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Ruy Lopez: Modern Steinitz Defence

Anand–Short, Magistral Merida 2001 · Grischuk–Mamedyarov, 21st European Teams 2017 · 7:18 · ECO C72

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In this video

Game 1: Viswanathan Anand (2794) vs Nigel Short (2676)

Magistral Merida 2001, 18 May 2001 · White won (1-0) · 53 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. 5.c3The first move after the opening line0:26
  2. 30...Rf7The evaluation moves from +1.80 to +3.222:22
  3. 38.Rbxf3The evaluation moves from +5.74 to +1.452:59
  4. 50...Rd6White stays more than two pawns ahead from here4:02
  5. 51...Ne7The evaluation moves from +4.11 to +6.864:06
  6. 53.Re2White wins after 53 moves4:14

Evaluation

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

Game 2: Alexander Grischuk (2785) vs Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2791)

21st European Teams 2017, 5 November 2017 · 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. 5.O-OThe first move after the opening line4:40
  2. 32.Qc1The evaluation moves from −0.75 to −3.68, and Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here6:42
  3. 33...Bd4The evaluation moves from −4.19 to −4.766:50
  4. 35.c3The evaluation moves from −4.76 to −7.806:58
  5. 36...Re2+Black wins after 36 moves7:05

Evaluation

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

About these games

With 4...d6 Black inserts ...a6 before supporting e5 with the d-pawn. The point is that the pin on the c6-knight can be broken by a timely ...b5, so White cannot simply pile up on e5. White usually builds a centre with c3 and d4 or castles quickly. Black aims for a solid but cramped position, often with ...Bd7 and a kingside fianchetto or pawn advance.

Anand–Short continued 5.c3 g6 6.d4. After 9.d5 White closed the centre and gained queenside space with b3, c4, a3 and b4, while Black answered with ...f5-f4 and ...g5 on the kingside. The queenside opened with 24.bxc5, and after 24...bxc5 the evaluation rose from +0.08 to +1.26. White was +3.75 by 34...Qh4, then broke through with 36.Bxe5. White's lead fell from +5.74 to +1.45 after 38.Rbxf3, but White stayed more than two pawns ahead from 50...Rd6. After 51...Ne7 the score went from +4.11 to +6.86, and White won after 53.Re2.

Grischuk–Mamedyarov went 5.O-O Bd7 6.Re1 g5. After 7.Bxc6 bxc6 Black accepted doubled c-pawns for the bishop pair and attacked on the kingside instead of defending a closed centre, as in Game 1. The pawns ran ...g4, ...h5-h4-h3 and ...hxg2. Black gave up the exchange for the attack and won it back with 29...Nf3+ 30.Rxf3 gxf3. White's 32.Qc1 dropped the evaluation from −0.75 to −3.68, and 35.c3 took it from −4.76 to −7.80. After 35...Bxf2+ 36.Kxf2 Re2+, Black won.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Anand vs Short, Magistral Merida 2001
  3. 4:23Game 2: Grischuk vs Mamedyarov, 21st European Teams 2017

The opening line

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6

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