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Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defence, Berlin Wall Endgame — Part 1 of 3

Kasparov–Kramnik, Astana 2001 · Adams–Anand, London Chess Classic 2014 · 6:18 · ECO C67

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In this video

Game 1: Garry Kasparov (2827) vs Vladimir Kramnik (2797)

Astana 2001, 1 June 2001 · White won (1-0) · 41 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

  1. 9.Nc3The first move after the opening line0:38
  2. 30...Rxf2The evaluation moves from +0.36 to +2.51, and White stays more than two pawns ahead from here2:22
  3. 41.Kh1White wins after 41 moves3:14

Evaluation

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

Game 2: Michael Adams (2745) vs Viswanathan Anand (2793)

London Chess Classic 2014, 14 December 2014 · Black won (0-1) · 36 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

  1. 9.h3The first move after the opening line3:52
  2. 32.Kf4Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here5:42
  3. 33.Nc1The evaluation moves from −2.00 to −3.695:48
  4. 35.Ne2The evaluation moves from −3.60 to −5.535:58
  5. 36...a5Black wins after 36 moves6:05

Evaluation

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

About these games

After 8...Kxd8 the queens are off and Black's king has lost the right to castle, but the position is closer to balance than it looks: +0.16. Black has doubled c-pawns and gives White a healthy 4-against-3 kingside majority, but keeps the bishop pair and a solid structure. White's pawn on e5 cramps Black's pieces, and White hopes to push the kingside pawns and use the extra space. Black aims to tuck the king away on e8 or c8 and free the bishops.

Kasparov–Kramnik, played a year after Kramnik took Kasparov's title with this defence, follows 9.Nc3, 10.h3, 11.b3 and 12.Bb2, with rooks on d1 and e1. The break 16.e6 and the knight raid 18.Nf5 gave White +1.11, and 20.Bxg7 gave up the bishop to open the kingside. After 23.Nxd7 the score settled near +0.20. The turning point was 30...Rxf2, which took the score from +0.36 to +2.51. White won the knight with 33.Rxf4 (+2.81), pushed the h-pawn to h6 (+4.28 at 38...Rc5) and won after 41.Kh1.

Adams–Anand shows Black taking over. Black played 9...Ke8 and 10...h5 at once, then ...b6, ...Bb7 and ...c5, trading minor pieces and both pairs of rooks. After 28.e6 fxe6 the knight ending stood at −0.92. Black's active king reached c4, the score passed −2.00 after 32.Kf4, jumped to −3.69 after 33.Nc1 and to −5.53 after 35.Ne2, and Black won after 36...a5. Here the queenside majority decided the game, not White's kingside play.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Kasparov vs Kramnik, Astana 2001
  3. 3:23Game 2: Adams vs Anand, London Chess Classic 2014

The opening line

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

See every video from this position →