@RexPetrov got it, ran it through an engine. black would just respond by moving the knight, discovered attack on white queen. If White takes black's queen, the black-square bishop is defending and will lead to more development for black. Else, the pawn is threatened by the bishop.
At 4:30, you say "There's really no reason white shouldn't be able to find a win from this position" about arguably the most famously drawish position in all of chess. Garry Kasparov lost his title as world champion because he couldn't make any dent in Kramnik's Berlin Wall.
Where does he get that chess board to play with. I have a physical board and I want to get a V-board to practice on. Also, does anyone how of any free chess engines I could download?
I always get trap by my own pieces in this attack so I try to get my bishop and queen attacking the F7 square later, while my Knights attack the center.
jrobi, i wanted to bring up something which you have occurring in both the k xe4 captured-variation and the pawn to a6 variation. why is black '"most likely" recapturing white's bishop with the d pawn? better would be with the b pawn. black keeps it's center pawn and prevents the whole d file attack.
There are several advantages for Black: The pawn on e5 actually blocks White's remaining Bishop from attacking the queenside whilst Black's light-squared Bishop can still access the queenside pawns; with the Queens gone, there is no real point in castling and having the King near the centre is actually useful; Black can guard against any advance of White's Knights and place his King in safety; etc...
Excellent video as always - thanks! However, I've been looking into the Berlin defense recently though and it seems that White does not have such a straightforward win once the Queens are exchanged.
i usually find as white when black plays pawn a6 to attack whites bishop... I think it's a bad move for black... here's why... white takes trades the bishop taking the knight then.... white can push pawn d4... black takes pawn on d4 with it's e pawn... white takes back with queen protected by knight... really insisting on a queen trade... now you have a queenless game with a whide open middle... still pretty even but... white is still slightly more developed with a wide open middle...
After the fork on d4, black can play Kf3+. That force white even to take with the queen, that is loosing the bishop on d4, or white can take with the gpawn. That is tearing whites kingposistion apart.
in the berlin classical variation after knight captures e5 why wont the black knight on c6 immedeatly recapture? if they do what should be your next move?
can you do a video on the 3...a6 lines? i thought it would be identical to the berlin defense after 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6, but 5.o-o doesnt seem to work as well in this case...i could be wrong though, i'm not a grandmaster just trying to learn basic stuff.
@rtconnelly hey man, 5.0-0 really works! I think what you mean is when Black's knight on f6 captures the pawn on e4, you are wondering what you should next. Well, if ...5. Nxe4 you can simply play 6. Re1 d5(f5 is playable also) 7.d3 Nf6 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 9.Rxe5 and you get an advantage on the center though Black plays .. 9.Bd6 after that...
After the moves (below) you say white should win which is nonsense - this is the start of the positions whereby Kramnik was able to draw game after game v Kasparov and that meant he only had to win a few white games and he became the World champion...Kasparov couldn't break the Berlin wall. That black cant castle is irrelevant as we are in a middle to end game.
After the moves (below) you say white should win which is nonsense - this is the start of the positions whereby Kramnik was able to draw game after game v Kasparov and that meant he only had to win a few white games and he became the World champion...Kasparov couldn't break the Berlin wall. That black cant castle is irrelevant as we are in a middle to end game.
After the moves (below) you say white should win which is nonsense - this is the start of the positions whereby Kramnik was able to draw game after game v Kasparov and that meant he only had to win a few white games and he became the World champion...Kasparov couldn't break the Berlin wall. That black cant castle is irrelevant as we are in a middle to end game.
For many years I used to play 4. Q-K2 which side steps a lot of theoretical complications and can set up a lot of great central pawn breaks after R-Q1. I think it was called the English variation but I don't see and YouTube movies on it.
In 175 comments I'm sure this has already been asked, but I doubt I could find it. At 5:55, why does black Nxe4? That just gives white time to move the queen out, so when black takes the knight, white can also take the knight. Why not black Nxe5, instead? My apologies if that's an incredibly dense question; I'm not very good at this.
If black plays Nxe5, then white can play d4, forking the bishop and knight. This turns out badly for black, because for black to maintain equal material, he needs to play Bxd4, which leads to Qxd4, threatening the knight on e5, and leaving black a bishop down, and since bishops are generally considered to be worth slightly more than knights (although it does depend on the position) it is a small disadvantage.
@stonerftw94, thank you, that does answer the question entirely; I just didn't see the position well. That's an example of why, even though I love chess, I know better than to actually try to PLAY it.
I don't think the fork is a good idea anymore. If black plays Nxe5 and white forks with d4, black can then play c6, which attacks the light squared bishop, the most important minor piece for white. Here white has three options only. One is Ba4, which is pretty bad because later on it can get blocked by pawns. Another is dxe5, which isn't good either because black can respond with Kfxe4 and ...Bf2. The last option is Be2, but it looks passive. Anyone have any better ideas?
I made good experiences with 5. Re1 in the capturing-variation. There black will retreat also with 5...Nd6. Then not playing 6. Bxc6 but capturing 6. Nxe5 will have the option of a discovered check in the backhand. Its called the Rio-de-Janeiro-Variation.
there is another good place for knight which is knight f5 that will prevent white knight coming to d4 now only good moves left for white is qe4 to thraten that knight further which will get the support of pawn now whatever white plays either rook d1 or knight c3 nothing gonna stop black king to castle the real berlin defence is much stronger in reality which is not mentioned
I play the Ruy Lopez often and I have to say that the Berlin Defence is by far the funnest to play against. Things get wild REALLY fast and it's a good break from the slow positional games that usually result when someone uses a closed defense.
