RUY LOPEZ, BIRD DEFENSE

From Graham Free:

I was reading Khalifman's OPENING REPERTOIRE FOR WHITE ACCORDING TO ANAND and came across an amazing move. In the position 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 4.Nxd4 exd4 5.0-0, Khalifman mentions that move 5...h5 is quite interesting, to wait for white's intentions, prepare a possible .Nf6-g4 and keep white's Queen off h5. He goes on to quote a game Leko-Morezevich 2002 as his recommendation, ending with a verdict of a slight plus for white.

Needless to say I was completely surprised by 5...h5 as black moves his rook pawn up without any of his pieces developed. I immediately thought of John Watson's books and his sections on early flank pawn advances. I don't know if the idea is sound, but it still seemed like a great example of modern thinking. The most surprising thing though is upon looking it up in the database I found 5...h5 was played six times prior to 1900, all by Bird himself, although with fairly poor results (+1, = 0, - 5).

WOULD WATSON REALLY PLAY THIS?

John Watson responds:

Yes, I quite like the ...h5 idea (Note how it allows the critical ...Nh7! in my comments to the Leko game below. Okay, that's not fair!). Although entertaining, I don't believe that it equalizes (a rather strong += in my judgment).

I find eleven games since 1990 and twenty-three in all. Black has done terribly, but five of the games were by a junior (under 16 called "Naer"). Here's two games I've actually put a couple of notes on. Your Leko-Moro game looks fine to me.

Leko (2722) - Morozevich (2716)
Moscow, 2002
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 4.Nxd4 exd4 5.0-0 h5 6.c3 Bc5 7.cxd4 Bxd4 8.Nc3 c6 9.Bc4 Nf6 10.Ne2 Bb6 11.e5 d5 12.Bb3 Ng8

I think 12.Nh7!? is worth serious consideration.

THE KNIGHT'S DREAM SQUARE!?

I like this idea, exploiting the square ...h5 has vacated! Play might continue (after 12.Nh7) 13.d4 h4 14.h3 Bf5 and Black has reasonable chances.

In the actual game (after 12.Ng8), White gained an edge : 13.d4 Bg4 (13...h4!?) 14.f3 Be6 15.Bc2 Ne7 16.Bg5.

A few games where this line was employed:

Winawer - Bird [C61]
Paris,1878
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 4.Nxd4 exd4 5.0-0 h5 6.d3 Bc5 (6...c6!? 7.Bc4 Nf6 8.e5 d5 9.exf6 [9.Bb3 Nd7 10.Nd2 Nc5] 9...dxc4 10.fxg7 Bxg7 11.dxc4 Be6 is probably slightly better for White but Black goes for ...0-0-0. The whole thing is quite interesting!) 7.h3 c6 8.Bc4 d5 9.exd5 cxd5 10.Bb5+ Kf8 11.Ba4 g5? (11...Be6!) 12.Re1 Be6 13.f4 b5 14.Bxb5 Qa5 15.Bc6 Rc8 16.Rxe6 fxe6 17.Bd7 Rd8 18.Bxe6 Re8 19.f5 g4 20.Nd2 Qc7 21.Nf1 gxh3 22.gxh3 Qg7+ 23.Kf2 Nf6 24.Qf3 Bd6 25.Bf4 Qc7 26.Bxd6+ Qxd6 27.Re1 Rb8 28.b3 h4 29.Kg1 Rh7 30.Qf2 Qb4 31.Re2 Rb6 32.Qf4 Rbb7 33.Qe5 Rhg7+ 34.Kh1 Qe7 35.a3 Rg5 36.Qxd4 Qg7 37.Qf2 Re7 38.c4 Nh5 39.cxd5 Qf6 40.Rc2 Qa1 41.Rc8+ Kg7 42.Rg8+ Kh6 43.Rxg5 Kxg5 44.Qg1+ Kf6 45.Ne3 Ng3+ 46.Kg2 Qxg1+ 47.Kxg1 Rb7 48.d6 Ne2+ 49.Kh2 Nd4 50.Ng4+ Kg5 51.d7 Rb8 52.Ne5 Kf6 53.Nf7 Rg8 54.d8Q+, 1-0.

Mason - Bird [C61]
Paris,1878
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 4.Nxd4 exd4 5.0-0 h5 6.f4 c6 7.Be2 d5 8.d3 dxe4 9.dxe4 Bc5 10.Bd3 Nf6 11.f5 Ng4 12.Bf4 Bd7 13.Na3 Qe7 14.Nc4 b5 15.Na5 Ne3 16.Bxe3 dxe3 17.Qe2 Qe5 18.c3 h4 19.Rf3 g6 20.Nb3 Bb6 21.Nd4 0-0-0 22.Rxe3 gxf5 23.exf5 Bxd4 24.cxd4 Qxd4 25.Kh1 Rde8 26.Be4 h3 27.g3 Re5 28.Rd1 Qb6 29.Qd2 Rd8 30.g4 c5 31.Kg1 c4 32.Qf2 Rde8 33.Rde1 Bc6 34.Bxc6 Rxe3 35.Rxe3 Rxe3 36.Kf1 Qd4 37.Bf3 Qd3+, 0-1.

