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Ruy Lopez: Marshall Attack, Modern Main Line

Kramnik–Leko, WCh Brissago 2004 · So–Megaranto, 9. Asian Continental 2010 · 5:44 · ECO C89

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In this video

Game 1: Vladimir Kramnik (2770) vs Peter Leko (2741)

WCh Brissago 2004, 7 October 2004 · Black won (0-1) · 32 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. 15.Re4The first move after the opening line1:04
  2. 23...Re2The evaluation moves from −1.15 to −3.241:46
  3. 25.bxa6Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here1:54
  4. 26.Kf2The evaluation moves from −3.95 to −4.691:59
  5. 31.a7The evaluation moves from −4.44 to −6.122:24
  6. 32...g4Black wins after 32 moves2:32

Evaluation

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

Game 2: Wesley So (2665) vs Susanto Megaranto (2527)

9. Asian Continental 2010, 25 April 2010 · White won (1-0) · 38 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. 15.Qe2The first move after the opening line3:35
  2. 29...Bg4The evaluation moves from +0.36 to +2.90, and White stays more than two pawns ahead from here4:48
  3. 32...Re8The evaluation moves from +2.76 to +6.115:02
  4. 37.Rxe8+The evaluation moves from +6.37 to +7.655:25
  5. 38.d5White wins after 38 moves5:30

Evaluation

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

About these games

Black gives up a pawn with 8...d5 in return for quick development and pressure on White's king. After 12.d4 Bd6 13.Re1 Qh4 14.g3 Qh3, the black queen sits on h3 next to light squares weakened by g3, while White's Nb1 and Bc1 are still at home. White is a pawn up and needs to finish developing before Black can bring more pieces to the kingside.

Kramnik–Leko began with 15.Re4 g5, with the idea of ...Qh5 and ...Bf5 hitting the rook. Black followed with 16...Qh5, 17...Bf5, 18...Nf6 and 19...Rae8, and the position was level at 0.00. White looked for queenside counterplay with 21.a4 and 22.axb5. After 22...Bd3, the reply 23.Qf2 took the score from 0.00 to −1.15. Then 23...Re2 24.Qxe2 Bxe2 gave the queen for rook and bishop at −1.66, and 25.bxa6 dropped to −3.54. Black broke open the king with 26...Bxf3, 27...Ne4+ and 28...Nxc3, reaching −4.53 at 29...Qxc3+, and collected the a1 rook. After 31.a7 the score was −6.12, and the game ended at 32...g4. Black won.

So–Megaranto went 15.Qe2 Bg4 16.Qf1 Qh5 17.Nd2. Here Black chose a piece sacrifice, 17...Nf4 18.gxf4 Bxf4, instead of Game 1's slow ...g5 squeeze. After 19.h4 Qxh4 the score went from −0.17 to +0.92. White took the c6 pawn with 23.Qxc6, and the king held after 23...Bh2+ 24.Kh1. Black regained the piece with 27...Bxg3, but 29...Bg4 lifted the score to +2.90. Following 30.Qxf7+, 32...Re8 allowed +6.11. Black took pawns with 35...Qxb2 and 36...Qxa2, but after 37.Rxe8+ Bxe8 38.d5 White won.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Kramnik vs Leko, WCh Brissago 2004
  3. 2:40Game 2: So vs Megaranto, 9. Asian Continental 2010

The opening line

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d4 Bd6 13. Re1 Qh4 14. g3 Qh3

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