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Guided lesson · Intermediate · Openings

The Berlin: losing the right to castle and being fine

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For a century the Berlin was a footnote, until Kramnik used it to take the title off Kasparov in 2000 without losing a single game with Black. What it does looks unpleasant at first sight: it trades queens on move 8, leaves the black king in the centre with no castling ever, and saddles it with doubled pawns. Any beginner would say Black is lost. And Black is perfectly fine. Understanding why means understanding that the opening rules — castle early, don't double your pawns — are shortcuts for when you can't calculate, not laws of physics: with no queens on the board a king in the centre isn't in danger, and doubled pawns that control useful squares aren't a weakness.

The key idea

With no queens, the king stops being a problem and becomes a piece: in the endgame it wants to be in the centre, which is exactly where it's stuck. Black also has the bishop pair, and his doubled pawns on c6 and c7 control d5 and b5. In exchange, White has a healthy kingside majority. It's an endgame both unbalanced and balanced at once.

Example 1 · The Berlin Wall: the king stays in the centre

White has just traded queens with check. Black has to capture with the king and give up castling forever. Black to move.

  1. Kxd8 I capture with the king because I have no choice, and with that I lose the right to castle for the rest of the game. Before you panic, count the queens left on the board: none. A king with no queens opposite isn't exposed, it's well placed — in the endgame the king is a strong piece and its home is the centre.
  2. Nc3 He develops and attacks central squares.
  3. Be7 I bring the bishop out to connect the rooks, which is what castling does and here I have to do by hand.
  4. h3 A breathing move, so my bishop can't plant itself on g4.
  5. h5 And this is the Berlin's signature move: the rook's pawn stops his g4 advance and, on the way, opens my king an escape square. In a position without queens, two pawn moves are worth more than a tempo.
  6. Bf4 His bishop comes out to an active square.
  7. Be6 I place the second bishop. I have the pair and he doesn't: in a position that will end up opening, that's my main long-term asset.
  8. Rad1+ His rook enters the open file with check. A practically level position, a quarter of a pawn for White. That's the whole secret of the Berlin Wall: it isn't that Black is fine despite what he gave up, it's that what he gave up isn't worth what it looks like when there are no queens.

Example 2 · Avoiding the endgame: the 4...Bc5 version

If you don't fancy defending an endgame from move 8, there's another Berlin. Black to move.

  1. Bb6 Instead of going into the endgame, I bring the bishop out and keep the queens. Now he attacks my bishop with the d4 pawn and I step aside without leaving the good diagonal: I retreat one square, not two.
  2. Bg5 He pins my f6 knight against… nothing, because my queen isn't behind it any more. It's still a nuisance.
  3. h6 I ask the bishop the question. When a pin doesn't pin anything, the way to break it is to make the pinner decide.
  4. Bh4 He keeps the pin by retreating.
  5. d6 Now I do open my position and give the c8 bishop a way out. It's the same order you've now seen in four different openings: first you sort out the pieces that can get shut in.
  6. a4 He pushes on the queenside, looking for space.
  7. a5 And I stop it dead. A well-placed pawn halts an entire advance — it's the cheapest move of the game.
  8. Qc1 He reorganises the queen. A level position with one important difference from the previous example: here there are queens and there's a game. Both Berlins are valid; choosing between them is choosing whether you want to defend a solid endgame or play a normal game.

Practice

You're Black playing the Berlin Wall. He's just traded queens with check. Capture, connect the rooks by hand and place the bishop pair.

  1. The king captures and gives up castling. With no queens on the board that isn't a risk: it's a king already placed for the endgame. There's only one legal way to capture that queen.
  2. You connect the rooks by hand, which castling would have done for you for free. Bring the f8 bishop out so your rooks see each other.
  3. The Berlin's signature move: you stop g4 and open your king an escape square. Advance the kingside rook's pawn two squares to prevent his g4.
  4. The bishop pair in place. In a position that will end up opening, that's your long-term asset. Develop your remaining bishop to a central square.

The Berlin is the best demonstration that opening rules are shortcuts, not laws: castle early and don't double your pawns hold while there are queens, and here there aren't. If you play the Berlin Wall with Black, your script is short — capture with the king, bring the bishop out to connect the rooks, play ...h5 to stop g4 and place the second bishop. If you'd rather not defend an endgame from move 8, you have the 4...Bc5 version, which keeps the queens and gives a normal game. And keep the underlying idea, good for your whole chess life: a weakness is only a weakness if your opponent has something to attack it with.