The Modernized

Berlin Defense
First edition 2019 by Thinkers Publishing
Copyright © 2019 Priyadharshan Kannappan

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D/2019/13730/11
 The Modernized
Berlin Defense

Priyadharshan
Kannappan

Thinkers Publishing 2019

 Key to Symbols

! a good move ⩲ White stands slightly better

? a weak move ⩱ Black stands slightly better
!! an excellent move ± White has a serious advantage
?? a blunder ∓ Black has a serious advantage
!? an interesting move +- White has a decisive advantage
?! a dubious move -+ Black has a decisive advantage
□ only move → with an attack
N novelty ↑ with initiative
⟳ lead in development ⇆ with counterplay
⨀ zugzwang ∆ with the idea of
= equality ⌓ better is
∞ unclear position ≤ worse is
© with compensation for the + check
sacrificed material # mate
 Table of Contents

Key to Symbols............................................................................................ 4
Foreword by Susan Polgar........................................................................... 7
Preface........................................................................................................ 8

Chapter 1 – Alternatives on Move 4 .......................................................... 15

Chapter 2 – The Four Knights Variation ..................................................... 35
Chapter 3 – Lines without 5.d4.................................................................. 77
Chapter 4 – Lines without 6.Bxc6 .......................................................... 123
Chapter 5 – The Endgame ....................................................................... 139
Chapter 6 – The 4.d3 System................................................................... 175

Appendix – 100 Games to Help You Understand the Berlin Endgame...... 211
 Foreword

I came to know about Priyadharshan or, as I call him, PD, for the first time in 2011.
Over the years I continued to keep track of his progress. He became a valuable
member of the SPICE program between 2016 and 2018.

PD is a very passionate chess lover, and contributed in any way possible to the
team, like running the chess club, managing an online league, writing articles for
leading chess magazines, commentating on games and so on.

In addition, he often played the role of a second, working on opening ideas for the
Webster chess team, and openly shared his knowledge for the greater good of his
team mates. I also know that he has personally worked with some 2650-2700+
players, exchanging opening ideas on a regular basis. His knowledge of his favorite
openings is top-notch and his curiosity to experiment with openings is truly
commendable.

The Berlin Defense is an opening system PD is very familiar with, and I am very
confident that his knowledge will be invaluable to anyone who wants to master this
incredibly solid opening.

I am very happy that he has put his knowledge of and love for chess into writing a
book on the Berlin Defense. I wish Priyadharshan the best of success, and hope that
readers will get to learn about an opening that can be played at all levels for life!

Sincerely,
Susan Polgar
 Preface

This book’s journey began on the first day of January 2018 when one of my New
Year resolutions was to write a chess book. The journey has been very long, but
certainly fun, and has in many ways made me understand myself better, both as a
person and as a chess player!

If it has taken a long time, you also have to know the distance the book has covered!
It has travelled 14,130 km, as the first page was written when I was about to
complete my Master's degree at Webster University in St Louis in the USA, and now,
as I write my preface, I am a full-time chess trainer, currently living in Bengaluru,
India.

So how did I fall in love with this beautiful Berlin Defense? In mid-2003, when I was
preparing for the World U-10 Championship, I found that my Philidor Defense
wasn’t good enough to be played in a tournament of such stature, and my coach at
the time, IM Raja Ravi Sekhar, suggested the Berlin to me as it was at the peak of
its popularity after the 2001 World Championship match between Kasparov and
Kramnik.

The Berlin was a good fit for me then, as it didn’t have extensive theory (unlike
now!) and the lines given in ECO were simple and easy to remember, which made
me very happy, as I never really enjoyed memorizing moves in the opening.

My first-ever Berlin game was against the now GM Gil Popilski from Israel, and you
must certainly see why I got hooked on this line:

I Popilski, Gil
J Priyadharshan, K. (2063)
 Halkidiki 2003

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4.

0-0 Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7.
dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3

(see diagram on the right) Position after: 9. Nc3

I remember taking some time when I ⌓ 12. Nd4 Rd8 13. Bg5 Bc8 14. Ne4
reached this position, and then played a Rd7 15. e6 fxe6 16. Nc5 Rd6 17. Bf4
natural-looking but not so precise e5 18. Bxe5⩲ Black needs to be precise
move. to hold this position. ½-½ (44) Csiba, T
(2065) – Willow, M (2270) ICCF email
9... Be6!? 2013

9... Ke8 10. Rd1 Ne7 11. h3 ½-½ (44) 12... Ng6 13. b3
Csiba, T (2065) – Willow, M (2270) ICCF
email 2013 White has an edge.

