C68: Ruy Lopez Exchange-Keres Variation

I was looking at some different replies to 5. Nc3 in the Exchange Variation of the Ruy Lopez and came across this line. Have you ever played it and if so, after reaching the 8th move for Black, how did you fare with it, either as White or Black. The line goes like this:

My Questions are this: from this line (not sideline derivatives from previous moves), what are some of your favorite ideas for the White side and how would you handle the Black side? And as Black, would you play 9... 0-0-0 or develop and play 0-0 at move 11 or even later?

Any comments or expertise on this line are appreciated.

Offhand I don't think Black has a better game here, it's either = or oo. Black's Bishop-pair advantage is offset by his crippled pawn-side majority which makes it seemingly impossible to get a Q-side passed-pawn unless he can undouble the c-pawns. White has the better pawn structure and no weaknesses which pretty much compensates for not having a Bishop-pair here. In my somewhat limited experience as White I've found that the RL Exchange Var is OK for a draw vs tough opponents, not so OK if I want to play for a win.

MCO-15 (p 58 FN [h] states 7.Qd4 Qd4 8.Nd4 is not as good (as 7.Nxd4 in col 2) since White would like to be castled queenside in this particular endgame - huh? So what's stopping White from playing 0-0-0 ASAP?

Here is a good example of pfren's line in the opening. Notice how the course of a  few moves from the opening line can swing the momentum of a game. Here is the line:

Now in three moves, Black has managed to secure a very nice position. Here, White has three replies in the position, 12. Nb3, 12. Nf3 and 12. a3. Black still has 12... Nh5 to be able to play and also can build a fortress on the Queen side playing at some point b6 and Kb7. The Bishops pair will operate on the board quite well with the center pawns gone as well. White has the space advantage in the center but will eventually have to give ground and then Black should be able to work for holding on to the center with at least one of his Bishops.

So lets look at the first move for White being 12. Nb3. Game is from Zelinski-Klovans, RIga 1963.

Notice first how Black builds a fortress with the b6 and Kb7 moves on moves 13 and 14. This position held through the entire game due in part to White ceding the light squared Bishop on move 4. Also, notice how separated White's forces are here, split perfectly on the two wings while Black is ready to mobilize and control first the Queen side, then the King side later.

By the 17th move Black has control of 7 of the 8 squares on White's 5th rank due to the fact that he has initiative and his opponent is pretty much just marking time and readying for defense other than occasionally putting the question to certain pieces at times.

The pivoting point in this opening seems to have come at 31... Nxc3 when White must now decide how he is going to handle the imminent attacks to e2 shortly. 33. e5 seems to have been the only way to prolong the game here. The problem was that this allowed the c6 Bishop to infiltrate at f4, with the double threat of winning the g5 pawn and forcing a series of exchanges that White simply could not afford here. And as the illustration shows, this was enough to force White to lose the game.

The next thread posting will look at 12. Nf3 and the differences in the two games displayed.

I understand that the 5... f6 advance seems an odd way to defend e5 here but without this move, we do not reach the Keres Variation, the subject of this forum. The line you are suggesting with Qd6?! while slightly speculative, does not harbor much ill will apparently for either side. Here is a typical line that has been reached in at least 2 games within the last 3 years using 5...Qd6: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. Nc3 Qd6 6. d3 Ne7 7. Be3 Ng6  and now White had 2 moves that continued with one winning and the other losing. Those were: 8. Qd2 in Keitlinghaus (2945)-Smejkal (2515) 1-0 (2009) and 8. g3 in Moroz (2380)-Romanishin (2515) 0-1 (2009). Also, in a database of 3.5M games with 1553 games played in that line (5. Nc3) 5... Qd6 is the 5th most popular move, played in 158 games with the last recorded game in 2011 scoring as approximately 33%/37%/30% W/L/D. 5... f6 is a little more balanced in 765 games, the last recorded in tournament play in 2012 at 26%/48%/26% W/L/D. Later, I will post a second GM game with this opening in which White plays Nf3 instead of the Nb3 line shown earlier.

Also, 5. 0-0 Qd6 is the Bronstein Variation and is a totally different game for Black while if Black were to play 5... f6, we would have the Gligoric Variation. 6. Na3 is the mainline reply to Qd6 here while 6. d4 is the continuation suggested in the Gligoric.

No. I am looking through a database and seeing two games there. The move record does not reflect time trouble as loss, only that Smejkal lost.

The point I am attempting to make is that the topic of the thread is that of openings arising out of Black's play of 5... f6, not other moves that transpose to other lines of the Spanish. 5... Qd6 would be an entirely different line as Black cannot in all likelihood move 2 pieces on one move.

I would be happy to begin a topic thread on the Gligoric Variation later if you would like to look at the merits of the 5. Qd6 move, but for now, the focus of this thread is on the Keres Variation and 5... f6.

As for statistics, aside from personal style of play, this seems to be one of the ways higher rated players will look into openings that they might play in OTB tournaments, especially with computers aiding in analysis and study. These days, both seem to go hand in hand, much like the seconds that would travel with players in Championship matches, only now we have more games and theory to arrive at better positions.

Here is a line I played in around 10 years ago that featured instead of Be3 being played by my opponent the move Bf4. I found that I had played the first 13 moves similar to a game from 3 years prior that was played in Europe by 2 strong players but soon after, the game took a decided turn for White early and I was in a resigning position. I had several errors afterwards but still, I have liked this variation quite a bit. This was the move order selected in the opening:

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. Nc3 f6 6. d4 exd4 7. Qxd4 Qxd4 8. Nxd4 Bd7 9. Bf4 O-O-O 10. O-O-O Ne7 11. Bg3 Ng6 12. f3 Bb4 13. Nde2 

I still like this opening even though i lost.

I noticed nobody corrected a mistake by Bill C. The Keres Variation occurs after 5 Nc3 NOT 5...f6. The variation is a choice by White, not Black thus any reply on the 5th move and it is still a Keres Variation.

I think you are correct yet I can't find any games by Keres with it in my database.  There are a few dozen games with it by Yandemirov though: http://www.365chess.com/search_result.php?search=1&m=9&n=3461&ms=e4.e5.Nf3.Nc6.Bb5.a6.Bxc6.dxc6.Nc3&wid=9838

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Ruy Lopez exchange variation is the most common opening for Stockfish 8

And Stockfish 8 doesnt know about openings, just as any other enginge.

OMG 48. gxf5+