I see here that black has the opportunity to set a mortimer trap, which you explain in one of your videos. But in that video I think you say that white's bookmove is pawn to C3 instead of castling, so I'm a little confused. I'm just a beginner, but does the pawn move equally well as castling?
haha, that is why I usually avoid the Ruy Lopez opening, because I'd just hate to get my bishop chased around the board right at the start... I was kind of hoping I could find a video that would explain a good defense to that forceful pawn move..?
can I ask, almost each time I try the Ruy lopez, black does this.. I use pawn to e4 black uses pawn to e5 then I move my knight to f3 but then always, black decides to move his knight to f5 and kind of ruining it ^^ any help appriciated, sry for english. im from iceland.
I have to say I don't really like bishop to c5. I mean all I can see it doing (before white castles) is sort of setting up for a checkmate once the queen comes to h4 (if the knight wasnt there, which it is).
Once white castles, so long as the rook remains on f1 then the mate threat isnt there either. All it really does is pin the f2 pawn.
When blacks knight is taken with whites bishop , what does white do if they capture with pawn B7 instead of D7? Wont that put white at a disadvantage?
Hey jrobi I was wondering if you can play the variation when after white checks the black king with the rook, why can't black simply defend with his knight and then get into putting his black light squared bishop onto B7 before castling?
You are underestimating Black's game in the first line you examined, involving the Queen Exchange, known as the "Berlin Wall" variation. You are mistaken in simply saying "white should win", as it should have been this point at which you BEGAN your analysis. Without the Bishop pair, White finds it very difficult to put pressure on Black's solid setup, and Black can get a good game by playing moves like Be6, Bd7, Ke8, and then advancing his wing pawns. It's not so easy for White as you say.
Very nice video about the berlin defence. However in the first line analyzed (the one with the early exchange of queens) it turns out that black has very very high drawing chances if he knows the technique. Kramnik actually drew a few games against Kasparov in this variation. So although not the strongest option if black wants to win it's very useful to hold a draw.
if this happened to me i would move my black queens bishop to D6 from where if the player took the knight with pawn i would take the pawn and than threaten the opponents other knight, eliminating the 2 best players in close games and the queen can't take the bishop or be taken.
Sorry if this is confusing but i'm kind of bad at this game and i don't know the special key words for internet chess as i don't play it since i can't take it seriously. Although i play quite a bit of chess in real life.
lol thats the fishing pole, a very nice tactical idea played by black. jrobi has a video on it. Also check out brian wall's video on the fishing pole, its good stuff.
I think you underestimate the potential of black's position after Kxd8 in the main line. I haven't lost a single game from this position. White players tend to overstrech, an black may become better in the late middle-game very easily
You can get win/loss/draw percentages from a variety of sources, including opening explorers online, to database statistics in chess programs. I like to check a few sources, cross-reference, and see if there's consistency before I am happy with the findings. Thanks for checking out the vid!
at 6:38 why not play the knight to xc7+, take the pawn, then force the king to move out of check and take the rook? That way black can no longer castle and white gets the pawn and rook?
Black can play NC6 ann white's queen is not defended, so white would need to play something like QxE7 and then black recaptures with the bishop. Nc3 instead of D4 has better statistics in terms of database results. Thanks for checking out the vid!
D4 is definitely playable, but it's not as strong as Nc3 according to opening theory and Rybka 3. It looks tempting to fork the black pieces, but it's not an effective fork in the end and white will get gets a better position by continuing to develop pieces as opposed to pushing the pawn. That being said, D4 is playable and has been played before in that position.
It's not a blunder, black can play NC6 adn white's queen is not defended, so white would need to play something like QxE7 and then black recaptures with the bishop. Nc3 instead of D4 has better statistics in terms of database results. Thanks for checking out the vid!
Looking at it though... if black plays BxE7 after a queen trade, then white plays BxC6, black could only remain even by doubling up on pawns, and then RE1 by white pins the E7 bishop AND prevents castle because castling would leave the bishop undefended. If the black Knight took the queen at E7 rather than the bishop, then the bishop still dies to the pawn and white still winds up stronger. Seems like a solid play to me.
As soon as D4 is made by white, whats stopping black from just taking it with the pawn on E5? I'm sure Bobby Fischer wouldn't take it, but to an average player, it's just another pawn.
I always refer back to my last game video for my rating. In terms of tournaments I have won an online tournament, and came in second in a real over-the-board blitz tournament at a nearby club. However, I haven't done a lot in over-the-board play and plan on changing that this summer in rated play. I don't have a strong club in my town, so I will have to travel a bit to get that ball rolling. Thanks for checking out the vid!
To learn more about the Berlin and to see why it is not easy for white to win, you can check out FM Dennis Monokroussos' video, "The Exciting Berlin". Also, you can study game 1, 3, 9, and 13 from the 2000 WCC between Kasparov and Kramnik.