10. Rd1+ 13... Be7 14. c4 h6?

10. Ng5!? Ke7 11. f4 h5 12. b3 Rd8 ⌓ 14... Rd8

13. Nce4 Bc8 14. Bb2 Ke8 15. Kf2
Be7 16. Rad1∞ 15. Bb2?!

10... Ke8 11. h3 ⌓ 15. Nd4⩲

⌓ 11. Ng5 Bc8 12. Ne2 Be7 13. Ne4

b6∞

11... Ne7?!

Position after: 15. Bb2?!

15... Rd8?!

⌓ 15... c5
Position after: 11... Ne7?!
16. Ng3
New move.
White is threatening to occupy the h5-
12. Ne4 square from where the white knight
would exert great influence on the king- 22... c5
side.
⌓ 22... h4 with the plan to play ...Rh5
16. Nd4⩲ and create dark square weaknesses.

16... h5! 23. Kh2 Rf8

I waste a bunch of tempos without a

plan here.

24. g3 Rf3 25. Bc3 Rf5 26. f4 Rf8?

Black's rook achieved nothing other

than helping White improve his pawn
structure on the kingside.

Position after: 16... h5! ⌓ 26... h4 27. Rg1 hxg3+ 28. Rxg3
Rxf4 29. Nd2 Nh4 30. Rxg7 Kd8⩱
Prophylaxis.
27. h4 b6 28. Kh3
17. Nd4 Bc5?!

⌓ 17... Nf4 18. Ngf5 Bxf5 19. Nxf5

Rxd1+ 20. Rxd1 Ne6=

18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Ne4 Be7 20.

Rxd8+ Kxd8 21. Rd1+ Kc8 22. a3

Position after: 28. Kh3

This is the point where I came upon a

brilliant reconfiguration of Black's mi-
nor pieces.

28... Nh8! 29. Rd2

Position after: 22. a3
29. b4 with more complications. 29... 36. Kf3 Rd8! 37. Rc2?
cxb4 30. axb4 Nf7 31. b5 Nh6 32.
Be1∞ 37. Rd2∓

29... Nf7 30. Ng5 Bxg5 31. hxg5 37... Rd3+–+ 38. Ke2 Rxg3

31. fxg5 Nd8 32. Kg2 Nc6∞

31... g6 32. Kg2?!

White still hasn't noticed Black’s plan.

⌓ 32. b4

32... Nd8 33. Kf3 Nc6 34. Ke4 Ne7

35. Rh2? Position after: 38... Rxg3

35. Rd1= keeps the balance. 39. b4

35... Nf5∓ ⌓ 39. Rc1 h4 40. Be1 Re3+ 41. Kf2

39... Rg2+ 40. Kd3 Rxc2 41. Kxc2 h4

Position after: 35... Nf5∓

The knight has landed on a dream out- Position after: 41... h4

post after a lengthy journey. This is the
piece maneuver that made this game so 42. bxc5 h3 43. cxb6 axb6
memorable for me and made me fall in
love with the Berlin Defense. 0-1
The knight maneuver starting with 28…Nh8 was something I am very proud of, and
that is how I developed a lifelong love for the Berlin Defense. People often say that
you choose something or something chooses you; I think the Berlin chose me, not
the other way around!

Since then, the Berlin has been my go-to, rain or shine opening against 1.e4, and
has given me the chance to play a whole bunch of memorable games against
players of all rating levels. An incident that is still fresh in my mind happened in the
World U-16 Championship in 2009, when I was paired against an opponent who
was 200 points lower rated than me. I was scared to play the Berlin as I thought he
might hold me to a draw, but my coach, GM R.B. Ramesh, told me to go and play it
confidently, and the result was a 31-move victory!

The Berlin Defense has had a significant impact on my chess career, as it made me
a positional player who would happily exchange queens in the firm belief of
outplaying his opponents in practical endgames. The Berlin has made me enjoy
these endgames and has had a huge impact on my playing style.

When I set out to write this book, I was clear on certain aspects, like keeping the
moves simple and giving as much explanation as possible at the critical moments,
as I wanted to ensure that someone interested in learning the intricacies of the
Berlin doesn’t get swamped by long theoretical lines, but acquires a deeper
understanding of the dynamics of the positions. If you manage to grasp the
dynamics of these lines, then you can play not just the systems recommended in
the book, but also other popular Berlin variations that have not been covered in
this book for the Black side.

