"This book is beneficial to chess players and enthusiasts at all levels, including top Grand Masters like myself."-Le Quang Liem Grand Master, former World Blitz Champion Saint Louis, August 2020
The Ruy Lopez is one of the most popular openings of all time. It is a frequent guest in the games of players around the world from novice to Grandmaster. As a result of the increased power of analysis engines the theory of the Ruy Lopez has greatly expanded. Lines that did not exist years ago have been fully developed, supported with extensive analysis, and incorporated into the repertories of top players. Despite this exponential growth in theory, I believe that when armed with sound knowledge it is possible to pose certain practical problems for Black. The purpose of this book is to provide you with detailed and clear explanations of the intricacies of the Ruy Lopez.
“The Modernized Ruy Lopez: A Complete Repertoire for White: Volume 1 by Darius Swiercz is one of the best opening books this reviewer has ever seen. The Polish-American Grandmaster, currently rated in the top 100 in the world at classical, rapid and blitz chess, has the reputation as a top-rate theoretician and his first book does nothing to dispel this. This massive work covers the following lines of the Ruy Lopez, primarily concentrating on non 3...a6 lines: What comes through in this book is the author's objectivity. Some of the lesser lines are known to be better for White and Swiercz, who successfully played first board for the United States in the 2019 World Team Championship, provides practical solutions (for example 4.d3 instead of 4.Nc3 in the Schliemann). On the other hand the Berlin (3...Nf6) and the Open Ruy (3...a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5) have excellent reputations, and along with a few lines in the Sicilian (the Najdorf and Sveshnikov come immediately to mind) are among Black's very best answers to 1.e4. Here one cannot speak of a clear path to a White advantage and Swiercz does not pretend to, but he does offer challenging lines with new ideas and analysis. He also offers two lines against both the Berlin and Open Ruy, letting the reader choose depending on their tournament situation.A book like this undoubtedly has to have a lot of theory, and The Modernized Ruy Lopez does, but Swiercz does provide prose to guide the reader when needed. More importantly he provides the judgement of a world class grandmaster. Everyone can turn on their computer and check the computer evaluation but to actually understand the assessment is something altogether different and that is what you are getting with this book. The Modernized Ruy Lopez is must reading for a wide number of chess players. Everyone who plays the Ruy needs this book and those who defend it with non3...a6 systems and the Open variation would be well advised to buy a copy. Opening books (especially now) have always had a short shelf life, but I expect Swiercz's book to be the standard for some time. Highly Recommended - IM JOHN DONALDSON JANUARY 2021.”
The Modernized Ruy Lopez: A Complete Repertoire for White: Volume 1 by Darius Swiercz is one of the best opening books this reviewer has ever seen. The Polish-American Grandmaster, currently rated in the top 100 in the world at classical, rapid and blitz chess, has the reputation as a top-rate theoretician and his first book does nothing to dispel this. This massive work covers the following lines of the Ruy Lopez, primarily concentrating on non 3…a6 lines: What comes through in this book is the author’s objectivity. Some of the lesser lines are known to be better for White and Swiercz, who successfully played first board for the United States in the 2019 World Team Championship, provides practical solutions (for example 4.d3 instead of 4.Nc3 in the Schliemann). On the other hand the Berlin (3…Nf6) and the Open Ruy (3…a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5) have excellent reputations, and along with a few lines in the Sicilian (the Najdorf and Sveshnikov come immediately to mind) are among Black’s very best answers to 1.e4. Here one cannot speak of a clear path to a White advantage and Swiercz does not pretend to, but he does offer challenging lines with new ideas and analysis. He also offers two lines against both the Berlin and Open Ruy, letting the reader choose depending on their tournament situation.A book like this undoubtedly has to have a lot of theory, and The Modernized Ruy Lopez does, but Swiercz does provide prose to guide the reader when needed. More importantly he provides the judgement of a world class grandmaster. Everyone can turn on their computer and check the computer evaluation but to actually understand the assessment is something altogether different and that is what you are getting with this book.The Modernized Ruy Lopez is must reading for a wide number of chess players. Everyone who plays the Ruy needs this book and those who defend it with non3…a6 systems and the Open variation would be well advised to buy a copy. Opening books (especially now) have always had a short shelf life, but I expect Swiercz’s book to be the standard for some time.Highly Recommended - IM JOHN DONALDSON JANUARY 2021.
Dariusz Swiercz was born in 1994 in Tarnowskie Gory, Poland. His grandfather taught him to play chess at the age of three. During his junior career he won numerous National Championships as well as several European and World Championship medals. His highest successes include the bronze medal in 2010 at the World U20 Championship (Chotowa, Poland), gold medal in 2011 at the World U20 Championship (Chennai, India) and another gold medal in 2012 at the World U18 Championship (Maribor, Slovenia). He is one of the youngest to receive the Grandmaster title at the age of 14 years and 7 months. In 2016 he won the third edition of the “Millionaire Chess” held in Las Vegas, USA. Since 2018 he has represented the United States. Dariusz currently resides in Saint Louis, Missouri.
"If you want to become a better chess player, learn the Ruy Lopez opening." Those words of wisdom were given to me by one of my first coaches when I was a seven-year-old kid in Vietnam. As I made my way into the world's top forty, I have realized that my coach's statement could not be more accurate. Throughout my professional career of more than 20 years competing in strong tournaments all over the world, the Ruy Lopez has appeared countless times in my practice with both colors. The main challenge in studying this fascinating opening, in my humble opinion, is to dissect the vast amount of options and absorb the most relevant information for your game. In the absence of an experienced coach who can guide you through those steps, a chess player may spend weeks studying the Ruy Lopez, yet he or she may not fully understand the strategic ideas behind long variations. That challenge is now solved by Grand Master Dariusz Swiercz with the book you have just opened. I have known Dariusz for several years since we both immigrated to the United States. As colleagues and friends, I have become acquainted with his high-quality chess preparation. His opening ideas, always backed up by thorough analysis with trusted engines, are original and sound. Dariusz has used that principled approach to cover all variations of the Ruy Lopez. His dedication to providing you a quality guidance has been very impressive in this book. He does not shy away from complications or from sharing his own novelties. In critical positions, he explains very well the ideas and plans for both sides, which should help you gain a deeper understanding of the system beyond memorization of the moves. The Ruy Lopez is such a classic opening that never gets old. Regardless of what you already knew about this opening, there are always new ideas to be found and tested over the board. That is why this book is beneficial to chess players and enthusiasts at all levels, including top Grand Masters like myself. Reading the first volume of this book has been inspiring, as I feel that I have broadened my chess knowledge in certain variations. I am eagerly waiting to try Dariusz's solid recommendations in my future games, and I look forward to the second volume of his series. Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Ruy Lopez. Le Quang Liem Grand Master, former World Blitz Champion Saint Louis, August 2020
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