I became aware of the Schliemann in the late 80's, when a friend of mine used to play it against me. Needless to say, the positions were always dynamic and interesting, its very hard to play a boring Ruy Lopez with the Schliemann (as opposed to the more common 3..a6). Back then, pre Internet and engines, my main reference book was by Shamkovich & Schiller (which I still have). I usually played 4. Nc3 whereas nowadays I think 4. d3 would be the safest move- even the top players seem to prefer it to avoid wild complications. My opponent made it even more interesting because he played.. not 4...fxe, but 4....Nd4! , and in just four moves, the position is really very interesting. I tried many lines as white vs him, trying to determine which one was the most promising, and many times I discovered that while white seemed to be on the offensive, black would somehow generate counterplay, despite crazy positions whereby his king ended up on the d6 square, yet white could only draw by perpetual check, for example this game as a reference ( Marjanovic (2465) vs. Inkiov (2500) Bor 1983 · Ruy Lopez, Schliemann defence, Berger: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5 4.Nc3 Nd4 5.exf5 c6 6.Nxd4 exd4 7.Qh5+ Ke7 8.O-O dxc3 9.dxc3 Nf6 10.Re1+ Kd6 11.Bf4+ Kc5 12.Be3+ Kd6 13.Bf4+ 1/2-1/2 I noticed you chose 5. Bc4 instead of e x f5, which may be valid, but I think there are still options and other lines to investigate/explore for both sides, even within that variation. Bottom line: e4 e5 Nf3 Nc6 Bb5 f5! Nc3?! Nd4?! is a fascinating position.
Great Video and Analysis! I play the Schliemann although thankfully nobody has played this line against me yet. Mostly lots of 4. d3 or 4. Bxc6 from people looking for a 'safe' line
I became aware of the Schliemann in the late 80's, when a friend of mine used to play it against me. Needless to say, the positions were always dynamic and interesting, its very hard to play a boring Ruy Lopez with the Schliemann (as opposed to the more common 3..a6). Back then, pre Internet and engines, my main reference book was by Shamkovich & Schiller (which I still have).
I usually played 4. Nc3 whereas nowadays I think 4. d3 would be the safest move- even the top players seem to prefer it to avoid wild complications. My opponent made it even more interesting because he played.. not 4...fxe, but 4....Nd4! , and in just four moves, the position is really very interesting.
I tried many lines as white vs him, trying to determine which one was the most promising, and many times I discovered that while white seemed to be on the offensive, black would somehow generate counterplay, despite crazy positions whereby his king ended up on the d6 square, yet white could only draw by perpetual check, for example this game as a reference ( Marjanovic (2465) vs. Inkiov (2500)
Bor 1983 · Ruy Lopez, Schliemann defence, Berger:
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5 4.Nc3 Nd4 5.exf5 c6 6.Nxd4 exd4 7.Qh5+ Ke7 8.O-O dxc3 9.dxc3 Nf6 10.Re1+ Kd6 11.Bf4+ Kc5 12.Be3+ Kd6 13.Bf4+ 1/2-1/2
I noticed you chose 5. Bc4 instead of e x f5, which may be valid, but I think there are still options and other lines to investigate/explore for both sides, even within that variation.
Bottom line: e4 e5 Nf3 Nc6 Bb5 f5! Nc3?! Nd4?! is a fascinating position.
Really nice explanation ❤
Great Video and Analysis! I play the Schliemann although thankfully nobody has played this line against me yet. Mostly lots of 4. d3 or 4. Bxc6 from people looking for a 'safe' line
There is no safety in the schliemann. Safety in chess is a myth. LOL
To me it feels more like a tempo down vienna gambit than a king's gambit
Correct.
4. d3 is the “safe line”, wouldn’t you say?
Define "safe"? it's a kings gambit reverse after 4.d3. LOL It's safer than some other lines. LOL
I actually quit the ruy because of this line. Too complex waay too chaotic so I moved into the 4 knights spanish❤