There is a long list of people whom I should thank for their part in my writing
journey, above all IM Raja Panjwani for putting me in touch with the Thinkers
Publishing team, especially Mr Daniël Vanheirzeele and GM Romain Edouard, who
were very supportive of the idea from day one when I made my pitch to them about
my plans.

I am grateful to the Thinkers Publishing team for allowing me not only to write the
book, but also for their regular advice on how to fine tune it, and in editing the final
drafts I certainly couldn’t have asked for a better publisher!
I am highly indebted to Webster University, the SPICE chess program, Mr Paul
Truong and GM Susan Polgar, as I did the majority of my initial analysis with the
powerful computers available in the SPICE chess center, an opportunity only
possible because I was a student at Webster and member of the SPICE program. A
special thanks also to Susan for graciously writing the foreword for the book.

Finally, I wouldn’t be here if not for the support of my family, so a big thanks to my
parents, my brother and his wife for being there for me, irrespective of the
situation. They also ensured that I didn’t slack at any point during the long writing
process.

Now that I have thanked a lot of people, let’s wait no longer and dive into the world
of the Berlin and immerse ourselves in this evergreen opening system!

GM Priyadharshan Kannappan
21 September 2019
15

Alternatives on Move 4

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6

3.Bb5 Nf6 4.--
16 The Modernized Berlin Defense

Chapter Guide
Chapter 1 – Alternatives on Move 4
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6

a) 4.Qe2 ............................................................................................................ 17

b) 4.d4 ................................................................................................................ 21

c) 4.Bxc6 ........................................................................................................... 31
Chapter 1: Alternatives on Move 4 17

a) 4.Qe2
Let's start with different moves by 5. c3
White on move four, viz. Qe2, d4 and
Bxc6, which each have fewer than A) 5. 0-0 0-0 6. c3 transposes to 5.c3.
1500 games. We will look at Qe2 here
and the other two variations in the fol- B) 5. d3 0-0 6. Bg5 [6. c3 transposes to
lowing sub-chapters. 5.c3.] 6... Re8 7. 0-0 h6 8. Bh4 ½-½
(19) Adams, M (2723) – Malakhov, V
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. (2712), Konya 2012. 8... g5!N
Qe2

Position after: 8... g5!N

Malakhov missed this strong move

Position after: 4. Qe2 which makes the game very dynamic,
with complications favoring Black in my
Occasionally used by 2600+ GMs as a opinion. I made some natural moves for
surprise weapon in their arsenal against both sides from here to see where the
the Berlin. The most faithful adherent of line might lead. 9. Bxc6 bxc6 I spent a
this line was the late GM Vugar lot of time over which recapture to rec-
Gashimov. In recent times the Ukrainian ommend here, as they look equally
blitz specialist GM Oleksandr Bortnyk good, but in the end I decided to call
has employed it in a good number of his upon the spirit of Nimzowitsch to help
games. me and went with the odd-looking
…bxc6, capturing towards the center.
4... Bd6 The idea behind this move is to take
control of the semi-open b-file and also
The pet line of GM Vladimir Malakhov. play ...Bc5 or ...Bf8 and take control of
To get a deep understanding of this sys- the center with a pawn push to d6 or d5.
tem I would strongly suggest looking at [9... dxc6!? I didn't like this, as the e5-
all his games from this position. pawn seems weak and Black's kingside
18 The Modernized Berlin Defense

seems unstable.] 10. Bg3 [10. Nxg5?? 14. dxe5 dxe5 15. Nc4 Ba6 16. Rfd1
This tempting sacrifice doesn’t work. Qf6∞
10... hxg5 11. Bxg5 Re6! Now the
queen can go via f8 to g7 and shield the
king from attacks.] 10... Nh5

Position after: 16... Qf6∞

A complicated position where White

Position after: 10... Nh5 has to be pretty precise to hold the
balance. Black's key plan is to play
11. Nbd2 [If White tries to strike in the …h5−h4 and create threats on the king-
center with 11. d4?! then 11... Nf4 12. side.
Bxf4 exf4⩱.] 11... Bf8 12. d4 [12.
Nc4? d5 13. Ncxe5 g4⩱] 12... Nf4 13. 5... 0-0
Qe3 d6

