Chess openings – Berlin Defence

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This video investigates the crucial 3…Nf6! (Berlin) approach to the Ruy Lopez and sets the stage for a deeper investigation. The Berlin was used four times by Anand in the recent WCh match against Carlsen. There he scored two draws (using the main line 9..Ke8 and 10…h5! shown in this video) and two losses when Carlsen used d3! and also when Anand deviated from 9…Ke8 with the 9…Bd7 plan (also mentioned in this video). Enjoyed!

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160 Comments

  1. In my opinion in chess the queenside castling procedure is not done correctly in the rules of chess. I quess Mr. Ruy Lopez who introduced the castling thing forgot to add one more square to the Kings move to the long castling procedure on the queenside. Here's the correction: When long castling on the queenside only, the king should move "three squares' to the left instead of only two squares to the left and the rook goes on the other side of him as usual. This modification is needed to make castling symmetrical fitted like it's done when kingside castling. The purpose of castling in the first place is to tuck the king safely into the corner of the chessboard instead of half way into the center of the board where the king is not protecting the queen's rook pawn like it's supposed to when it's done when kingside castling.

  2. Definitely some play on blacks queen side here.
    sorry, I just.. couldnt pass on that. Thanks for the vids, they are helpful.

  3. Why is it called "Berlin Defense" if Hitler could not even defend Berlin at the end of WWII?

  4. Please subtitle in spanish

  5. you're so camp – its hilarious, thanks so much for your wonderful explanations.

  6. Thank you very much you are doing a great job, explaining and simplifying openings. Your energy and smile are excellent traits. And I would like to give two thumbs up for the artistic qualities of the videos. Thanks.

  7. Awesome channel, your talent is amazing. Loved the way you explained the lesson

  8. This is a fantastic explanation. I can't stress it enough. Only personal pet peeve is that it sounds too scripted but otherwise possibly the best explanatory chess video I've seen so far.

  9. You didn't mention the real drawing line for white 5.d4 Nd6 6.dxe5 Nxb5 7.a4 Nbd4 8.Nxd4 d5 8.exd6 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Qxd6 10.Qe4 Qe6 11.Qd4 Qd6 draw by perpetual. There are risky ways for black to play, but this is the way they play at top level when they want to force a draw.

  10. We love u derecque✌️ please make more videos..u literally are one of the best explainer than the rest

  11. Your opening repertoires are clearly explained

  12. But what can we do if white moves d3 instead of d4?

  13. The contents of this video is great, however there is much gap between your speech and animation on board, which makes it difficult to correlate. I would suggest to have a improved software for you demonstration, something which show arrows as well. Also board should occupy more space on screen rather than the presenter ;).

  14. A pedagogical blunder: many players at this level might not master the move notation without seeing labeled files and ranks. Display them next to the board, please.

  15. This video is extremely clear to learn from. Good job

  16. It takes intelligence (kasparov) to do things righty but wisdom (kramnik) to do the right thing.

  17. Mr Kelley must have amazing memory skills as he is conveying all this awesome information without looking at any notes or teleprompter lines. So informative, fluent and educational all rolled into one. And wow…what talk about a postive persona. I grew up with Karpov and Kasparov and thought you had to be an insular grump to enjoy chess lol although I learned later these guys do have a lighter side away from the board. Definately a great channel to subscribe to for those wanting to master this facet of the game and work to the next level. Thank you sir!

  18. Very useful information with excellent presentation skills!

  19. Awesome commentary in a very clear and in-depth explanation on this opening theory. Impressive way of illustrating the pros and cons for white and black for all these variations. Much better than anyone else on YouTube

  20. Would you recommend me an application to play chess online in which I have the possibility to choose always there black. Because I want to practice the Berlin defense but the chess apps give me the color randomly…

  21. You are an excellent chess teacher! Ive been having trouble listening to boring chess teachers as they usually talk in monotone and generally don’t have social skills (which is okay!). You have the tone of a fucking flight attendant and command attention while being perfectly clear and literate.

  22. i have never seen someone speak so clearly. nice video mate

  23. You are so cute! Thank you for the great presentation and explanation!

  24. It might have been better to have a camera capturing the chessboard than an unsynchronized computer chess board.

  25. thank you for the explanation, it was very informative and easy to follow!

  26. I made it to 3 minutes of this voice. Then looked for a rope and chair.

  27. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave has made a name for himself as a Berlin killer, finding ways to pose black practical defensive difficulties in the ending. His top tries against the 10…h5 variation lately seem to be after 14. Rfe1 Bb4 to enter a sideline with 15. a3!? (giving black time to play h4 and split white's majority by isolating the e-pawn upon the move g4) Bxc3 16. bxc3 h4 17. g4 hxg3 18. fxg3, and after the main line 15. g4 (principled, and allowing white to retain the f-pawn) hxg4 16. hxg4 Ne7 he often enters a pawn sacrifice sideline 17. f3!? Bxc3 18. bxc3 after which …Bxa2 gives white some serious initiative with further sacrificial paths 19. Ne4 Rh8 20. e6! Bxe6?! 21. Bxc7 which can be tricky to defend practically, though 20…Nd5! looks like it defuses the attack the cleanest. MVL has actually gotten close to a few wins in all of these lines — black's defensive task is not necessarily trivial. Now the absolute main move 17. Nxe6 looks like white has gotten somewhere on paper – keeping his f-pawn, reducing black's light square control and stripping the bishop pair advantage, but white can ultimately still not avoid the ruining of his queenside pawn structure since even after …Rxe6 18. Re3 (hoping to take on c3 with the rook) …Rg6! 19. g5 is a virtually forced concession which again ruins white's chances to control f5 while …Ng6!? 19. Bg3 Bxc3 20. bxc3 is still the only recapture as the rook cannot abandon the twice-attacked e5 pawn. After the queenside pawns are shattered black activates the a-rook on the d-file and eventually starts munching on weak white pawns, which ends up giving black's crippled majority a passer or two after all to counterbalance the majority white went through such pains to free up and mobilize with his previous play.

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