If I were a 1.e4 player I would play the Spanish straight down the main lines, at least most of the way.  Against the Open, I would play 9.Nbd2 intending 9...Nc5 10.c3 d4 11. Bxe6 Nxe6 12.cxd4 Ncxd4 13.a4, which I think is quite challenging for Black.  I wouldn't bother with any sort of backup system, since the Spanish is strong enough all by itself.  But I would simply vary my treatment of the more popular Black defenses.  To avoid the Marshall the early h3 looks fairly promising right now, but I might not want to avoid the Marshall, at least not always.

rossia wrote on 07/20/08 at 08:30:40:


I reviewed Greet's fine book soon after it came out:

Play the Ruy Lopez, by Andrew Greet, Everyman Chess (http://www.everymanchess.com), 2006, 376 pages, £14.99

English IM Andrew Greet (FIDE 2425) provides a complete repertoire for White after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 based on the Ruy Lopez 3 Bb5. This is Greet’s first chess book, and he has clearly invested a huge amount of effort into making it a good one. In Part 1 (pp. 19-151) Greet provides very detailed analysis of all Black’s third-move alternatives. In Part 2 (pp 155-240) he examines Black’s options on move 4 after 3…a6 4 Ba4. Part 3 (241-372) focuses on Greet’s recommended system against Black’s most popular defensive option 3…a6 4 Ba4 Nf6, based on the move 5 Qe2. Not surprisingly he also suggests answering the Berlin 3…Nf6 in the same fashion, 4 Qe2.  Against the Schliemann 3...f5, which still seems very popular at club level, Greet opts for 4 d3.

First of all, a short digression on nomenclature. 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 Qe2 is historically known as the Wormald Attack, named after RB Wormald (1834-76) who published some analysis of it in 1867; Wormald ran the chess column in the lllustrated London News from 1874 until his death When played on move 6, after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Be7, 6 Qe2 is known as the Worrall Attack, named after Thomas Herbert Worrall (1807-78); the Oxford Companion to Chess states that he was British Commissioner to Mexico and was later transferred to New York. The Companion also notes that Qe2 was also once known as the English Variation, and a database search shows that it was indeed used by a long line of English masters: Staunton, Blackburne, Bird, Thomas, and Yates. In more modern times, it was used extensively by Alekhine, Keres and Spassky, and the American GM Arthur Bisguier employed it successfully in the 1950s. Nigel Short has used it from time to time, notably in his match against Karpov in 1992. Short, who contributes a lengthy introduction to this book, remarks that he first saw Qe2 in the games of his fellow-member of Bolton Chess Club, Jeff Horner, who has used  it to help him win a huge number of Opens in the North of England in the last forty years. As one of Horner’s regular victims, I can testify to his great skill with the Worrall. Today the most consistent high-level supporter of the Qe2 system is the Dutch-based Russian GM Sergey Tiviakov, who has played it in at least 60 games.

Factors in favour of 5 Qe2 include:
a)      it rules out the Open defence 5 0-0 Nxe4;
b)      it puts pressure on b5, lending more force to a2-a4;
c)      it enables White to play Rfd1, supporting d4 and putting pressure on the d-file;
d)      it enables White to connect his rooks more quickly;
e)      in lines where Black adopts a Chigorin set-up with …Na5 and …c5, and White then blocks the centre with d5, White saves two tempi for switching his rooks to the kingside in support of the traditional attack with g4.

Here is an example of point e), quoted in one of Dvoretsky’s books: 
Dubinin,P - Suetin,A RSFSR team championship, 1950
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Qe2 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qc7 12.d5 Bd7 13.Kh2 c4 14.Rg1 Nb7 15.g4 Ne8 16.Nbd2 g6 17.Nf1 Ng7 18.Bh6 f6 19.Ne3 Kh8 20.Rg3 Rg8 21.Rag1 Nd8 22.Nf5 Bf8 23.Bxg7+ Bxg7 24.g5 Rf8 25.h4 gxf5 26.gxf6 Bxf6 27.exf5 Qc8 28.Ng5 Bxg5 29.Rxg5 Nf7 30.Rh5 Rg8 31.Rxh7+ Kxh7 32.Qh5+ Nh6 33.Rg6 Qf8 34.Rxh6+ Qxh6 35.f6+ e4 36.Bxe4+ 1-0

At club level it is still possible to win many games like this.

So why is 5/6 Qe2 less popular than 6 Re1? In his book The Ruy Lopez (1963), Leonard Barden wrote: “Some years ago, 6 Qe2 as an alternative to 6 Re1 seemed likely to become an equally popular move. Nowadays the Worrall Attack 6 Qe2 is rarely seen, partly because of the proven strength of 6 Re1, and partly because it is recognized the queen is exposed at e2 both to a pin by …Bg4 and to a concealed attack from the black rook along the e-file.” This still seems largely true today. Nevertheless, Greet makes a strong case on behalf of what he calls the Worrall System and I am certain that the reader is provided with enough analysis and careful explanation to be able to play it with confidence.

The structure of the book is not the traditional Everyman one based on complete annotated games; instead we get a detailed “tree” structure. There is an index of variations and a bibliography, in which Greet usefully indicates the cut-off point for the data-search in the standard electronic source TWIC (The Week In Chess). Greet also tells us which analysis engines he used and what he thinks are the strengths of each.

Throughout the book, Greet finds improvements over published analysis for both sides. I shudder at the thought of how much midnight oil was burnt over its writing, but I think Greet deserves great praise for this, his first book. Let us hope it is not his last!

Verdict: ***** A hugely impressive piece of work and a strong recommendation to anyone who plays for or against the Ruy Lopez.

Yes I know that review. To answer your question, of course it is a good idea to buy Greet's book! Who knows if you will keep on playing the KG the next 5 decades? Greet also gives coverage of Black's third move options, but no Philidor or Petrov/Russian (how is the latter opening called in Russia?) etc. See the table of content in Hansen's review!  

Viking wrote on 07/20/08 at 22:00:04:


Thanks, also in The Netherlands and Suriname.

Johansson's The Fascinating King's Gambit. That is how a repertoire book should be written.