One of the reasons Study of the Chess openings is so popular is the simple fact that learning openings is as fun as it is educational. When you study the openings (especially classical ones) you gain ever-expanding insight into the key elements of the chess struggle. Principles and platitudes like “establish a pawn center”, “develop your knights before bishops”, and so on, acquire new meaning when you get an opportunity to see the principles in action hundreds of times and the concrete variations which support them. Additionally, the study of Opening theory leads to many interesting twists and turns filled with fascinating tactics.

One of my favorite openings to study is the Ruy Lopez. This is a very important opening and has been for hundreds of years. A thorough study of this opening is extremely fun and can also be very rewarding both for one’s results in the openings and for one’s understanding of chess in general.

Today I want to introduce an interesting game in one line of the Ruy Lopez to demonstrate some general ideas. At the same time I want to expose you to the method I use to learn openings (and chess!).

Alexei Shirov – Ivan Sokolov Las Vegas 1999 rapid

The following game was played at the time control g/25 + 10. Both players had 25 minutes on the clock and also gained 10 seconds after making each move. Surprisingly, rapid and blitz games between strong players can be amazingly instructive and interesting since one often sees mistakes and punishments which wouldn’t arise in the longer time controls between such skilled players.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5

These are the beginning moves of the Ruy Lopez. On our excellent sister site http://chessopenings.com/ I covered the basic ideas behind the Ruy Lopez. You can view a slideshow here: http://chessopenings.com/ruy+lopez/

For our purposes here it’s enough to note that White develops his pieces rapidly while sooner or later creating a threat to capture on e5. Sooner or later, Black will have to play …d6 to cover the pawn. In the meantime, White will expand in the center with c2-c3, d2-d4 yielding him an advantage in space.

In classical openings where Black attempts to take an equal share of the center (1.e4 e5 or 1.d4 d5) it is extremely common for White to seek an advantage by putting pressure on Black’s center pawn forcing Black to make concessions in defending it.

3…Bc5

This is not the most common reaction since it will ensure that when White plays d2-d4, White will gain a tempo against the bishop. On the other hand, Black has the benefit of developing his bishop to c5 before he plays …d6.

4.O-O

Only after castling does White’s threat to the e5-pawn become real. Suppose White immediately tries to gain the e5 pawn with 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nxe5?

There are two moves which allow Black to recover his pawn. You ought to see the methods of recovering the pawn right away since you’ve been working with KEBU Chess Tactics Software! I’ve put the solution at the end of this short article. Be sure to find both solutions and then also to determine which you think leads to a more advantageous situation for Black.

4…d6

Now that White has castled, Black defends the e5-pawn. This isn’t necessarily the only move, but it’s the most natural. So what position has arisen?

The stage is now set for the ensuing strategic battle. White will clearly want to play for d2-d4 at some point. It’s easy to dismiss such a position and not recognize just how much one can learn about chess just by delving into the theory and practice of such a simple position.

As soon as White plays d2-d4 he is guaranteed a space advantage. There are many possible ways for play to continue after that. Black may choose to simply retreat his bishop to b6 and leave the White pawn on d4. In this case he must always contend with the possibility of dxe5 or d4-d5. On the other hand if he captures on d4, he either grants White a 2-1 majority of the center (if White plays c2-c3xd4) or an advanced knight with threats on a partially open board (after Nf3xd4). The whole theory and practice of this opening will give us insight into these possibilities and at the same time give us a general understanding of the challenges faced by Black when he is behind in space. Thus, in studying the theory and practice of this opening we study more general chess problems. This is extremely instructive, and also exciting! If we study openings intelligently we learn to connect theory with the study of general chess problems.

I also want to point out that we’re getting insight into another sort of chess problem in studying this opening variation. In the classical Ruy Lopez structure Black usually develops his bishop to e7 behind the pawn chain. It’s true that on c5 the bishop is more active, but as I pointed out this comes with certain drawbacks including the bishop’s exposure to attack. Thus we are also going to get a lot of insight into the advantages and drawbacks of developing one’s bishop outside of a closed pawn chain.

I can’t wait to get started. The next article will look at how Shirov and Sokolov treated the problems of this position. But before we move on, let’s answer the little puzzle provided earlier.

Congratulations if you saw either or both of the solutions: 5…Qd4! 6.Nd3 Qxe4+ or 5…Bxf2+!? 6.Kxf2 Qd4+.Did you remember to consider which you think is more advantageous for Black? Despite the flashiness of 5…Bxf2+ the strongest option is actually 5…Qd4! In that case White ends up with an awkwardly placed knight on d3 and Black retains the advantage of the bishop pair.