At 4:22 you said, "there's no reason that white shouldn't be able to find a win in this position", but really, that's just wrong. True, black is unable to castle, but remember, this is a queen-less endgame and, more importantly, black has no weaknesses in his position, the king really isn't in any danger if black plays correctly. white does have a small edge, but the solidity of the opening really doesn't give him much winning chances and the position is, in fact, extremely drawish.
Glad that you pointed it out, but the bishop check would in fact be an inaccurate move. In chess, there are "useful developments" and "not-so-useful developments", and Bg5+ is the latter. And the reason is that the bishop is simply misplaced on g5: it presents no real threat to the black camp and is poorly coordinated with rest of white's forces. The best square for the bishop in the Berlin is usually b2, and the bishop would now have to take two moves to get there after the check .
Bg5+ actually helps black in this position. After this move, black simply moves his king to e8, one of the two ideal squares that the black king will rest on in the Berlin (the other being b7). Okay, white now may develop another piece with Rd1, threatening mate on d8, but then black simply plays ...Be6, a move that black often would like to play. Black's next move would be ...h6, kicking the bishop while keeping white's knight out of the g5 square (also a thing black would often like to do).
White has a problem after ...h6: where should the bishop go? It would be virtually useless on f4 and h4 and blocks potential pawn advances, on e3 it would be taken by the black knight, on d2 it blocks the only open file white has control over, and going back to c1 is confession that he has wasted two tempi only to get black to make three useful moves. Read John Cox's "The Berlin Wall" if you are interested, it provides extensive analysis of the opening, and you'll see why the Berlin is fine.
hey Jrobi, love the videos man. i was wondering instead of taking the the queen with the bishop at 6:27, why not take with the knight that's on g6? Would white play the rook f1 to e1 and then use night c3 to d5? love to hear your response and make some more videos please!!!!! Looking forward to your next legends of chess video and i can't find the video with the queens gambit, may i have the link please. Later and thank you for helping my game.
Black has to move the king to re-capture the queen, and can no longer castle after that. However, if required black can spend a couple moves to get into a castle-like position. This is often referred to as "Castling by hand." Thanks for checking out the vid!
why would i want to take black pawn w/ wknight when blk.knight can take w.knight? then look at blk. poss. i' use only the castillion defence.....do you have any on this?
Well, 4. c3 is only rarely played, but infact black usually takes the e4-pawn after that. Maybe it isn't played in order to transpose into the ponziani opening, which is less favorable for white.
Sorry, I thought you meant 4. c3 but after 6. c3 Nxe4 loses a pawn after 7. Qe2 d5 8. d3 Nf6 9. d4 Bb6 10. Nxe5 0-0 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Bxc6. Black also has a worse position.
A question. If at 06:32, Black chooses to castle King's side, won't the knight fork be void? If so, why does he not castle? Is it so as to prevent himself from being down on material?
i have one question, at the very beginning of the ruy lopez when the bishop comes out, what if he pushes the pawn to a7 right away what would white do?
Thanks for taking the time to make this and your other videos. They have been amazingly helpful for me as a try to become more familiar with the book lines of various openings.
it's Ruy, not Ryo.
RuudJH 2 weeks ago
What program/programs are he using for this video, the chess board, and the option of making arrows etc, please help me! :)
KungenBaz 1 month ago
@KungenBaz fritz 12 i'd say
paddy110287 1 week ago in playlist Chess Openings
A very good video, thanks for sharing it. I have one question: what's the importance for white to castle so early on the fourth move?
vandrik77 2 months ago
Sorry, wouldn't let me edit, so I had to post a second comment. Why wouldn't black just move the queen to E7 at 5:16? Sorry for all the questions.
avenger7875a 2 months ago
3:37 Why not capture with B7 pawn instead?
avenger7875a 2 months ago
@avenger7875a It's playable, but capturing with the d-pawn is better.
ProMaxElite 2 months ago
When black takes the E4 pawn, white moves pawn to D4, whats to stop black just taking that pawn with E5?
LSJShez 2 months ago
For anyone wanting to use the Spanish game, study the Berlin Wall well. It's one of the best counters by black.
kikook222 3 months ago
at 6:12 how come after black defends the knight with queen on e7, white doesn't just fork the bishop and knight with the d pawn?
herpderpmonkey 3 months ago in playlist Chess Openings
instead of 8.Nc3, why not 8. d4, forking the bishop and the knight?
RexPetrov 3 months ago
@RexPetrov got it, ran it through an engine. black would just respond by moving the knight, discovered attack on white queen. If White takes black's queen, the black-square bishop is defending and will lead to more development for black. Else, the pawn is threatened by the bishop.
herpderpmonkey 3 months ago in playlist Chess Openings
at 5:57 the knight at c6 ca capture the knight at e5.So why it does not capture it????
nitnisarge 4 months ago in playlist More videos from jrobichess
At 4:30, you say "There's really no reason white shouldn't be able to find a win from this position" about arguably the most famously drawish position in all of chess. Garry Kasparov lost his title as world champion because he couldn't make any dent in Kramnik's Berlin Wall.
namgniktterrag 4 months ago
keep coming on those very good videos
jenoracoza 5 months ago
Where does he get that chess board to play with. I have a physical board and I want to get a V-board to practice on. Also, does anyone how of any free chess engines I could download?
bobbob135 5 months ago
This video is titled "Berlin DEFENCE." You should have focused more on what black can do to defend the Ruy Lopez succesfully.
motegrate 5 months ago
a question from me as a rather weak player: what if black captures with the queen-pawn instead of the b7 pawn in the first two variations?
thanks for the good videos!
