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Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defence, Berlin Wall Endgame — Part 2 of 3

Caruana–Carlsen, Norway Chess 2015 · Nakamura–Topalov, Sinquefield Cup 2014 · 8:24 · ECO C67

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In this video

Game 1: Fabiano Caruana (2805) vs Magnus Carlsen (2876)

Norway Chess 2015, 17 June 2015 · White won (1-0) · 45 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 line0:38
  2. 22...Ne6The evaluation moves from +0.76 to +2.221:42
  3. 27...Be7White stays more than two pawns ahead from here2:06
  4. 45.Rg2White wins after 45 moves3:34

Evaluation

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

Game 2: Hikaru Nakamura (2787) vs Veselin Topalov (2772)

Sinquefield Cup 2014, 4 September 2014 · Black won (0-1) · 57 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 line4:12
  2. 30.Bb2The evaluation moves from −1.13 to −3.09, and Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here5:52
  3. 51.Rb6The evaluation moves from −2.90 to −4.397:38
  4. 57...Kg2Black wins after 57 moves8:10

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 gone and Black's king has lost the right to castle. In return Black holds the bishop pair and a solid, if doubled, set of c-pawns. White's pawn on e5 cramps Black and backs a four-against-three kingside majority. White wants to advance that majority and create a passed pawn, while Black aims to tuck the king away, blockade with pieces and use the bishops.

Caruana–Carlsen, Norway Chess 2015, shows White's model set-up: 9.h3, 10.Rd1+, b3 with 14.Bb2, and knights heading for d4 and f4. Carlsen's knight wandered from e7 to d5, b4 and a6, and White grabbed space with 18.g4 and 19.Nf5. The game turned at 22...Ne6, when the score jumped from +0.76 to +2.22. After 23.Nxe6 Bxa3 24.Nexg7, the break 25.e6 broke up Black's kingside, and from 27...Be7 White stayed more than two pawns ahead. The kingside pawns rolled on with f4, g5, h5 and 41.g6, and after 45.Rg2 (+3.94 to +4.97) White won.

Nakamura–Topalov, Sinquefield Cup 2014, shows Black's active plan instead: 9...Ke8, ...Ne7-g6 and ...c5 with ...b6. Black then hit White's advanced kingside pawns with ...h5 and ...f6, reaching −0.98 at 18...Bc8. At 30.Bb2 the score fell from −1.13 to −3.09, and Black stayed more than two pawns ahead from there. The minor pieces came off by 44...cxd6, and Black's ...b5-b4 break and active king decided the rook ending (−2.90 to −4.39 at 51.Rb6). Black won.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Caruana vs Carlsen, Norway Chess 2015
  3. 3:43Game 2: Nakamura vs Topalov, Sinquefield Cup 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

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