Hi guys, here is my TIER LIST for openings against the Ruy Lopez. Remember different lines may work better at different levels so just because one is higher doesn't you should go for it! Try them out and see what works for you!
Molton, love the channel, just an idea tho, when you are rating something, could you put the name of it above the characteristics of it (the theory, quality ect rating). Sometimes I don't really hear the name of it until the name, and it would just look nice. Great work
Thanks for making this I really appreciate it as part of my current Ruy White project. It would be a cool topic to see updated if you have any opinion changes. Cozio seems a lot more meta now also 3...Bc5. So far I have studied Open, Jaenisch, Steinitz, Petrov and this week is Archangel. One tabia per week planning for a 3 month project.
im gonna go down this list and try everything, this is one of my main improving points now, dealing with the spanish. Trying Schliemann, cozio defense and columbus variation ( main line-ish)
@@MoltonChess i want to try the cozio and schliemann too, but there are not many easy to follow videos of any use and finding theory for each is proving to be a complete nightmare. Could you make a video like your Sicilian starter pack on the cozio or schliemann please?
I love the Breyer myself, but the Flohr system is considered to be the best theoretical variation, so I think it's pretty strong as black if white has to play for a win. But then again, you might as well play a Marshall if you want to draw, lol
Hey Molthan thanks for making these videos, currently my uscf stands at 2177 and I’ve been playing the b3 Sicilian with moderated success, but unfortunately it doesn’t provide much of an advantage anymore. Do you think I should play the the Nc3, Bb5 Sicilian or should I play the open since it’s the most challenging for black
There are quite alot of other options. B3 Sicilian is not as challenging to face. Maybe choose another Anti Sicilian or line in the Open to try out. Whatever you like most. I can make another list for these options later
2177 is serious chess. I’m no GM but learning the open Sicilian, due to the rich possibilities, should be your best bet. But for myself, I play the b3 Sicilian too, and it saves you time, but black can easily equalize and you just have to play chess. Whereas Garry Kasparov had prepared victories in open Sicilians!
The Schliemann defence is OP. Nobody is prepared for it at club level yet it's still played at highest levels, mostly as a surprise weapon but it's still good. and it's one of the very few dynamic ruy lopez lines
Great video thank you ! 🤩 I'm almost 2000 FIDE and trying to add 1...e5 2...Nc6 to my repertoire. I want to focus on the main opening principles as a beginner would do. Quick question, what do you think is the most instructive for an experienced player ? For example I'm not sure the Schliemann is the most appropriate even if I'm sure it would score very well.
The Elephant Gambit, while not totally sound, is nowhere near as god-awful as its maligned reputation. In practice it can sometimes be hard for White to keep things under control in a way he would like. Certainly it is not worse than the Latvian Gambit!! I find it kind of funny when I hear from people who hate the Modern Steinitz and would never consider playing it, but have no problem playing the Old Steinitz Defence on a fairly routine basis. Although risky, with careful preparation, the Jaenisch Gambit is not bad as an occasional weapon when Black needs to push a bit. I also think the Classical Archangelesk Defence (5...b5 6 Bb3 Bb7) to be an underrated opening, and there is not that much theory to it, aside from 7 c3 and 7 Re1. Fianchetto Defence 3...g6 and 5...Bc5 Moller Defence are fairly solid too.. For those with the white pieces looking for a decent occasional sideline variation to play, you could do far worse than 6 Bxc6 Exchange Variation Doubly Deferred.
Hello, great video but I'm confused about Petroff. In Petroff, white bishop does not come out so how is it considered a defence against Ruy Lopez? Seems like a generic defence against kings knight opening?
It's true but I thought Petroff might be annoying since Black totally avoids the Nc6 move altogether. So just to point out so White players of Ruy Lopez know
Hey Molton, do you have any thoughts on ambitious lines in the 2. Nf3 Nc6 Rossolimo from Black's perspective? Most recommendations are quite bland (or even bad)... I have looked at Gelfand's games with the ...bxc, ...Nh6 setup and I think it's good, but if White delays the exchange ...Nh6 is not as good. There is very little material on the Rossolimo for Black, but every Sicilian player should have something against it, how can that be?
That's because many people only suggest the Rossolimo with White and not much focus is given for Black. If you want some ambitious and irregular positions then I would actually suggest looking into e6 as an option. Since it is played less often than g6 people may not be as familiar. Gelfand also plays e6 alot in his games and won a nice one recently against Ding Liren.