JJTheBigDog 9 months ago
thanks for this vid defiantly improved my game
BelaviaPilot 9 months ago
great work you do here! I wonder if you could say what white should do after this line:
1. e4 e4 2. Nf6 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 6. Nxe5 b5 7. Bb3 Nxe5
muleyy 9 months ago in playlist a
I always get trap by my own pieces in this attack so I try to get my bishop and queen attacking the F7 square later, while my Knights attack the center.
TheRapper10000 9 months ago
4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 exd4
What is white's stongest move in this position?
xXxAceGuyxXx 1 year ago
I think the Berlin Defence is a bit sensational because of Kramnik´s spectacular use of it against Kasparov.
PeterRoeder31 1 year ago
to find a winn! is a bit..this pos is play by all top players and black is ok
1sammj 1 year ago
another great vid. Thanks for explaining it so I can understand.
thisisgame 1 year ago
That was quite a mouthful...But I guess you are used to that kind of stuff...
spudnick3490 1 year ago
you make really good videos. good subjects, well explained, calm voice and always nice replies to comments.
thank you for uploading!
wubs23 1 year ago
why at 6:37 blacks don t play g6-e7 to save the castle?
UHumalaAragon 1 year ago
@UHumalaAragon 1. Rxe7 Bxe7 2. Nxc7+
White will have an extra pawn unless black is careless and lets the Knight go by playing a6 later on
Ultraexamon 1 year ago
nice peice of information
truthfortold 1 year ago
jrobi, i wanted to bring up something which you have occurring in both the k xe4 captured-variation and the pawn to a6 variation. why is black '"most likely" recapturing white's bishop with the d pawn? better would be with the b pawn. black keeps it's center pawn and prevents the whole d file attack.
keep the videos coming! they're great!
kgjake87 1 year ago
There are several advantages for Black: The pawn on e5 actually blocks White's remaining Bishop from attacking the queenside whilst Black's light-squared Bishop can still access the queenside pawns; with the Queens gone, there is no real point in castling and having the King near the centre is actually useful; Black can guard against any advance of White's Knights and place his King in safety; etc...
lsur04 1 year ago
Excellent video as always - thanks! However, I've been looking into the Berlin defense recently though and it seems that White does not have such a straightforward win once the Queens are exchanged.
lsur04 1 year ago
Can't black plays 5... exd4? Yeah, 6. Re1 f5 and then? 7. Nxd4 Nxd4 8. Qxd4...? Can you explain the line of this variation?
Or: 6. Re1 d5 7. Qxd4 Be6 - This lines aren't less 'messy' for the black player?
HellSaint1000 1 year ago
@HellSaint1000
5... exd4 6. Re1 Qe7 7. Nxd4 Nxd4 8. Qxd4 f5 9. f3
White will win a minor
Ultraexamon 1 year ago
i usually find as white when black plays pawn a6 to attack whites bishop... I think it's a bad move for black... here's why... white takes trades the bishop taking the knight then.... white can push pawn d4... black takes pawn on d4 with it's e pawn... white takes back with queen protected by knight... really insisting on a queen trade... now you have a queenless game with a whide open middle... still pretty even but... white is still slightly more developed with a wide open middle...
Tube23x 1 year ago
i can make a petrove defence instead
often drawish
marwanelmounajjed 1 year ago
at 3:25 what should be the white response to exd4? thanks for the video
btejedor 1 year ago
@btejedor
5... exd4 6. Re1 Qe7 7. Nxd4 Nxd4 8. Qxd4 f5 9. f3
White will win a minor
Ultraexamon 1 year ago
@Ultraexamon thanks for the analysis
btejedor 1 year ago
great video!
tdl0221 1 year ago
I was wondering what white should do if at 3:26, black captures exd4?
medicca 1 year ago
at 6:29 why doesn't black recapture the queen using the knight to prevent an attack from white's knight on D5?
jakethwaites 1 year ago
@ 5:56 why doesn't black take immediatly the white knight on e5 with his knight on c6, as you say, the knight isnt really pinned?
Thermikus 1 year ago
@5:57, why wouldn't black simply take back the knight? After White plays Nxe5 Black could play Nxe5 and win the Knight, right?
jeremiahlp1 1 year ago
After the fork on d4, black can play Kf3+. That force white even to take with the queen, that is loosing the bishop on d4, or white can take with the gpawn. That is tearing whites kingposistion apart.
WatchingMyselfPoop 1 year ago
in the berlin classical variation after knight captures e5 why wont the black knight on c6 immedeatly recapture? if they do what should be your next move?
elduka1 1 year ago
what would you suggest for white after d4 eXd4
admin715 1 year ago
can you do a video on the 3...a6 lines? i thought it would be identical to the berlin defense after 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6, but 5.o-o doesnt seem to work as well in this case...i could be wrong though, i'm not a grandmaster just trying to learn basic stuff.
rtconnelly 1 year ago
@rtconnelly hey man, 5.0-0 really works! I think what you mean is when Black's knight on f6 captures the pawn on e4, you are wondering what you should next. Well, if ...5. Nxe4 you can simply play 6. Re1 d5(f5 is playable also) 7.d3 Nf6 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 9.Rxe5 and you get an advantage on the center though Black plays .. 9.Bd6 after that...
siegblink 1 year ago
6:53 why not Bxf2+?
