Subscribe

Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defence, 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 — Part 2 of 2

Robson–Grischuk, 42nd Olympiad 2016 · So–Gukesh, Sinquefield Cup 2025 · 6:58 · ECO C67

Open on YouTube ↗

In this video

Game 1: Ray Robson (2674) vs Alexander Grischuk (2754)

42nd Olympiad 2016, 10 September 2016 · Black won (0-1) · 46 moves

Click a move to jump the video to it. Dotted moves are the opening line the video is about.

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
  10. 10.
  11. 11.
  12. 12.
  13. 13.
  14. 14.
  15. 15.
  16. 16.
  17. 17.
  18. 18.
  19. 19.
  20. 20.
  21. 21.
  22. 22.
  23. 23.
  24. 24.
  25. 25.
  26. 26.
  27. 27.
  28. 28.
  29. 29.
  30. 30.
  31. 31.
  32. 32.
  33. 33.
  34. 34.
  35. 35.
  36. 36.
  37. 37.
  38. 38.
  39. 39.
  40. 40.
  41. 41.
  42. 42.
  43. 43.
  44. 44.
  45. 45.
  46. 46.

Key moments

  1. 7.Bf1The first move after the opening line0:32
  2. 36.c5The evaluation moves from −0.35 to −1.412:49
  3. 37...Qh4Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here2:56
  4. 38.Bxe4The evaluation moves from −2.52 to −4.972:59
  5. 40.Kxf2The queens come off3:09
  6. 40...Kf6The evaluation moves from −4.96 to −6.163:12
  7. 46...Kg4Black wins after 46 moves3:42

Evaluation

Above the line, White is better; below it, Black. Scores are in pawns, capped at five either way.

Game 2: Wesley So (2745) vs Gukesh D (2776)

Sinquefield Cup 2025 · White won (1-0) · 39 moves

Click a move to jump the video to it. Dotted moves are the opening line the video is about.

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
  10. 10.
  11. 11.
  12. 12.
  13. 13.
  14. 14.
  15. 15.
  16. 16.
  17. 17.
  18. 18.
  19. 19.
  20. 20.
  21. 21.
  22. 22.
  23. 23.
  24. 24.
  25. 25.
  26. 26.
  27. 27.
  28. 28.
  29. 29.
  30. 30.
  31. 31.
  32. 32.
  33. 33.
  34. 34.
  35. 35.
  36. 36.
  37. 37.
  38. 38.
  39. 39.

Key moments

  1. 7.Bf1The first move after the opening line4:13
  2. 26...Rd8The evaluation moves from +0.88 to +1.945:42
  3. 27.Rg1White stays more than two pawns ahead from here5:45
  4. 32...h4The evaluation moves from +3.26 to +4.336:12
  5. 39.Ba5White wins after 39 moves6:45

Evaluation

Above the line, White is better; below it, Black. Scores are in pawns, capped at five either way.

About these games

After 4...Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7, White wins back the pawn and Black avoids the queenless Berlin endgame, aiming instead for a solid position with a quick ...O-O. After 7.Bf1 Nxe5 8.Rxe5 O-O, the centre is open and nearly symmetrical. White hopes the active rook and a knight jump to d5 will give an edge, while Black needs a few accurate regrouping moves to equalise.

Robson–Grischuk went 9.Nc3 Ne8 10.Nd5 Bd6, and Black rebuilt with ...c6, ...Bc7 and ...d5. White's knight raid ended with 15.Nxc8, giving up the knight for Black's light-squared bishop, and the score stayed small until 36.c5 moved it from −0.35 to −1.41. After 37...Qh4, Black stayed more than two pawns ahead, and 38.Bxe4 took the evaluation from −2.52 to −4.97. The queens came off with 40.Kxf2, and in the pawn ending 43.h4 (−4.27 to −6.59) let Black push ...e3 and ...e2 to deflect the white king and collect f4. Black won after 46...Kg4.

So–Gukesh chose 9...Bf6 instead, and 11.Nd5 Bh4 12.g3 started a sharp fight over the pieces. After 14.gxh4 cxd5 15.c3, White's bishops won the d5 and b7 pawns. Gukesh's 26...Rd8 took the score from +0.88 to +1.94, and after 27.Rg1 White stayed more than two pawns ahead. Following 28...Rxd5 29.Rxg6, White had queen against rook and knight. At 32...h4 the evaluation went from +3.26 to +4.33, and White won after 39.Ba5.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Robson vs Grischuk, 42nd Olympiad 2016
  3. 3:50Game 2: So vs Gukesh, Sinquefield Cup 2025

The opening line

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7

See every video from this position →