Chess openings: Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack (C86)

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Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack (C86)
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 O-O Be7 6 Qe2

Number of games in database: 1501
Years covered: 1868 to 2025
Overall record:
   White wins 41.4%
   Black wins 27.1%
   Draws 31.4%

Popularity graph, by decade

Explore this opening | Search for sacrifices in this opening.

PRACTITIONERS

With the White Pieces

With the Black Pieces

Paul Keres		25 games
Isaac Kashdan		24 games
Sergei Tiviakov		23 games

Borislav Ivkov		10 games
Samuel Reshevsky		9 games
Efim Geller		8 games

NOTABLE GAMES [what is this?]

White Wins

Black Wins

Alekhine vs K Junge, 1942

Lasker vs Teichmann, 1909

Keres vs A Tarnowski, 1952

Fine vs Keres, 1938

N Riumin vs Botvinnik, 1935

H Seidman vs Reshevsky, 1942

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page 1 of 61; games 1-25 of 1,501

Game		Result	Moves	Year	Event/Locale	Opening
1. R Wormald vs C De Vere		0-1	28	1868	8th BCA Congress, Glowworm Prize, London 1868/69	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
2. Bird vs J Wisker		1-0	40	1873	Match (2)	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
3. Blackburne vs L van Vliet		½-½	28	1893	''Black and White'', London	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
4. Duras vs J Vijzelaar		1-0	46	1903	31st DCA Congress, Hilversum	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
5. H Wolf vs Swiderski		½-½	59	1904	14th DSB Congress, Coburg	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
6. H Wolf vs G Marco		½-½	23	1904	14th DSB Congress, Coburg	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
7. H Wolf vs H Suechting		0-1	43	1904	14th DSB Congress, Coburg	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
8. H Wolf vs Teichmann		1-0	48	1905	Ostend	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
9. H Wolf vs Taubenhaus		½-½	29	1905	Ostend	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
10. H Suechting vs Salwe		0-1	36	1906	Ostend	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
11. H Wolf vs G Marco		0-1	18	1906	Ostend	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
12. P Leonhardt vs Salwe		0-1	61	1906	15th DSB Congress, Nuremberg	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
13. Alapin vs Reti		1-0	63	1908	Vienna	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
14. Reti vs Spielmann		0-1	36	1908	Vienna	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
15. Lasker vs Teichmann		1-0	27	1909	St. Petersburg	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
16. A Speijer vs J Vijzelaar		0-1	44	1909	Hilversum	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
17. A Speijer vs R Loman		½-½	30	1909	Dutch Championship, Leiden	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
18. C Thoenes vs P Bodenstein		1-0	36	1910	Hauptturnier-B	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
19. C Thoenes vs Z Barasz		1-0	52	1910	Hauptturnier-B	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
20. R Griffith vs A J Mackenzie		0-1	33	1911	Hampstead CC - Birmingham m	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
21. H Fahrni vs J Perlis		1-0	69	1911	Karlsbad	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
22. G Thomas vs J Davidson		½-½	54	1913	City of London CC ch	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
23. G Schories vs E E Middleton		1-0	35	1913	BCF-ch 10th Major Open	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
24. G Schories vs Yates		1-0	64	1913	Exhibition game	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack
25. A Evenson vs Levenfish		0-1	78	1914	All-Russian Masters	C86 Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack


page 1 of 61; games 1-25 of 1,501

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< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 1 OF 2 · Later Kibitzing>
Jun-22-05		ArturoRivera: i think is an interesting move for avoiding the normal lines of the ruy closed, any opinion or practitioner among us?

Jun-22-05		tpstar: <ArturoRivera> I completely agree, and since I play the Open Defense as Black (5 ... Nxe4), I actually play 5. Qe2 instead of 5. 0-0 & 6. Qe2 so that my Pe4 is safe. It is somewhat slower than the main lines, and often Black gets in ... d5 earlier than otherwise. Here's an instant classic = Zoltan von Balla vs J Schweiger, 1921

Jun-23-05		ArturoRivera: yeah, however i like the move Rd1, gets some really nice activity, by the way, thanks for the game, real classic as you said

Aug-13-05		bomb the bishop: Is this line recommendable for white, today?

Aug-26-05		who: Anyone know of a game where Worrall plays this opening?

Dec-22-05		alicefujimori: The opening of the day. The Worrall is actually not a bad line, but the problem is that the Qe2-Rd1-c3-d4 setup is somewhat slow and Black could use all thhose time to build up nice counterplay to neutralize White's central punch.