KillerPawn2 1 year ago
@KillerPawn2 That's a pawn for bishop trade, not really advantageous.
leoholsbach 1 year ago
Comment removed
KillerPawn2 1 year ago
@leoholsbach well then after he takes the Bishop on e2, then you could take the Knight on e5 cause then the Pawn fork (on d4) doesn't work.
KillerPawn2 1 year ago
Thanks for the vids man. Good stuff.
downer714 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
After the moves (below) you say white should win which is nonsense - this is the start of the positions whereby Kramnik was able to draw game after game v Kasparov and that meant he only had to win a few white games and he became the World champion...Kasparov couldn't break the Berlin wall. That black cant castle is irrelevant as we are in a middle to end game.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5
Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 =
quagapp 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
After the moves (below) you say white should win which is nonsense - this is the start of the positions whereby Kramnik was able to draw game after game v Kasparov and that meant he only had to win a few white games and he became the World champion...Kasparov couldn't break the Berlin wall. That black cant castle is irrelevant as we are in a middle to end game.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5
Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 =
quagapp 1 year ago
After the moves (below) you say white should win which is nonsense - this is the start of the positions whereby Kramnik was able to draw game after game v Kasparov and that meant he only had to win a few white games and he became the World champion...Kasparov couldn't break the Berlin wall. That black cant castle is irrelevant as we are in a middle to end game.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5
Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 =
quagapp 1 year ago
Thanks. This was a nice movie.
For many years I used to play 4. Q-K2 which side steps a lot of theoretical complications and can set up a lot of great central pawn breaks after R-Q1. I think it was called the English variation but I don't see and YouTube movies on it.
TheBigGuppy 1 year ago
Comment removed
iheartducks8 2 years ago
This is what I came up with
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc3 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O N x e4 5. d4 e5xd4 6. Nxd4 Nxd4 7. Qxd4 Ng5? 8. Re1 Be7 9. BH7 If the pawn takes the bishop 10. Q H8#
What do you guys think?
iheartducks8 2 years ago
Great video!
iheartducks8 2 years ago
In 175 comments I'm sure this has already been asked, but I doubt I could find it. At 5:55, why does black Nxe4? That just gives white time to move the queen out, so when black takes the knight, white can also take the knight. Why not black Nxe5, instead? My apologies if that's an incredibly dense question; I'm not very good at this.
gmsherry1953 2 years ago
@gmsherry1953
If black plays Nxe5, then white can play d4, forking the bishop and knight. This turns out badly for black, because for black to maintain equal material, he needs to play Bxd4, which leads to Qxd4, threatening the knight on e5, and leaving black a bishop down, and since bishops are generally considered to be worth slightly more than knights (although it does depend on the position) it is a small disadvantage.
I hope this answers your question :)
stonerftw94 2 years ago
@stonerftw94, thank you, that does answer the question entirely; I just didn't see the position well. That's an example of why, even though I love chess, I know better than to actually try to PLAY it.
gmsherry1953 2 years ago
@gmsherry1953
Well, the best way to improve is to play :D
stonerftw94 2 years ago
if you're black you can get out of the fork by playing c6
JZS713 2 years ago
Comment removed
JZS713 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@stonerftw94
I don't think the fork is a good idea anymore. If black plays Nxe5 and white forks with d4, black can then play c6, which attacks the light squared bishop, the most important minor piece for white. Here white has three options only. One is Ba4, which is pretty bad because later on it can get blocked by pawns. Another is dxe5, which isn't good either because black can respond with Kfxe4 and ...Bf2. The last option is Be2, but it looks passive. Anyone have any better ideas?
JZS713 2 years ago
@gmsherry1953
See 7:10 too.
stonerftw94 2 years ago
what do you so when the opponent opens with knight to f 6?
breakcue101 2 years ago
Why would you go Nxe5 when he could take with his knight on c6???
legendkilla9x9 2 years ago
@legendkilla9x9
see my comment to gmsherry above.
stonerftw94 2 years ago
Comment removed
NimW 2 years ago
I made good experiences with 5. Re1 in the capturing-variation. There black will retreat also with 5...Nd6. Then not playing 6. Bxc6 but capturing 6. Nxe5 will have the option of a discovered check in the backhand. Its called the Rio-de-Janeiro-Variation.
Antharis79 2 years ago
there is another good place for knight which is knight f5 that will prevent white knight coming to d4 now only good moves left for white is qe4 to thraten that knight further which will get the support of pawn now whatever white plays either rook d1 or knight c3 nothing gonna stop black king to castle the real berlin defence is much stronger in reality which is not mentioned
DRAIGOFORKUT 2 years ago
I play the Ruy Lopez often and I have to say that the Berlin Defence is by far the funnest to play against. Things get wild REALLY fast and it's a good break from the slow positional games that usually result when someone uses a closed defense.