Winawer - Bird [C61]
London, 1883
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 4.Nxd4 exd4 5.0-0 h5 6.Bc4 Bc5 7.Qf3 Qf6 8.Qxf6 Nxf6 9.d3 d6 10.a3 Be6 11.b4 Bb6 12.Nd2 c6 13.Bxe6 fxe6 14.Nc4 Bc7 15.Bg5 b5 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.Nd2 Kd7 18.Nb3 Bb6 19.f4 a5 20.f5 e5 21.a4 axb4 22.axb5 cxb5 23.Rxa8 Rxa8 24.Ra1 Ra3 25.Kf2 d5 26.Kf3 Kc6 27.g3 Bc5 28.h3 dxe4+ 29.Kxe4 Bf8 30.g4 hxg4 31.hxg4 Rxa1 32.Nxa1 Bh6 33.Nb3 Bg5 34.Na5+ Kb6 35.Nb3 Kc6 36.Na5+ Kd6 37.Nb7+ Kc7 38.Nc5 Kd6 39.Nb7+ Kc7 40.Nc5 Kc6 41.Ne6 Bh6 42.g5 fxg5 43.Kxe5 g4 44.Nxd4+ Kd7 45.Ne2 Ke7 46.Ng3 Be3 47.Ne4 Kf7 48.f6 Kg6 49.d4 Bg1 50.d5 g3 51.Nxg3 Bh2 52.Ke6 Bxg3 53.f7, 1-0.

Winawer - Bird [C61]
Nuremberg, 1883
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 4.Nxd4 exd4 5.0-0 h5 6.Bc4 Bc5 7.d3 d6 8.c3 Qe7 9.cxd4 Bb6 10.Nc3 c6 11.Be3 Qf6 12.e5 Qg6 13.exd6 Bh3 14.Qf3 Bg4 15.Qe4+ Kf8 16.Qxg6 fxg6 17.d5 Nf6 18.dxc6 bxc6 19.b4 Rd8 20.Bc5 h4 21.Rae1 Rh5 22.Re7 Rd7 23.h3 Bf5 24.Rfe1 g5 25.f3 Bg6 26.d4 Rh6 27.b5 cxb5 28.Bxb5 Rd8 29.d7 Bxc5 30.dxc5 Bf7 31.c6, 1-0

Mackenzie - Bird [C61]
Hamburg, 1885
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 4.Nxd4 exd4 5.0-0 h5 6.d3 Bc5 7.Nd2 c6 8.Ba4 d6 9.Bb3 Bg4 10.f3 Be6 11.Qe1 h4 12.Bxe6 fxe6 13.h3 Bb6 14.f4 Qe7 15.Nf3 0-0-0 16.a4 c5 17.a5 Bc7 18.b4 d5 19.e5 Rd7 20.Bd2 Kb8 21.Qf2 b6 22.Rfb1 Nh6 23.bxc5 Qxc5 24.Bb4 Qc6 25.Nxd4 Qb7 26.Nxe6 Nf5 27.Nxc7 Kxc7 28.axb6+ axb6 29.Bc5 Rh6 30.Bxb6+, 1-0.

Baird - Bird [C61]
New York, 1889
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 4.Nxd4 exd4 5.0-0 h5 6.d3 Bc5 7.Bf4 g5 8.Bd2 c6 9.Bc4 d5 10.exd5 cxd5 11.Qe2+ Kf8 12.Qe5 Qf6 13.Qxd5 Be7 14.Bxg5 Qg6 15.Bxe7+ Nxe7 16.Qd8+ Kg7 17.Qxe7 Rf8 18.Qe5+ Kh7 19.Nd2 Rg8 20.g3 Bh3 21.Ne4 Rg7 22.Nf6+ Kh6 23.Qf4+ Qg5 24.Qxg5+, 1-0.