Position after: 13... d6

The possibility of playing this move was Position after: 5... 0-0
the reason why I chose 9... bxc6. I be-
lieve that keeping the center stable ben- 6. 0-0
efits Black, as he has placed his long-
term bets on his two bishops. White's 6. d3 Ne7 7. d4 Ng6 8. 0-0 c6 9. Bd3
trumps are Black’s spoiled pawn struc- Re8 transposes to the main line.
ture and the weak f5-square, which can
be exploited if Black plays carelessly. 6... Re8 7. d3
Chapter 1: Alternatives on Move 4 19

Black has a bunch of good options in this Previous games in this position had con-
position, and I decided on tinued with 9... Ng6, as Black was afraid
of Bc1−g5xf6, shattering his kingside
7... Ne7 pawn structure. I would like to extend
my analysis to give an idea of how the
game could develop. [9... Ng6 10.
Nxg6 hxg6 11. Nd2=] 10. Bg5 [10. c4
h6 11. Nc3 d6 12. h3 g5 13. Nf3 Ng6⩱]
10... d5!

Position after: 7... Ne7

This quick transfer of the knight to g6,

followed by expansion in the center, is a Position after: 10... d5!
standard plan for Black in Giuoco Piano
structures. The critical decision that Black doesn't worry about weakening
Black needs to make in these positions his kingside, as he can gain control of
is where to place the d6-bishop, the critical f4-square for his knight, play
whether it will go to c7 or f8. ...Kh8 and ...Rg8 and pressurize the
center with the …f5 pawn break. 11.
8. d4 Bxf6 gxf6

8. Nh4? White isn't interested in letting

Black plonk his knight on f4. 8... c6 9.
Ba4 Bc7!N

Position after: 11... gxf6

12. Qh5 [12. Qf3?! f5 13. exf5 Qd6 14.

g3 Qf6⩱] 12... Kh8 [12... Ng6!?] 13.
Position after: 9... Bc7!N Qxf7 Rf8 14. Qh5 Rg8→
20 The Modernized Berlin Defense

A natural-looking improvement over

the previously played 9... b6!?. I find this
way of developing the pieces weird in
this pawn structure. 10. Qc2 Bb7∞
1-0 (74) Bogut, Z (2403) – Yemelin, V
(2541), Neum 2002.

Position after: 14... Rg8→ 10. h3 Qe7 11. Re1

The two bishops, open g-file and up- 11. dxe5 Bxe5 12. Re1 Nh5 13. Nxe5
coming …f5 pawn break give Black huge Qxe5=
counterplay.
11... Bc7 12. Qc2 d6∞
8... Ng6 9. Bd3

Position after: 12... d6∞

Position after: 9. Bd3
Black's ideas include ...Nh5, ...Nhf4 and
9... c6N ...Qf6 to create threats on the kingside.

Conclusion

T he 4.Qe2 variation poses no serious threats to Black, and the line I have rec-
ommended helps you fight for the initiative with the black pieces. The key
maneuver is ...0-0 and then the knight transfer ...Nc6–e7–g6. The positions
that we reach from 4.Qe2 share some similarities with Giuoco Piano variations,
except that White still needs to develop all his queenside pieces, which is excellent
for Black. As mentioned, study the games of GMs Gashimov, Bortnyk and Malakhov
to get a better idea of the plans for both sides in this variation.
Chapter 1: Alternatives on Move 4 21

b) 4.d4
In this sub-chapter, we will look at what A) 6. Qe2 Bb4+N Why not develop a
happens if White plays 4.d4, another piece with check!
early deviation against the Berlin De-
fense. A1) 7. Kf1?! White misses a nice
trick by Black: 7... d5 8. exd6 f5
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d4

Position after: 8... f5

This is the key move that saves the

Position after: 4. d4 knight for Black. 9. dxc7 Qxc7 This
is an open position where White’s
A variation that is popular at fast time king is weak on f1, so he must be
controls and is often employed by Azer- very careful how he develops his
baijani players such as Gashimov, pieces. 10. Ng5 Be7 11. Nxe4 fxe4
Mamedov and Guseinov. 12. Qxe4 Bd7⩱ White’s undevel-
oped pieces and precarious king
4... exd4 5. 0-0 give Black the edge.

