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The variation against the Ruy Lopez presented in meticulous detail by Alexei Shirov (3...a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5) has so far had no recognised name and Shirov himself has named it after Vladislav Tkachiev, the 2007 European champion, the Tkachiev Ruy Lopez. In fact the grandmaster from Kazakhstan has played a few important games with this system, but it would have been just as justified to name the variation after our author himself, because since 1996 Shirov has not only played numerous games with it, but recently he has turned it into his main weapon against 1.e4 - with splendid success and a lot of imitators. The super grandmaster now shares all this collected knowledge with his viewers. Apart from the Exchange Variation (to which Shirov also devotes a model game) White has hardly any serious deviation after 3.Bb5, making of the Tkachiev Variation a good weapon against the Ruy Lopez. Video running time: 6 hours.

The Open Ruy Lopez gives Black free piece play and chances for the initiative. This sharp and interesting variation has been used by many of the all-time greats, including Anand, Kortschnoi, Botvinnik, Keres, Euwe, Fine and Reshevsky and this is by no means an exhaustive list. White will argue that Black loosens his position in the Open Variation, but if Black takes the time and trouble to learn the ideas and tactical themes that underpin this line, he has every chance to win the game. This will be especially interesting to the club player as it doubtless has been to the grandmasters mentioned above. The Open Ruy Lopez remains popular in tournament and match play at all levels and in late 2010 this looks set to continue. It’s a rich opening variation which attracts players of every style. It’s also one of Black’s very best responses to the ‘Spanish torture’. Video running time: 3 hrs 40 min.