Customer Reviews

How to Play the Ruy Lopez

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Ruy Lopez or Spanish, 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 is one of the oldest openings, one of the most heavily analyzed, and one of the best weapons for the White player. How can an older book be of use to someone looking to play this sharp opening? Well, Taulbut's approach focused on the basic (fixed)principles of each line and allowed the reader to choose the specific variation that suited him. So, where other books are heavy on variations and thin on ideas, Taulbut stresses thematic plans that should be adopted by both sides, as well as examining how typical pawn structures and their significance for endgame play. In 15 chapters, the author covers variations such as The Closed Morphy Defence, The Marshall Attack And The Anti-Marshall, Open Variations, Slow Systems, Steinitz System, Exchange Systems, Berlin And Bird Defences, and so on. Only 124 pages, the book is an excellent (and non-intimidating) overview of a complicated opening. You may need (for you Master wannabees) a current book for "state-of-the-art" variations, but for plans? This is the place.

I came across this book in a used book store and got it (in the original edition) for just a few dollars. By the way, don't be fooled; the 2004 date on the book currently being offered masks the fact that the book was published originally in 1987.

As I write this review, its content is approaching 25 years of age, and a great deal has happened in chess during that time. The theory of the Ruy Lopez and other openings has developed significantly. So, what use would a book this old be? Shouldn't you read something newer, like Greet's "Play the Ruy Lopez" --- which is much longer than the slim 124 pages offered by "How to Play the Ruy Lopez" or maybe, for Black, Pavlovich's "Fighting the Ruy Lopez" --- or any of a zillion other books both general and specific?

The surprising fact is that I went through Taulbut's book and found it very relevant and very useful for a mid-range player. True, it doesn't contain the latest of everything, but what it does contain is some of the clearest explanations of Ruy Lopez ideas and principles that I've found so far. Through the medium of easy to understand explanation and a great set of well-annotated games (the annotations too stress ideas more than myriad variations) the Ruy Lopez came alive for me in a very new way. The basic ideas and principles of the Ruy have not and will not change with time, even though their specific expression might.

All the basics are here: Open, Closed, Marshall, Anti-Marshall, Exchange, Steinitz, Classical, etc. It's more than enough to give a strong grounding in the basics of this opening, and it's not biased toward either White or Black. If you decide some day to become a specialist in a particular line of the Ruy, you'll need other books, but if you are a club player who wants to understand what's going on and simply play the Ruy better, this little book is definitely for you. My guess is that the book is good for the 1400 to 1900 USCF (or equivalent) rated player.

I can definitely recommend this book. I do take a star off the final rating because it's so dated, but the result is still an excellent four-star evaluation. I am pretty sure that this book will remain my "go-to" book for the Ruy Lopez for a long time to come.

First published in 1987. The Ruy Lopez is the most enduring and popular of openings. It was a favourite with Steinitz, Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Tal, Spassky, Fischer, Karpov and Kasparov. The Lopez is the ultimate Grandmaster opening. It is also one of the most difficult to learn how to play well. In this treatise International Master Shaun Taulbut guides readers through the right paths and shows how to make this formidable opening a regular point-scorer in their own games.

Shaun Taulbut won team gold in the World Students' Championship, was European junior champion and holds the title of International Master awarded by the World Chess Federation.