5. e5 Ne4 A2) 7. Nbd2 a6

Position after: 5... Ne4 Position after: 7... a6

22 The Modernized Berlin Defense

8. Bxc6 Nxd2 9. Bxd2 Bxd2+ 10. B2) 8. Re1 Nc5 9. Nxd4 White
Qxd2 dxc6= Black will have great has a baffling 71.4% score from this
control of the light squares. position, which surprises me
greatly. 9... Ne6 10. Nf5 Qxd1 11.
B) 6. 0-0 a6 7. Bxc6 [7. Ba4 The fol- Rxd1 h5!
lowing position can also be reached
by various move orders. 7... Be7
transposes to the note on 6. 0-0 Be7
7.e5 Ne4.] 7... dxc6

Position after: 11... h5!

I like the idea of immediately acti-

vating the rook on h8 with ...h4 and
Position after: 7... dxc6 ...Rh5. 12. Nd2 h4 13. Nf3 h3 14.
g3 b6⩱ The light squares are incred-
B1) 8. Nxd4 Bc5 [The other possi- ibly weak, and Black's two bishops
bility is 8... Nc5, but why do that will shortly show their might.
when we have the more active text
move?] 9. c3 0-0 10. Re1 5... a6

Position after: 10. Re1

10... f5! 11. f3 Ng5 12. Be3 f4⩱ Position after: 5... a6
½-½ (32) Guseinov, G (2659) – Shi-
rov, A (2745), Baku 2009. Black 6. Ba4
should kick the knight on d4 with
...Be7–c5 with a great position. 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. Nxd4
Chapter 1: Alternatives on Move 4 23

11... Bd6 [11... 0-0-0!?N would be a try

to unbalance the game, e.g. 12. Bf4 c6
13. Ne3 Be7 14. Bd6 Bf6 15. c3 b6
16. f4 g6 17. Nd2 Rhe8∞] 12. Nf4
Bxf4 13. Bxf4 0-0-0 14. Rd2 b6 15.
Rad1

Position after: 7. Nxd4

World Champion Magnus Carlsen has

advocated this move for the white side
twice. 7... c5 [7... Bc5!? was played by
Karjakin against Carlsen, but I prefer the
text move.] 8. Nb3 Qxd1 9. Rxd1 Be6
10. Nc3 Position after: 15. Rad1

15... Nb8 The idea of this move is to re-

position the knight on c6, a very natural
plan in Berlin Defense endgames. The
black knight would feel happiest on b4,
c4, d4 or e5, and ...Nb8−c6 helps us tar-
get three of those squares. 16. Rxd8+
Black drew comfortably in Iordachescu,
Position after: 10. Nc3 V (2610) – Bacrot, E (2704), Baden-Ba-
den 2013.
The position is very similar to an Ex-
change Ruy Lopez, with the key differ- 6... Be7 7. Re1
ence that Black has a knight on f6 in-
stead of a pawn. 10... Nd7 11. Nd5 7. e5 Ne4

Position after: 11. Nd5 Position after: 7... Ne4

24 The Modernized Berlin Defense

A) 8. Re1 Nc5 9. Bxc6 dxc6 10. B) 8. Nxd4 0-0

Nxd4 Ne6 11. Nf5 Qxd1 12. Rxd1

Position after: 8... 0-0

Position after: 12. Rxd1
White has tried various moves here,
We have the same position as in the but none of them is an attempt to play
5.e5 Ne4 6. 0-0 a6 7.Bc6 dc6 8.Re1 for an advantage.
variation, the only difference being
the bishop on e7 compared to f8 in B1) 9. Re1 Nc5 10. Bxc6 dxc6 11.
that line, so I think it's important to Nc3 f5!?
use that to our advantage by placing
the bishop on d8. 12... Bd8! 13. Nc3
h5!N We have already seen this ma-
neuver in similar positions in this
chapter. A sample continuation would
be 14. b3 h4 15. Ne2 g6 16. Ne3
Bd7⩱.

Position after: 11... f5!?

Black has scored a terrific 71% with

this move which kills White's only
active idea of f4−f5 and creates a
kingside attack. 12. exf6 [12. Nce2
Ne6 13. Qd3 Bc5 14. Rd1 Bxd4
Position after: 16... Bd7⩱ 15. Nxd4 Qxd4 16. Qxd4 Nxd4
17. Rxd4 Be6= ½-½ (28)
Preparing for long castling. Black’s Savchenko, B (2608) – Demchenko,
strong outpost for the knight on e6 A (2588), Nizhny Tagil 2014] 12...
combined with his space advantage Bxf6 13. Be3 Ne6 14. Nce2 1-0
give him the edge. (33) Bitoon, R (2480) – Datu, A