Anyway, great video. Thanks.
hazillow 2 years ago
Hi jRobi!
I see here that black has the opportunity to set a mortimer trap, which you explain in one of your videos. But in that video I think you say that white's bookmove is pawn to C3 instead of castling, so I'm a little confused. I'm just a beginner, but does the pawn move equally well as castling?
adamal93 2 years ago
why doesn't black do pawn to a6, attacking the bishop, and forcing it to move back?
scath7 2 years ago
Black definitely can - that's another variation, though. Thanks for checking this one out!
jrobichess 2 years ago
haha, that is why I usually avoid the Ruy Lopez opening, because I'd just hate to get my bishop chased around the board right at the start... I was kind of hoping I could find a video that would explain a good defense to that forceful pawn move..?
scath7 2 years ago
@scath7 It's considered a bad move by many lines. White has a great win percentage if black does that move.
kikook222 3 months ago
Hi!
I like your vids very much.
I 'm in search of book or anything for the study of Ruy Lopez and maybe King's Indian attack. Can you suggest me any?
Thanks in advance!
narutoninjantf 2 years ago
im sorry I ment black moved knight to f6..
kokomjolk1 2 years ago
can I ask, almost each time I try the Ruy lopez, black does this.. I use pawn to e4 black uses pawn to e5 then I move my knight to f3 but then always, black decides to move his knight to f5 and kind of ruining it ^^ any help appriciated, sry for english. im from iceland.
kokomjolk1 2 years ago
2:30, just do Bc5 without the f-knight move
aelarath 2 years ago
I have to say I don't really like bishop to c5. I mean all I can see it doing (before white castles) is sort of setting up for a checkmate once the queen comes to h4 (if the knight wasnt there, which it is).
Once white castles, so long as the rook remains on f1 then the mate threat isnt there either. All it really does is pin the f2 pawn.
KowboyKoder 2 years ago
in 05:47, can white employ something like evan's gambit by pushing the pawn to b4?
theforbiddenchaos 2 years ago
At 4:36, what is white's best move?
worldwarlooming 2 years ago
Fritz says Nc3
Wismer1987 2 years ago
I'm inclined to play bishop to g5, check.
If black moves his king, he cant' castle anymore. Advantage.
If he blocks with the pawn, pawn takes pawn, pawn takes pawn, bishop takes pawn check, forking the king and the rook.
His best move from that is to block with the bishop, which tempts me to play rook to d1 check.
Or if not g5 with the bishop, maybe with the knight currently on f3, threatening to fork the king and rook again next move.
KowboyKoder 2 years ago
When blacks knight is taken with whites bishop , what does white do if they capture with pawn B7 instead of D7? Wont that put white at a disadvantage?
lTHRICEl 2 years ago
kramnik used the berlin defence as a draw weapon against kasparov in the world championship 2001...he was very good!
teogialigous 2 years ago
Hey jrobi I was wondering if you can play the variation when after white checks the black king with the rook, why can't black simply defend with his knight and then get into putting his black light squared bishop onto B7 before castling?
Vyanta 2 years ago
You are underestimating Black's game in the first line you examined, involving the Queen Exchange, known as the "Berlin Wall" variation. You are mistaken in simply saying "white should win", as it should have been this point at which you BEGAN your analysis. Without the Bishop pair, White finds it very difficult to put pressure on Black's solid setup, and Black can get a good game by playing moves like Be6, Bd7, Ke8, and then advancing his wing pawns. It's not so easy for White as you say.
bwweaver78 2 years ago 13
my chinese friend calls it the great wall of china defense lol
lseateal 2 years ago 5
Won 3:30 what do u do if B takes the pawn on D4?
holyheII 2 years ago
Very nice video about the berlin defence. However in the first line analyzed (the one with the early exchange of queens) it turns out that black has very very high drawing chances if he knows the technique. Kramnik actually drew a few games against Kasparov in this variation. So although not the strongest option if black wants to win it's very useful to hold a draw.
FelipeJacobS 2 years ago 2
Nice video. It helps me a lot. Thanks.
duytam94 2 years ago
5:25 white queen move to d5?
graveemporer 2 years ago
At 6:15 why not the pawn push to d4 forking the bishop and knight?
Vicious620 2 years ago
It's playable but not quite as strong as the opponent has some resources with Nc6. Thnaks for checking out the vid.
jrobichess 2 years ago
@jrobichess why? pawn d4, Nc6, d4xc5, Qxe4, Nxe4, black castle, i dont see the advantage?
wubs23 1 year ago
if this happened to me i would move my black queens bishop to D6 from where if the player took the knight with pawn i would take the pawn and than threaten the opponents other knight, eliminating the 2 best players in close games and the queen can't take the bishop or be taken.
