Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defence, 4.d3 Bc5
Carlsen–Aronian, European Team Championship 2015 · Van Foreest–Keymer, Prague Chess Festival 2026 Masters · 7:48 · ECO C65
Position as text
FEN:
In this video
Game 1: Magnus Carlsen (2850) vs Levon Aronian (2781)
European Team Championship 2015, 15 November 2015 · Black won (0-1) · 44 moves
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Key moments
- 5.O-OThe first move after the opening line0:26
- 22.Nxb7The evaluation moves from −0.54 to −1.691:39
- 38...Qg4+Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here3:02
- 40.Kf2The evaluation moves from −2.66 to −3.793:09
- 44.Nf1The evaluation moves from −5.02 to −7.483:29
- 44...Qc6+Black wins after 44 moves3:32
Evaluation
Above the line, White is better; below it, Black. Scores are in pawns, capped at five either way.
Game 2: Jorden Van Foreest (2705) vs Vincent Keymer (2776)
Prague Chess Festival 2026 Masters, 25 February 2026 · White won (1-0) · 51 moves
Click a move to jump the video to it. Dotted moves are the opening line the video is about.
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Key moments
- 5.Be3The first move after the opening line3:57
- 25...Kh7The evaluation moves from −0.85 to +1.385:28
- 26...Ng3White stays more than two pawns ahead from here5:32
- 29.Rxf8The evaluation moves from +2.41 to +3.635:45
- 33.Bxd7The queens come off6:05
- 35...g6The evaluation moves from +3.87 to +5.026:18
- 51.Kxe4White wins after 51 moves7:35
Evaluation
Above the line, White is better; below it, Black. Scores are in pawns, capped at five either way.
About these games
With 4.d3 White avoids the forcing Berlin endgame and keeps the queens on for a slow build-up behind a solid e4 pawn. Black's 4...Bc5 puts the bishop on its most active diagonal, aiming at f2 and preparing ...Nd4 or a timely ...d5. White can either castle and play c3 to blunt the bishop, or challenge it at once with Be3.
Carlsen–Aronian took the 5.O-O Nd4 6.Nxd4 Bxd4 7.c3 Bb6 route. White chased the bishop with Na3, Nc4 and a4, then gave up the dark-squared bishop with 14.Bxf6 and won a pawn with 15.Nxa5. Black answered with the ...d5 break, opened the d-file and planted a rook on d2. The turning point was 22.Nxb7, which took the pawn but walked into 22...Bc4 and an exchange sacrifice: the score went from −0.54 to −1.69. After 25...Ra2 26.Rxa2 Bxg1 Black emerged with queen against rook and knight. From 38...Qg4+ Black stayed more than two pawns ahead, and after 44.Nf1 the score fell to −7.48. Black won after 44...Qc6+.
Van Foreest–Keymer went 5.Be3, trading the c5 bishop and accepting doubled e-pawns for the half-open f-file. Unlike Game 1, White castled long and opened the centre with exd5 and e4. The decisive moment was 25...Kh7, which moved the score from −0.85 to +1.38; 27.Ng5+ hxg5 28.hxg5+ then opened the h-file, and 29.Rxf8 raised it to +3.63. The queens came off with 33.Bxd7, and White won the rook ending, finishing with 51.Kxe4.