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Ruy Lopez: Closed, Zaitsev Variation — Part 1 of 2

Leko–Ivanchuk, Tal Memorial 2008 · Karjakin–Fedoseev, FIDE World Cup 2021 · 6:14 · ECO C92

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In this video

Game 1: Peter Leko (2741) vs Vassily Ivanchuk (2781)

Tal Memorial 2008, 24 August 2008 · Black won (0-1) · 43 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. 10.d4The first move after the opening line0:41
  2. 34.R5d3The evaluation moves from −0.98 to −2.742:39
  3. 39.h4The evaluation moves from −1.42 to −4.24, and Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here3:04
  4. 42.Qb6The evaluation moves from −5.53 to −7.023:19
  5. 43...Qf5Black wins after 43 moves3:26

Evaluation

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

Game 2: Sergey Karjakin (2757) vs Vladimir Fedoseev (2696)

FIDE World Cup 2021, 2 August 2021 · White won (1-0) · 33 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. 10.d4The first move after the opening line4:07
  2. 24...Re8The evaluation moves from +1.13 to +1.945:18
  3. 26...d4White stays more than two pawns ahead from here5:28
  4. 27...Nxf2The evaluation moves from +2.40 to +4.595:32
  5. 33.Qd2White wins after 33 moves6:00

Evaluation

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

About these games

After 9...Bb7 Black prepares ...Re8 and ...Bf8, keeping the knight on c6 and piling pressure on e4 instead of playing the older ...Na5. White normally plays d4 and Nbd2, and must then either keep the central tension or close it with d5, which gives a blocked structure where Black looks for the ...c6 or ...f5 breaks. Both games continue 10.d4 Re8 11.Nbd2 Bf8.

Leko–Ivanchuk, Tal Memorial 2008. Leko locked the centre with 12.d5 Nb8. Ivanchuk brought the knight back via d7 to c5, opened the c-file with 17...c6 18.dxc6 Bxc6, and exchanged dark-squared bishops with 20...Bh6 and 23...Bxc1. The ...f5 break followed at 25...f5. The turning point was 31.g3, which took the score from +0.83 to −1.08. Black pushed with 31...f4 and 34...e4 (−2.20). After 39.h4 the score fell from −1.42 to −4.24, and 39...Nf3+ broke through. 41.Kh3 dropped it from −3.86 to −5.52, and Black won after 43...Qf5.

Karjakin–Fedoseev, FIDE World Cup 2021. Karjakin chose 12.a3, and after 12...h6 13.Bc2 Fedoseev opened the centre with 13...d5 instead of accepting a closed position. White gained space with 17.e5, then advanced 20.h4 and 21.h5 and thrust with 24.e6 (+1.94). After 26...d4 White stayed more than two pawns ahead. The piece sacrifice 27...Nxf2 moved the score from +2.40 to +4.59. 32...Qg5 raised it from +4.55 to +5.94, and White won after 33.Qd2. In this game the centre opened and White attacked on the kingside, while in Game 1 the centre stayed locked and Black's ...f5 break decided it.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Leko vs Ivanchuk, Tal Memorial 2008
  3. 3:35Game 2: Karjakin vs Fedoseev, FIDE World Cup 2021

The opening line

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Bb7

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