D3V17Z 2 years ago
Sorry if this is confusing but i'm kind of bad at this game and i don't know the special key words for internet chess as i don't play it since i can't take it seriously. Although i play quite a bit of chess in real life.
what does NC and Ng4 mean?
g4 is move but what is n?
great vids. thanks jrobi
D3V17Z 2 years ago
How a bout 4. ... Ng4
TheGK2009 2 years ago
lol thats the fishing pole, a very nice tactical idea played by black. jrobi has a video on it. Also check out brian wall's video on the fishing pole, its good stuff.
chessfan6 2 years ago
c3 in the classical reminds me a lot of the Ponziani: Janeisch counterattack which you sometimes see. Nice vid
Seananananan 2 years ago
I think you underestimate the potential of black's position after Kxd8 in the main line. I haven't lost a single game from this position. White players tend to overstrech, an black may become better in the late middle-game very easily
nutopiran 2 years ago
Jrobi, where did you get these win/lose/draw percentages?
rolfch1p 2 years ago
You can get win/loss/draw percentages from a variety of sources, including opening explorers online, to database statistics in chess programs. I like to check a few sources, cross-reference, and see if there's consistency before I am happy with the findings. Thanks for checking out the vid!
jrobichess 2 years ago 2
@jrobichess
Whats a site to play chess online?
Darkblaze10k 1 year ago
What about if black simply plays exd4 on 03:22?
Hoosianna4 2 years ago
he's gonna lose the knight on e5
nutopiran 2 years ago
You mean white moves re1? Thanks!
Hoosianna4 2 years ago
How? If re1, black can defend it with one of pawns.
Hoosianna4 2 years ago
yes, black can in fact defend, and that is just another variation to study. Many grandmasters play it once in a while.
momez86 2 years ago
after re1 f5 Nxd4 there is f3 is coming up, which is dangerous enough to gain the material back and obtain a nice position.
eendavid 2 years ago
at 6:38 why not play the knight to xc7+, take the pawn, then force the king to move out of check and take the rook? That way black can no longer castle and white gets the pawn and rook?
benpaulchris 2 years ago
Ahhhhh, nevermind, I guess you kind of touch on it..
benpaulchris 2 years ago
at 5:58, why wouldn't black respond to Ne5 with Nxe5?
arcanespearman 2 years ago
nevermind lol...i should waited for the end of the video.
arcanespearman 2 years ago
at 6:15, white should play pawn d4 shoulnt he?!
matttttes 2 years ago
Black can play NC6 ann white's queen is not defended, so white would need to play something like QxE7 and then black recaptures with the bishop. Nc3 instead of D4 has better statistics in terms of database results. Thanks for checking out the vid!
jrobichess 2 years ago
but whites queen is defended by the knight c3, so after D4, white can get a light peace
i shecked this position with fritz, and the right move here was D4
matttttes 2 years ago
D4 is definitely playable, but it's not as strong as Nc3 according to opening theory and Rybka 3. It looks tempting to fork the black pieces, but it's not an effective fork in the end and white will get gets a better position by continuing to develop pieces as opposed to pushing the pawn. That being said, D4 is playable and has been played before in that position.
jrobichess 2 years ago
This opening really helps in my games I hope you make more opening videos...
dwelit 2 years ago
Thanks for checking it out dwelit!
jrobichess 2 years ago
...and what happens after 4.- 0-0 d6 ???
adrmetal 2 years ago
6:14 blunder, white forks the 2 black pieces with d4.
bobdog9 2 years ago
It's not a blunder, black can play NC6 adn white's queen is not defended, so white would need to play something like QxE7 and then black recaptures with the bishop. Nc3 instead of D4 has better statistics in terms of database results. Thanks for checking out the vid!
jrobichess 2 years ago
Looking at it though... if black plays BxE7 after a queen trade, then white plays BxC6, black could only remain even by doubling up on pawns, and then RE1 by white pins the E7 bishop AND prevents castle because castling would leave the bishop undefended. If the black Knight took the queen at E7 rather than the bishop, then the bishop still dies to the pawn and white still winds up stronger. Seems like a solid play to me.
pali1d 2 years ago
As soon as D4 is made by white, whats stopping black from just taking it with the pawn on E5? I'm sure Bobby Fischer wouldn't take it, but to an average player, it's just another pawn.
LSJShez 2 years ago
pawn takes d4 leaves the knight open to be pinned by rook to e1 and then black has to defend because it's undefended which leads to nxd4 and then f3
tisthefire 2 years ago
At 3:26 what if black plays bishop to e7?
Platano0587 2 years ago
What's your rating jrobi? Have you won any tournaments?
farkar78 2 years ago
I always refer back to my last game video for my rating. In terms of tournaments I have won an online tournament, and came in second in a real over-the-board blitz tournament at a nearby club. However, I haven't done a lot in over-the-board play and plan on changing that this summer in rated play. I don't have a strong club in my town, so I will have to travel a bit to get that ball rolling. Thanks for checking out the vid!
jrobichess 2 years ago
why does black caputure pawn 5. Nxe4 ?
Why doesnt black do 5. Nxe4 taking out that free white knight ? ? Isnt that the obvious move ?
12ocksta12 2 years ago
At 6:01 you said the knight will take the pond when the knight on c6 could take the black knight on e5
kcd1999 2 years ago
To learn more about the Berlin and to see why it is not easy for white to win, you can check out FM Dennis Monokroussos' video, "The Exciting Berlin". Also, you can study game 1, 3, 9, and 13 from the 2000 WCC between Kasparov and Kramnik.
ahjwm 3 years ago
At 4:22 you said, "there's no reason that white shouldn't be able to find a win in this position", but really, that's just wrong. True, black is unable to castle, but remember, this is a queen-less endgame and, more importantly, black has no weaknesses in his position, the king really isn't in any danger if black plays correctly. white does have a small edge, but the solidity of the opening really doesn't give him much winning chances and the position is, in fact, extremely drawish.
ahjwm 3 years ago 3
Ooh, I would say jrobi is right. You can develop your bishop on c1 with check now, giving you a rapid development.
