by McCormick and Soltis.

(m) Very dangerous for White is 10 Bfl?! d3 11 f4 Qd6± 12 Khi h5! threatening 13 ... Bg4,
  Mili&Nikola~, Yugoslavia 1951.

(n) 12 Nxc3 Be7 13 Bf4, Matanovi&.Gliksman, Zagreb 1967. Despite Black s two bishops,
White is better due to his extra space and the target to attack on d6. 5

(o) 4 Ba4 Bc5 5 0—0 Nxf3± 6 Qxf3 Ne7 7 d3 0—0 8 Be3 Bb6 =, Reti—Spielinann, Vienna 1913.

(p) 4 ... Nxf3F 5 Qxf3 Qf6 6 Qg3 d6 7 Nc3 c6 8 0—0 Be6 and White has only a small advantage (Yudovich). The column is Boök—Prins, Munich 1936.