@@MoltonChess it's a very cool line where the knight forces the light squared bishop off the board. There's also a very aggressive attack where white can sacrifice the bishop for 2 pawns and a huge initiative! Sequence: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 Na5
@@MoltonChess Ah, as a total beginner it seems the natural move to me, so was wondering where you'd place it. :) Great video, this is a pretty complex opening!
Hi guys, here is my TIER LIST for openings against the Ruy Lopez. Remember different lines may work better at different levels so just because one is higher doesn't you should go for it! Try them out and see what works for you!
Such an underrated chess channel!
Thankyou for visiting
Wow, Obama supports small RUclipsrs?
"usually an opening named after an animal is not a good sign" LOL
A few exceptions but mostly true 😂
Super Monkeeyyyy Opening!
10:14, you put c6, what do you think about Nf6 instead, which is what Marshall himself played against José Raul Capablanca in the world championship.
This really helps out ruy lopez players like me. Good video
Thanks so much for your feedback
Yay another tier list! Love seeing your thoughts on these openings.
Yah theres so many variations 😂
Molton, love the channel, just an idea tho, when you are rating something, could you put the name of it above the characteristics of it (the theory, quality ect rating). Sometimes I don't really hear the name of it until the name, and it would just look nice. Great work
Great idea, noted for next time thanks!
Thanks for making this I really appreciate it as part of my current Ruy White project. It would be a cool topic to see updated if you have any opinion changes. Cozio seems a lot more meta now also 3...Bc5. So far I have studied Open, Jaenisch, Steinitz, Petrov and this week is Archangel. One tabia per week planning for a 3 month project.
love the format, and I liked your lessons so far, helpful indeed, thanks!
🙏🙏
thanks for the video, Breyer is my absolute favourte among the all
I used to play Breyer a lot too
I badly needed this type of knowledge and luckily google suggested me this video.
im gonna go down this list and try everything, this is one of my main improving points now, dealing with the spanish. Trying Schliemann, cozio defense and columbus variation ( main line-ish)
:))
@@MoltonChess i want to try the cozio and schliemann too, but there are not many easy to follow videos of any use and finding theory for each is proving to be a complete nightmare. Could you make a video like your Sicilian starter pack on the cozio or schliemann please?
GM Molton,
Have you done an instructional vid on how to play the Ruy Lopez (Spanish) as white?
thank you!
Not yet
I love the Breyer myself, but the Flohr system is considered to be the best theoretical variation, so I think it's pretty strong as black if white has to play for a win. But then again, you might as well play a Marshall if you want to draw, lol
It is a brilliant video. Thank you!
Glad you liked it!
Hey Molthan thanks for making these videos, currently my uscf stands at 2177 and I’ve been playing the b3 Sicilian with moderated success, but unfortunately it doesn’t provide much of an advantage anymore. Do you think I should play the the Nc3, Bb5 Sicilian or should I play the open since it’s the most challenging for black
There are quite alot of other options. B3 Sicilian is not as challenging to face. Maybe choose another Anti Sicilian or line in the Open to try out. Whatever you like most. I can make another list for these options later
2177 is serious chess. I’m no GM but learning the open Sicilian, due to the rich possibilities, should be your best bet. But for myself, I play the b3 Sicilian too, and it saves you time, but black can easily equalize and you just have to play chess. Whereas Garry Kasparov had prepared victories in open Sicilians!
Amazing video as always! Do you plan on doing a tier list for the responses to the Italian opening?
I think maybe there isn't enough responses for Italian
@@MoltonChess Yeah, I've only heard of the giucco piano, the two knights defense and a weird gambit, but I thought there were more options
@@thiagorondon5436 I could do one for Whites options maybe
@@MoltonChess That would be interesting
why isnt 3.a6, 4.b5 included as a possible defence? is it very bad for some reason? or maybe i just missed it in the video?
The Schliemann defence is OP. Nobody is prepared for it at club level yet it's still played at highest levels, mostly as a surprise weapon but it's still good. and it's one of the very few dynamic ruy lopez lines
It's true it's one of the best Dynamic options for Black
yeah i play some old Nc3 line that nobody knows that makes the game really unbalanced and its quite solid
Great video thank you ! 🤩
I'm almost 2000 FIDE and trying to add 1...e5 2...Nc6 to my repertoire. I want to focus on the main opening principles as a beginner would do.
