page 1 of 21; games 1-25 of 503  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Schlechter vs Prokes 1-0 37 1908 Prague C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 2. E Bhend vs L Weltjens   1-0 30 1958 13th olm qual. group 4 C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 3. Geller vs Tal   ½-½ 14 1961 Moscow USSR Team ch C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 4. Jansa vs Spassky   ½-½ 23 1961 Moscow C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 5. Nezhmetdinov vs Krogius   1-0 45 1961 09 C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 6. Tal vs Smyslov   ½-½ 31 1961 Baku ch-SU C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 7. Tal vs Smyslov   ½-½ 21 1961 Moskva tt C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 8. S Garcia-Martinez vs Spassky 0-1 45 1961 Moscow (Russia) C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 9. Kotkov vs Spassky 0-1 38 1961 Moscow (Russia) C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 10. Portisch vs I Bilek   ½-½ 21 1962 Izt C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 11. Shamkovich vs Bronstein   1-0 45 1962 Moscow (Russia) C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 12. Geller vs A Matanovic 1-0 36 1962 Varna ol C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 13. Keres vs F Blatny   1-0 59 1962 Varna olf (01.10.62) C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 14. Gligoric vs Korchnoi   ½-½ 31 1962 Stockholm izt C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 15. Larry Evans vs Lombardy 1-0 37 1962 New York (training match) C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 16. Larry Evans vs Lombardy   0-1 40 1962 New York (training match) C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 17. Najdorf vs E C Guevara ½-½ 16 1962 Havana C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 18. A Matanovic vs Pachman   ½-½ 26 1962 Cuba C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 19. Parma vs Kholmov   ½-½ 28 1962 Lvov (Ukraine) C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 20. W Pietschker vs Spassky   0-1 35 1962 Varna C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 21. Stein vs Spassky 1-0 43 1962 URS-ch C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 22. Gligoric vs Spassky   ½-½ 33 1962 Habana (Cuba) C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 23. Unzicker vs Filip   ½-½ 27 1962 Varna ol (Men) C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 24. Tringov vs Spassky   ½-½ 40 1962 Varna ol (Men) C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense 25. Savon vs Krogius   ½-½ 49 1962 URS-ch30 C93 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Smyslov Defense  page 1 of 21; games 1-25 of 503    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)

Secrets of Opening Surprises

Apr-08-04    Taidanii: Why is 9...h6 even being considered over 9...Na5? Apr-08-04    Kenkaku: Actually, I feel that the Breyer or the Flohr-Zaitsev (popular these days) may be the best, rather than the Tchigorin. This is the Closed Ruy Lopez though, so any strategy can be effective, including the waiting move 9...h6 (it keeps the knight off g5, and will be useful in fighting off a kingside pawn storm as well, of course). Apr-08-04    BiLL RobeRTiE: The problem with 9...h6 is that the tempo spent on it allows White to complete the knight maneuver b1-d2-f1-(e3 or g3) with impunity - of course this is also present in the Breyer and some lines of the Chigorin. The Flohr-Zaitsev is probably Black's most testing line, as the pressure arrives at e4 fast enough to stop said maneuver. Given the choice, I would probably go for either the Zaitsev or the Breyer over the slow Smyslov and the "knight on the rim" Chigorin, but of course they are also both viable defenses. Apr-08-04    acirce: Yes, 9. - h6 is slow, probably unnecessarily so because Ng5 isn't often too effective. That is why Smyslov isn't so often played, but it is not unsound. Apr-08-04    ruylopez900: 9...h6 seems to be a waiting move, seeing what White will do. I agree with ken and bill that the Flohr-Zaitzev is the most testing line for White in the Closed Ruy Lopez. Oct-25-04    Helloween: I don't like moves that commit the pawn structure when there are at least 3 or 4 better moves on the board. To me, this is a poor man's Flohr-Zaitsev, since h7-h6 is an almost universal move in that system anyway. I play the Karpov variation (9...Nd7) almost exclusively in the closed. Jul-22-05    Backward Development: <I don't like moves that commit the pawn structure when there are at least 3 or 4 better moves on the board...h7-h6 is an almost universal move in that system anyway.> Thus, the move doesn't really commit anything, since the move is common. Examining the main lines of the Zaitsev, white has many strong, forcing variations at his disposal which seem to leave black in trouble of being mated. While the QS majority is very important, quite often the weakness of Black's KS is more telling. In the Smyslov, direct attacks seem to happen less frequently and Black's QB in particular can benefit from the flexibility of 9...h6. In the closed positions after a d4-d5 push, it's well known that a bishop on d7 is generally more useful. I believe that critical difference is a reason to favor the Smyslov. The Karpov variation follows the maxim of making no weakening pawn moves, if possible. Although the main-line positions are very solid, they don't seem to offer black many winning chances. I'm learning how to defend the Spanish, and I think the Smyslov is maybe best. Jul-23-05    OneBadDog: If Black doesn't want a three move repetition in the Flohr-Zaitsev, he should be prepared to play the Smyslov. Jul-23-05    offramp: It is only a 3-fold repetition if one of the players claims it, as Van der Wiel vs Karpov, 1989 shows. Both players got nearer to the time-control with the multiple repetition. Aug-01-05    gambitfan: is it the Zaitsev variation of the Ruy Lopez ??? Apr-09-06    WTHarvey: Here is a little collection of puzzles from miniatures of the RL Closed, Smyslov (C93): http://www.wtharvey.com/c93.html What's the best move?

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