July 14, 2019
First, congratulations to Dave Walker and Dave Mooney for finishing equal first in the Warm-Up Blitz on the 4th July with 8.5/9. Well done, too, to Ian Maughan who finished 3rd on 6/9. Full details here.
The next theme is the Berlin Wall in the Ruy Lopez on Thursday 18th July. Play will start after the moves 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. BxN dxB 7. de Nf5 8. QxQ KxQ with White to move.
This difficult, enigmatic opening makes a change from the usual “wham-bang-thank-you-Stan” fare of gambits and slightly wacky openings we usually have. To help you with the ideas and plans for the opening here are two YouTube videos for your preparation. First, from Yasser Seirawan, a long but very good video which includes some interesting historical perspective. Second, a shorter video which also gives a good introduction to the Ruy Lopez proper.