DarkMorphon 2 years ago
Glad that you pointed it out, but the bishop check would in fact be an inaccurate move. In chess, there are "useful developments" and "not-so-useful developments", and Bg5+ is the latter. And the reason is that the bishop is simply misplaced on g5: it presents no real threat to the black camp and is poorly coordinated with rest of white's forces. The best square for the bishop in the Berlin is usually b2, and the bishop would now have to take two moves to get there after the check .
ahjwm 2 years ago
Bg5+ actually helps black in this position. After this move, black simply moves his king to e8, one of the two ideal squares that the black king will rest on in the Berlin (the other being b7). Okay, white now may develop another piece with Rd1, threatening mate on d8, but then black simply plays ...Be6, a move that black often would like to play. Black's next move would be ...h6, kicking the bishop while keeping white's knight out of the g5 square (also a thing black would often like to do).
ahjwm 2 years ago
Comment removed
ahjwm 2 years ago
White has a problem after ...h6: where should the bishop go? It would be virtually useless on f4 and h4 and blocks potential pawn advances, on e3 it would be taken by the black knight, on d2 it blocks the only open file white has control over, and going back to c1 is confession that he has wasted two tempi only to get black to make three useful moves. Read John Cox's "The Berlin Wall" if you are interested, it provides extensive analysis of the opening, and you'll see why the Berlin is fine.
ahjwm 2 years ago
hey Jrobi, love the videos man. i was wondering instead of taking the the queen with the bishop at 6:27, why not take with the knight that's on g6? Would white play the rook f1 to e1 and then use night c3 to d5? love to hear your response and make some more videos please!!!!! Looking forward to your next legends of chess video and i can't find the video with the queens gambit, may i have the link please. Later and thank you for helping my game.
cjr348 3 years ago
if you want ill play against you with black to show that it has got potential
kadarx 3 years ago
I played a match recently where instead of moving Knight (g8) to F6 he moved his Queen to F6. what would be recommended of white after this move?
wgpost 3 years ago
4:11 what does he mean prevent black from castling? and i dont get why you would do that you both lost queen
hawk1169 3 years ago
Black has to move the king to re-capture the queen, and can no longer castle after that. However, if required black can spend a couple moves to get into a castle-like position. This is often referred to as "Castling by hand." Thanks for checking out the vid!
jrobichess 3 years ago
why would i want to take black pawn w/ wknight when blk.knight can take w.knight? then look at blk. poss. i' use only the castillion defence.....do you have any on this?
johncub7172 3 years ago
If you're referring to the part of the video that I think you are, it creates a fork on the knight and bishop. Thanks for checking out the vid!
jrobichess 3 years ago
Can someone tell me, when you play pawn to c3 after the Berlin Defense, why doesn't black capture the pawn at e4 with Knight?
GoldSamuraiArmor 3 years ago
Well, 4. c3 is only rarely played, but infact black usually takes the e4-pawn after that. Maybe it isn't played in order to transpose into the ponziani opening, which is less favorable for white.
ooaaveehoo 3 years ago
Sorry, I thought you meant 4. c3 but after 6. c3 Nxe4 loses a pawn after 7. Qe2 d5 8. d3 Nf6 9. d4 Bb6 10. Nxe5 0-0 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Bxc6. Black also has a worse position.
ooaaveehoo 3 years ago
Awesome, thanks for the explanation, I don't see it often and it is good to know.
GoldSamuraiArmor 3 years ago
Great discussion!
jrobichess 3 years ago
thanks alot! this is one of my favorite openings and now I know a little more about, so yeah :)
SuperDieMaxx 3 years ago
Thanks for checking it out SuperDieMaxx!
jrobichess 3 years ago
A question. If at 06:32, Black chooses to castle King's side, won't the knight fork be void? If so, why does he not castle? Is it so as to prevent himself from being down on material?
superkid997 3 years ago
sorry i meant a6
kyleandmichael 3 years ago
That's the Morphy defense. White can still easily get the e-pawn, but must exchange bishop for knight.
LittleChessElf 3 years ago
i have one question, at the very beginning of the ruy lopez when the bishop comes out, what if he pushes the pawn to a7 right away what would white do?
kyleandmichael 3 years ago
Thanks for taking the time to make this and your other videos. They have been amazingly helpful for me as a try to become more familiar with the book lines of various openings.
sulfuricvideos 3 years ago
What if black counters with knight to E7 instead of bishop on 6:25?
Jahanam9994 3 years ago
From my experience this has been a consistntly solid choice of opening and usually has yielded positive results. Thanks for covering this variaition
kev2596 3 years ago
nice video, very helpful
freshoffthehood 3 years ago
ive been researching for the Ruy Lopez cuz id like to try it. THis is what i need
thx for the nice vid
enochdm 3 years ago
Well if he had brought the queen to E7 then he would of defended both against the fork
Supreme4321 3 years ago
great video
siddi85 3 years ago