The Berlin Defence arises in the Ruy Lopez after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 (ECO C65). Black counter-attacks the e4 pawn with the knight straight away rather than spending a move on 3...a6.
The line is famous for the «Berlin endgame»: after an early queen exchange Black gets a slightly worse but extremely solid position that is very hard to break down. It was exactly this soundness with which Kramnik neutralised Kasparov in the 2000 world championship match.
The Berlin is the choice of anyone who wants to equalise solidly with Black against the Spanish. Since its revival it has become one of the main openings of the world elite.
Set it up on the board, move the pieces around and copy the FEN - or open the full walkthrough of the opening in a separate article.
Drag a piece onto the board, or click a piece and then click the squares. The cross beside the pieces sweeps every piece of that colour off the board, and a single piece can be dragged off the edge.
The pieces will be arranged into the chosen pattern.
It is the mating side to move. Find mate in one.
Openings, endgame positions and breakthrough studies - the set-up appears on the board.
Build your own position in the board editor, read up on the rules of chess or run a tournament on your own positions in the free app.
Everything people usually keep in a spreadsheet is already in the app: pairings, points, tie-breaks, round order. Free, with no subscriptions and no cap on the number of players.
many players, one evening: four or five rounds are enough
the fairest format for six to ten players
not a tournament, just an evening of chess - who is free and who is playing is visible in the app
Sign up to the Vibe Chess bot on Telegram - it carries the schedule of meetups and chess events across the cities we run in.