Quick question, what do you think is the most instructive for an experienced player ? For example I'm not sure the Schliemann is the most appropriate even if I'm sure it would score very well.
You mean you want a simple variation that would score well at 2000 level but not Schliemann?
You gave me nice ideas what to study. Thank you ^_^
You're welcome 😊
The Elephant Gambit, while not totally sound, is nowhere near as god-awful as its maligned reputation. In practice it can sometimes be hard for White to keep things under control in a way he would like. Certainly it is not worse than the Latvian Gambit!! I find it kind of funny when I hear from people who hate the Modern Steinitz and would never consider playing it, but have no problem playing the Old Steinitz Defence on a fairly routine basis. Although risky, with careful preparation, the Jaenisch Gambit is not bad as an occasional weapon when Black needs to push a bit. I also think the Classical Archangelesk Defence (5...b5 6 Bb3 Bb7) to be an underrated opening, and there is not that much theory to it, aside from 7 c3 and 7 Re1. Fianchetto Defence 3...g6 and 5...Bc5 Moller Defence are fairly solid too.. For those with the white pieces looking for a decent occasional sideline variation to play, you could do far worse than 6 Bxc6 Exchange Variation Doubly Deferred.
Elephant Gambit I think people at lower level have probably not faced much so I have seen it work more often there
I think you mean defenses which avoid the Ruy Lopez?
Yep Defenses against Ruy Lopez
@@MoltonChess That was a quick answer!
nice video, but why did we skip the 3rd move alternatives(scotch, four knights, italian...)
Was focusing on White playing Ruy Lopez or Spanish. Otherwise list would be too long. Maybe for another time 😅
no elephant gambit disrespect is allowed
🙃
Hello, great video but I'm confused about Petroff. In Petroff, white bishop does not come out so how is it considered a defence against Ruy Lopez? Seems like a generic defence against kings knight opening?
It's true but I thought Petroff might be annoying since Black totally avoids the Nc6 move altogether. So just to point out so White players of Ruy Lopez know
Hey Molton, do you have any thoughts on ambitious lines in the 2. Nf3 Nc6 Rossolimo from Black's perspective? Most recommendations are quite bland (or even bad)...
I have looked at Gelfand's games with the ...bxc, ...Nh6 setup and I think it's good, but if White delays the exchange ...Nh6 is not as good.
There is very little material on the Rossolimo for Black, but every Sicilian player should have something against it, how can that be?
That's because many people only suggest the Rossolimo with White and not much focus is given for Black. If you want some ambitious and irregular positions then I would actually suggest looking into e6 as an option. Since it is played less often than g6 people may not be as familiar. Gelfand also plays e6 alot in his games and won a nice one recently against Ding Liren.
@@MoltonChess Thanks for your insight
But Mr Molton, how about the Norwegian variation?
Ohh which one is that?
@@MoltonChess it's a very cool line where the knight forces the light squared bishop off the board. There's also a very aggressive attack where white can sacrifice the bishop for 2 pawns and a huge initiative! Sequence: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 Na5
I think I have played against this before! Yes it is actually quite tricky to play against
@@MoltonChess Would you put it into Tricks only then?
@@elnuraliyev6603 I think it would work well as a surprise weapon so yes.
Eric Rosen wants to know your location
He already knows where I'm from! 😂
@@MoltonChess 😆😆🤘
Is karpov variation also named keres right?
It seems to start out similar with Nd7 but Keres I think includes exd4 and c5
Did I miss the exchange variation a6?
Must have forgot about the exchange variation :)
@@MoltonChess Ah, as a total beginner it seems the natural move to me, so was wondering where you'd place it. :) Great video, this is a pretty complex opening!
Dang, all animal openings are bad? What about the hedgehog setup?
Haha obviously not all 🤣
Excuse me, Latvian gambit is prime chess, you are not playing if you don’t play the latvian
Latvian is God tier moulthun what are you talking about
I will try to sneak it in every so often 😁
@@MoltonChess if its not a rubbish opening i won't play it ;)
The chess board is too small. I can hardly see the pieces on the board
Noted!
If I were to rate berlin from worst to best I’d say best
Did you know that clasical is great
I haven't had Classical played much but I know its quite popular at lower levels
Eric Rosen isn't pleased you put his Stafford Gambit into the trash category.
Good thing Eric doesn't know :)
Will teach me chess ? Im 1300 rated online 👋
👍