The Spanish Exchange: An Instructive Survey of a Bobby Fischer Favorite

Rating:
Summary: Nice book
Review: I enjoy the author's commentary. He blends humor with raw analysis. This book shows all the important variations for any serious student of the opening. The diagrams are good and the book is almost complete, however the "Odds and Ends" chapter could be expanded -i.e. There are a lot more options than the ones given.

Rating:
Summary: Semi Complete works of the Ruy Lopez exchange
Review: I enjoy the author's commentary. He blends humor with raw analysis. This book shows all the important variations for any serious student of the opening. The diagrams are good and the book is almost complete, however the "Odds and Ends" chapter could be expanded -i.e. There are a lot more options than the ones given.

Rating:
Summary: Getting Hamstrung on Move Four
Review: I think 1..e5 is an excellent reply to 1 e4. The Ruy Lopez offers the player of the black pieces a vast rich panoply of weapons to arm oneself with. White options in lieu of playing the Ruy Lopez, while many, do not, in my opinion, pose an insurmountable obstacle to overcome. In fact, many of these lines, such as the Kings Gambit or Two Knights Defense, tend to allow black good counterchances. However, a player of the black pieces must be aware that white has the option of causing structural damage to the black position right out of the opening, by an early piece exchange on c6. The Scotch and the Exchange Spanish are two that come to mind. Here we will review Kinsman's book covering the exchange variation of the Ruy Lopez. A new book by Kaufman maps out a white repetoire for the exchange variation, and uses the latest games. This book is older, and was published before ECO C 4th edition, which covers this material. Still, I think this book is a decent tool for players of either color who have use for information on this opening. Kinsman does a good job pointing out key games, and in many cases (more than in his book on the Modern Benoni) he throws in "tweaks" here and there where he thinks play could have been improved. I have been reading his book, along with a pile of others, in search of the best defense against the exchange. Black has many options. Yet, as I worked through them, I learned a few things about this opening. One, the structure damage black has to endure is very real. In essence, he is hamstrung. Black's "trumps" are his two bishops, but, in reality he is in a world of trouble here and if he thinks the bishops "grant" him equality he is mistaken. Black has to work hard to equalize. Two, while there is quite a bit of theory here, there is also much left unexplored. Some lines are quite unclear, others leave black still grasping for equality. A black player needs to be very suspicious of any "quick Fix". The line Kinsman suggests: ..5 Bd6 seems suspect. So what to play? I found the main line: 5..f6 6 d4 Bg4 to have a couple of unresolved points. Although, it must be said, the line has a long pedigree. Still, I do not like like playing on instinct when there are lines with more of the problems worked out to chose from. A popular line is 5..Qd6. Kinsman urges caution about employing this move, because black neglects his kingside development and risks falling under an early attack before he can deploy his forces. I recall the game Meeking-Korchnoi 1974 where Korchnoi fell under just such an attack. The 5..Qd6 lines left me with the feeling that there was much the books were not telling me. The fact that strong grandmasters play it, yet the theory seems unclear, hints that there is quite a bit of work that has been done on the black side of the exchange spanish that has not yet seen the light of day. That is my strong feeling. I think most grandmasters sense this, and thus the exchange spanish is not really relied on as a winning weapon for white among the strong GMs. Of course there are some who made special study of the white side, such as Rozentalis, and used their skill to score points, my feeling is that the exchange Spanish is not greatly feared by the high GMs. Those super-GMs who used the Marshall attack, like Adams, or the main lines, like Anand or Shirov, have been at the forefront of theory for the black side. Timman also played it with both colors (in fine style). For the club player like me, I think I would do just fine against a fellow club player who only knew bits of the theory. But if I faced an expert? Well, after much study, I feel the line that holds up best under scrutiny is the line that Kinsman dislikes: 5..f6 6 d4 exd4 7 Nxd4 c5 8 N moves then QxQ. This line removes the queens, making the fight a pure battle with black having the two bishops. Still, white has strong attacking chances in this line. Just look at Fischer-Spassky 1992(a grusome loss for Spassky). If white is lazy, slow, or inaccurate in his attack, then black should be fine (if black can develop his pieces before being overrun, then he should be able to blockade the white advance. By advance, I am referring to the advance of the white kingside majority, an everpresent slithering death creeping towards black. Stopping this advance requires the full attention of the the black player. With skill, he can force an piece exchange breaking up the white pawns, or undoubling his own. Failing this he must create a blockade with his pieces in active positions to prevent an effective advance by white. White has several tactical thrusts to strike before black is ready, with Nc3, e4-e5, N to e4, Be3, pawn to a4 and a5. There are a number of variations black needs to learn, several of them quite sharp, with himself under fierce attack. I feel these attacks have been analyzed in enough depth (some to 30 moves) to justify my belief that black can hold (I did not say win). If white mishandles (or as Kinsman says "goes off the rails in a big way.") his deployment, then I think black gains an early equality which should give him fair winning chances. Some of these white attacking attempts are also not ideal ones and can rebound with black getting the better position. In no other line of the exchange do I feel as confident for black, although I suspect others feel 5..Qd6 might offer better winning chances (black castles queenside in these lines, with the queens on). My final opinion is that, with best play, the Exchange Spanish is a line with strong drawish tendencies. Thus I argue black is indeed hamstrung right out of the gate in this line. Yet, for the black player, as I said, 1..e5 is very rich. Even the line I recommend for black against the exchange demands a high level of knowledge and skill to play. Study and practice of it can only help ones chess. If nothing else it will teach you a healthy regard for the power of pawn majorities. And note for white players, there is a high degree of knowledge and sophistication neccessary to succeed with the exchange against skilled opposition. The 5..Bg4 line, for example, can lead to a swift defeat for white if he does not know what to do (the fact that Topalov has played this way should be a warning). So, get the book, study it, and look for follow up work on the line. Once you really start to know what you are doing with 1..e5, you will come to realize just how good a choice you made, and you will not abandon it. Good luck, and let the two bishops roar!

Rating:
Summary: Nice book
Review: The table of contents lays out all of the main lines- this book is very well organized- 65 complete games, many of them classics by Fischer and Timman and other modern grandmasters.