Dec-20-06		marn0: I believe that Andrew Greet has written a recent book on this line for Everyman. Has anyone seen this book or read it? I think I might take up the Ruy Worrall ...

Jan-08-07		bumpmobile: <marn0> I just got it in the mail today. I am reading the introduction as I write. Nothing I can find indicates that Mr. Greet is any kind of expert on the Ruy (3-4 games in the database), but he addresses this and insists that he knows what he is talking about.

Jan-08-07		Eric Schiller: I offer E Schiller vs M Arne, 1995 as my statement on the opening. Do you really think it is slow, <alicefujimori>?

Jan-08-07		notyetagm: <Eric Schiller: I offer E Schiller vs M Arne, 1995 as my statement on the opening. Do you really think it is slow, <alicefujimori>?> Very nice game. 31 ♔f1!! is stupendous. What was the book on Spielmann that you were writing that lead you to play the Worrall attack in this game?

Jan-09-07		Eric Schiller: <notyet> My book on Spielmann, revised edition, is sitting around the Harding-Simpole office, it was to be published in 2005. I have no idea what has caused the delay. The first edition came out in 1995.

Jan-09-07		ganstaman: 1) I know how wonderful the ECO system is, but if anyone actually understands it I have a question. That game Eric Schiller presents 4 posts above this one is listed as C77 while this is the C86 page. Maybe I don't know exactly what the Worrall Attack entails, but why isn't his game listed as C86? 2) I'm possibly thinking of taking this opening up as a way to avoid the Open Ruy Lopez and the Berlin Defense. Anyone have any advice or general traps I should be aware of?

Jan-09-07		ganstaman: Oh, I may have figured out the answer to my first question. Does it have something to do with when castling occurs?

Apr-14-07		gambitfan: Opening of the day OPOD Sa 14/04/2007

Oct-17-07		DaveyL: Gazza should've tried this against Kramnik in 2000, to avoid the dreaded Belrin Wall.

Oct-17-07		keypusher: Well, the Worrall wouldn't work, because Kramnik played 3....Nf6, not 3....a6. But I don't see why White couldn't play 4. Qe2. <tpstar> has probably tried it.

Oct-17-07		DaveyL: Yep, you just play Qe2 whenever Black plays Nf6 - it might be slow, but surely Kasparov could've squeezed more out of it than he did against the Berlin.

Oct-17-07		acirce: Why do you think so? I doubt 4.Qe2 can give White more than equality.

Oct-17-07		DaveyL: Well, a slightly facetious reply, but plug 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. Qe2 into the opening explorer, and white still wins a very reasonable % of games. But my main point was, Kasparov could find absolutely nothing against Kramnik's Berlin Defence, so why not try something else? Could it be worse?

Oct-17-07		acirce: Yes. He did try something else and it was worse.

Oct-17-07		KingG: According to Kramnik, Kasparov later admitted that he should have tried the d3 variation of the Berlin. I'm not sure why he didn't. Maybe it became a matter of principle for him.

Oct-18-07		DaveyL: I'm impressed at how quickly the Kramnik Police pick up on even the smallest perceived slight against the big man :-)

Oct-18-07		keypusher: <I'm impressed at how quickly the Kramnik Police pick up on even the smallest perceived slight against the big man :-)> Well, let me join the force for a moment (or maybe I am already a member). Objectively speaking, 4. d3 (or 4. Qe2 followed by d3 at some point) isn't very strong. It's conceding most or all of White's opening advantage in the hopes that White can make something happen later after he maneuvers for a while. By contrast, Kasparov was getting an advantage in the Berlin (again, objectively speaking). It just happened to be an advantage that was very hard to convert. (A year later in Astana, Kasparov was finally able to breach the wall: Kasparov vs Kramnik, 2001.) As Kramnik foresaw, a maximalist like Kasparov had a very hard time foregoing that advantage.

Oct-18-07		acirce: I don't understand this supposed "perceived slight against the big man". I saw no criticism at all here, possibly of Kasparov if anyone. The problem with all these "Kasparov should have tried this or that instead of banging his head against the Berlin" is that he DID try other things. Half of his White games in the match (4/8) were NOT Berlins. No success whatever he tried, though. In game 11 it was actually Kramnik who did not allow the Berlin (playing 3..a6 instead). Why did he do that if it was so obvious that Kasparov could not make headway against it?

Aug-26-08		TommyC: Does anyone know who Worrall was?

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