The Modernized Ruy Lopez - Volume 2

Complete Opening Repertoire for White

Dariusz Swiercz author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Thinkers Publishing

Published:13th Apr '21

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Modernized Ruy Lopez - Volume 2 cover

I would like to thank you for purchasing this book, I really appreciate it. It also means that you found an interest in my work of trying to crack the Ruy Lopez. As I said in the introduction to the first volume, I had no idea what I was signing up for when deciding to write a book on Ruy Lopez. This opening has such a rich history and good reputation that proving advantages in many lines is nearly impossible. Writing the first volume on this opening was a Herculean effort and I thought “it cannot be more difficult”. After all, I was covering such solid variations as the Berlin and the Open Spanish. Well, I got surprised again! I am not exaggerating when I say that writing the second volume was at least as hard as writing the first one. This second volume on the Ruy Lopez consists of two parts. In the first part I focus on modern systems with …Bc5, attempting to dissect both the Archangelsk and Moller Variations. These two variations have quite a rich history but in 2020 there have been several developments. If I had to name one person that contributed the most to the developments in those lines it is, without a doubt, Fabiano Caruana.  His encounters in the Candidates Tournament in Ekaterinburg, then his theoretical discussion in those lines with Leinier Dominguez, revised my opinion on many of those lines and led to interesting discoveries that I analyze in this bookIn the subsequent part I discuss the Closed Ruy Lopez. It is easily one of the most popular openings throughout the history of chess with many games occuring as early as the 1800s. I suggest going for 9.h3 which usually leads to a positional battle. I present new trends and find new paths and ideas in such evergreen variations as the Zaitsev, Breyer, Chigorin and others. Additionally, I attempt to crack the Marshall Attack by suggesting the Anti-Marshall lines with 8.a4. I must admit that I thought that it would be a pretty easy task to analyze those openings having some prior analysis and experience with both colors. However, time after time I was encountering new challenges and new ideas from both sides that I had to...

Grandmaster Dariusz Swiercz’s follow up to his first volume on the Ruy Lopez is a worthy sequel. He starts out by examining lines that involve Black playing an early …b5 or …. Bc5 (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 and now 5…Bc5 as well as 5…b5 6.Bb3 Bc5). He then moves on to the big main lines that begin after 5…Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 while opting to sidestep the Marshall Gambit with 7…0-0 8.a4. Swiercz concludes with a bonus chapter on 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 where White steers play into more positional waters and sidesteps a lot of theory, but at the cost of putting less direct pressure on Black. The Modernized Ruy Lopez, likes its sister volume, is a practical book written by a world class player. The days when White could theoretically prove a first move advantage are long gone but Swiercz shows how to steer for positions that computers might assess as equal but which are much easier to play for White.  If you play either side of the main lines of the Ruy Lopez you will want this book. IM John Donaldson - April 2021.

ISBN: 9789464201086

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

336 pages

New edition