Gunsberg - Blackburne [C61]
London, 1904
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 4.Nxd4 exd4 5.0-0 h5 6.c3 Bc5 7.b4 Bb6 8.Bb2 Qg5 9.Be2 Nf6 10.d3 d5 11.Nd2 dxe4 12.Nxe4 Nxe4 13.dxe4 dxc3 14.Bxc3 Bh3 15.Bf3 c6 16.Qd6 Bg4 17.Qg3 0-0-0 18.Rad1 Bc7 19.e5 f5 20.Bxg4 hxg4 21.f4 Bb6+ 22.Kh1 Qh6 23.Rxd8+ Bxd8 24.Be1 Bb6 25.Bf2 Bxf2 26.Rxf2 Rd8 27.Rf1 Qe6 28.Qf2 Qc4 29.Kg1 Qd4 30.a3 Qxf2+ 31.Kxf2 Rd2+ 32.Kg3 Kd7 33.h3 gxh3 34.gxh3 Ke6 35.Rf3 g6 36.Kh4 Rd8 37.Kg5 Kf7 38.Kh4 Rd5 39.Kg5 Rd8, 1/2-1/2.

Michel - Rossetto [C61]
Mar del Plata, 1947
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 4.Nxd4 exd4 5.0-0 h5 6.d3 Bc5 7.Nd2 c6 8.Bc4 d5 9.Bb3 Kf8 10.c4 dxc3 11.bxc3 Bg4 12.Qc2 Be2 13.Re1 dxe4 14.Nxe4 Bxd3 15.Qxd3 Qxd3 16.Nxc5 Qf5 17.Ba3 Nh6 18.Re5 Qg6 19.Rg5 Qh7 20.Ne4+ Ke8 21.Re5+ Kd8 22.Re7 Nf5 23.Rd1+ Kc8 24.Rxf7, 1-0.

Timman (2675) - Marmier [C61]
Zurich, 1988
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 4.Nxd4 exd4 5.0-0 h5 6.c3 c6 7.Ba4 d3 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.Qxd3 d5 10.exd5 Bd6 11.dxc6 Kf8 12.b3 bxc6 13.Ba3 Rh6 14.Bxd6+ Qxd6 15.Qxd6+ Rxd6 16.d4 Bf5 17.Nd2 Nf6 18.Nc4 Re6 19.Rae1 Rae8 20.Rxe6 Rxe6 21.Ne3 Be4 22.Rd1 h4 23.h3 Nh5 24.b4 Nf4 25.Kh2 Rg6 26.f3 Bd3 27.Rd2 Re6 28.Ng4 Bc4 29.Bb3 Bxb3 30.axb3 Re2 31.Rxe2 Nxe2 32.Ne5 Nxc3 33.Nxc6 Nb5 34.Kg1 Ke8 35.Kf2 Kd7 36.Ne5+ Ke6 37.Ke3 Kd5 38.Nxf7 Nxd4 39.f4 Nxb3 40.Ne5 Nd4 41.Ng6 Nc2+ 42.Kd2 Nxb4 43.Nxh4 Kc4 44.Nf5 a5 45.Ne3+ Kb3 46.Nf5 a4 47.Nd4+ Kc4 48.Nc2 Nxc2 49.Kxc2 Kd4 50.f5 Ke5 51.g4 Kf4, 1-0.

Saltaev (2495) - Najer (2455) [C61]
Moscow, 1995
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 4.Nxd4 exd4 5.0-0 h5 6.c3 Bc5 7.d3 c6 8.Bc4 d5 9.exd5 cxd5 10.Bb5+ Kf8 11.Qe1 Nf6 12.cxd4 Bd6 13.Bg5 Be6 14.h3 Qb6 15.Nc3 Qxd4 16.Qe3 Qe5 17.Qxe5 Bxe5 18.Rfe1 Bd4 19.Ba4 Rd8 20.Ne2 Bb6 21.Nf4 Rd6 22.Rac1 Kg8 23.Re2 Bd8 24.Bb3 g6 25.Nxe6 fxe6 26.Bf4 Rb6 27.Be3 Ra6 28.Rc8 Kf7 29.Rb8 b6 30.Rb7+ Be7 31.Rc2 Re8 32.Rcc7 Kf8 33.Bh6+ Kf7 34.Bd2 Kf8 35.Bc3 Ng8 36.a4 h4 37.a5, 1-0.

Peters (2460) - Smith [C61]
American op USA (1), 1996
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 4.Nxd4 exd4 5.0-0 h5 6.d3 Bc5 7.Nd2 c6 8.Bc4 d5 9.Bb3 Ne7 10.Nf3 Ng6 11.exd5 cxd5 12.Re1+ Kf8 13.h3 Qd6 14.c3 Bg4 15.hxg4 hxg4 16.Nxd4 Qh2+ 17.Kf1 Bxd4 18.cxd4 Qh1+ 19.Ke2 Qxg2 20.Be3 Re8 21.Kd2 Rh2 22.Rh1 f5 23.Rxh2 Qxh2 24.Qh1 Qxh1 25.Rxh1 f4 26.Bxd5 fxe3+ 27.fxe3 Ke7 28.Rg1, 1-0.