Openings · C65–C67

Ruy López, Berlin Defence

3…Nf6 — hit e4 immediately, and be ready for the endgame that made the defence famous.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6played as Black

The idea

The Berlin Wall is 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8: queens off on move eight, Black's structure wrecked and the king unable to castle, in exchange for the two bishops and a position with no weaknesses that a queen could attack.

Since everyone learned that, the practical main line has become 4.d3 — a slow, Italian-shaped game where nothing is forced and the Berlin's preparation does not apply at all.

Practise the line

You play Black; the other side answers on its own. Nothing here is saved or graded.

Your move 1 of 30/3

1.e4e5
2.Nf3Nc6
3.Bb5Nf6

White is answering…

Common mistakes

Three that come up again and again below master level. Each is ordinary opening theory — a named trap, or the error every coach corrects — not a statistic, and not drawn from anybody's games.

Entering the Wall without the endgame

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

The mistake: Heading for the famous endgame because it is famous.
Why it costs: It is a technical endgame from move eight, in which Black's king walks to e8 by hand, the doubled pawns have to be held, and the bishops need open lines that do not exist yet. It is sound, and it is nothing like the position most 3…Nf6 players were expecting.
Instead: 3…Nf6 4.O-O Bc5, or the …Bc5 lines against 4.d3, if what is wanted is an ordinary middlegame. The Wall rewards study, not curiosity.

Recapturing on c6 with the b-pawn

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 bxc6 7.dxe5 Nb7

The mistake: Taking towards the centre on move six, out of habit.
Why it costs: 6…dxc6 is what makes the whole line work: it opens the d-file, brings the bishop out and forces the queens off. After 6…bxc6 7.dxe5 the knight has to crawl to b7, the light-squared bishop has nothing to look at, and Black has the bad half of every trade.
Instead: 6…dxc6. The pawn structure is the price of admission to the Berlin, and it is paid on this move.

Taking on d4 after taking on e4

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 exd4 6.Re1 d5 7.Nxd4

The mistake: Grabbing the second pawn with 5…exd4 instead of retreating the knight.
Why it costs: 6.Re1 pins the knight down the e-file, and everything after it is forced. This is the Riga Variation, and the forcing sequence ends in an endgame where White is the one holding an extra pawn — all of it known, none of it improvised.
Instead: 5…Nd6, which is the move the Berlin is built on, or 5…Be7. The knight on e4 has done its job by making White spend moves on it.

Where it fits

The Ruy López, Berlin Defence is a variation of the Ruy López, whose page covers the ideas this one takes for granted.

Try it on one of your own

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