Dangerous Weapons — The Ruy Lopez

John Cox, John Emms, Tony Kosten

Reviewer: John Donaldson
Everyman Chess
2012
299 pages
paper


The latest in the Dangerous Weapons series is dedicated to the Ruy Lopez. Dangerous Weapons: The Ruy Lopez by John Emms, Tony Kosten and John Cox, has five chapters written from White’s perspective and seven from Black’s.

The material breaks down as follows:

1 The Aronian Variation (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nge7), page 13 – Kosten
2 Classical Berlin: Introduction (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Bc5) 43 – Kosten
3 Classical Berlin: 5.c3 Main Line 80 – Kosten
4 6.Ba4 versus the Berlin (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Ba4) 129 – Cox
5 New Ideas in the 4.d3 Berlin 142 – Cox
6 An Evans Gambit in the Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Bc5 4.0-0 Nd4 5.b4) 159 – Emms
7 Fighting the Exchange Variation (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.0-0 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5) 173 – Cox
8 New Ways to Play d3 (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3) 195 – Emms
9 Another g4 Lunge (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 b5 6.Bb3 Be7 7.g4) 230 – Emms
10 A Gambit against the Anti-Marshall (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.a4 Na5) 242 – Emms
11 The 9…a5 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 a5) 257 – Cox
12 An Open Chigorin (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 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 exd4) 275 – Emms

As one can see from the table of contents, this book is pretty evenly divided between lines advocated for White and those for Black. Additionally, it is also equally weighted between lines without 3…a6 and those where it is played. The first six chapters (non 3…a6) immediately bring to mind Ivan Sokolov’s outstanding The Ruy Lopez Revisited (New in Chess 2009). That book is totally devoted to non-3…a6 systems (except 3…a6 4.Ba4 f5), but surprisingly there is very little overlap between the two works. While Sokolov champions the Cozio (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nge7), fellow GM John Emms favours Levon Aronian’s favorite (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nge7) and points out this relatively new line is one of the few variations in the Ruy where Black has a plus score. It also offers Black’s choices in the early move-order as 3…g6 4.0-0 Bg7 5.c3 a6 6.Ba4 and 3…Nge7 4.0-0 g6 5.c3 a6 6.Ba4 can transpose to positions reached after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nge7 – handy backup lines to have in store against an Exchange Ruy specialist. By playing …a6 immediately, Black doesn’t give White the option of retreating the bishop to c4 (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nge7 4.0-0 a6 5.Bc4) – the idea which Ostap Bender anticipated in his famous lecture.

The chapter on the Aronian variation is classic Dangerous Weapons material – you have a complete defense to the Ruy presented in 30 pages that is enterprising yet sound and can be learned in just a few hours.

Along the same lines are the two chapters on the Classical Ruy (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Bc5), written by GM Tony Kosten.

They cover the same lines as those seen in the Ruy Lopez Revisited and Kosten examines many critical positions that Sokolov gives, adding his own analysis with an emphasis on the practical. Kosten admits that after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Bc5 5.Nxe5 that Black’s safest course of action isn’t 5…Nxe5!? – “Objectively this is probably not the best move… but it is the most fun!” He goes on to mention that 5…Nxe4 is the alternative favored by super-GMs when they play the Classical, but that after 6.Qe2 Nxe5 7.Qxe4 Qe7 8.d4 Nc6 9.Qxe7+ Bxe7 11.c3 a dull symmetric endgame where White has a space advantage – not the sort of cup for the club player who wants to mix things up.

These two chapters (some 80 pages) plus part of chapter 5 (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3) offer another complete repertoire to the Ruy that is both sound and active. One idea advocated quite often in the main lines is …Qe7 and …Nd8 (for example 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Bc5 5.c3 0-0 6.d4 Bb6 7.Bg5 d6 8.Qd3 Qe7 9.Nbd2 Nd8!?). The idea, analogous to a similar maneuver in the Four Knights Game, intends to bring the Knight to e6, hitting the bishop g5 and invading on f4. As Kosten points out, it also leaves the Bishop on b5 looking a little silly. White can stop this plan by playing d4-d5, but this brings the b6-Bishop into the game. The Knight on d8 comes back into the game with …h6, …g5, …f6 and …Nf7. This is a little slow, but can be the start of a strong attack on the kingside.

The other chapters from Black’s perspective are an enterprising answer to the Exchange Ruy – the pawn sac line 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.0-0 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6 8.Nxe5 Qh4, a gambit against the anti-Marshall (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.a4 Na5!?) and two different tries in the main line Ruy (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d6 9.h3 and now 9…Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 exd4 12.cxd4 Re8 and 9…a5). The latter was tried by Keres, who would try to hunt White’s light-squared bishop down with …a4 and …Nb4. The modern treatment is 9…a5, meeting 10.d4 with 10…a4 11.Bc2 Bd7 12.Nbd2 Re8 13.Nf1 h6 14.Ng3 Bf8 with …g6 and …Bg7 to follow. Play is not unlike the Smyslov Variation (9…h6) except that Black has gained some useful space on the queenside. It says something for Black’s position that both Carlsen and Nakamura have played it. Emm’s conclusion is that it will take precise, non-standard play to prove any White advantage.

The main weapon advocated for White in this book is an early d3, whether it be on move 4 (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3) or move 5 or 6 (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 or 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3). Not too long ago this treatment was primarily a way to avoid theory, and while this still holds true, John Emms shows that White has new ideas here in playing an early a4, sometimes delaying Re1 and aiming for f4.

A hallmark of modern chess is the advance of White’s g-pawn in the opening. This occurs quite frequently in d4 openings (including the line that started modern interest – 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Nbd7 7.g4) but lesser so after 1.e4 e5. One example in double king pawn openings is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.g4, but Emms looks at the g4 lunge in the Ruy after (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 b5 6.Bb3 Be7 7.g4!?).

Dangerous Weapons: The Ruy Lopez will be useful to a wide range of players, primarily in the rating range 1800 on up.

Recommended!