1. Chapter 1 - Introduction

The Steinitz Variation is one of the oldest replies to the Ruy Lopez. But as the variation was regarded as better for white, the variation hasn’t been played that often on a high level. However, in recent years some world class players decided to take a closer look to this variation and even decided to adopt the variation into their repertoire. Because of their good results and creative approach, the opening has enjoyed a new wave of popularity. This repertoire offered to you by Grandmaster Roeland Pruijssers (known for his Leningrad Dutch and Killer Alekhine series) includes the newest theoretical developments as well as highly original answers to white’s critical variations. Enjoy the messy positions that could arise after black plays the funky g5 or f5 moves as well as solid positions might white go for certain positional alternatives.

Video 1: Introduction: Roeland introduces the Steinitz opening as a reply to the Ruy Lopez and what his approach was in the making of this repertoire.

Video 2: 5.c3 f5: The classical 9.Bc2 Mainline. Roeland introduces the classic main line with 5.c3 and explains his choice of 5...f5. We delve into the classical mainline after 9.Bc2

Video 3: 5.c3 f5: The classical 9.Bc2 Mainline. As the mainline is regarded as OK for black we go back a few moves to see what alternatives white has. In this chapter Roeland shows how to deal with White’s 11th move alternatives.

Video 4: 5.c3 f5: Crazy 9th move alternatives. We move back even further down the line to white’s 9th move. In this video Roeland discusses the messy positions that arise after 9.Re3 and 9.Na3

Video 5: 5.c3 f5: Crazy 9th move alternatives. Continuing with the 9th move alternatives, Roeland gives an overview of the creative 9.Qb3 and 9.c4

Video 6: 5.c3 f5: The dangerous 7.d4. One of the most dangerous alternatives to the classical mainline is the move 7.d4. In this video Roeland introduces the move and shows how to play with 8...Be7.

Video 7: 5.c3 f5: The dangerous 7.d4. As an alternative to the 8...Be7 move, Roeland decided to give the viewer an overview of the move 8...d5. A move that scores surprisingly well even though the evaluation is in white’s favour.

Video 8: 5.c3 f5: The harmless 6.d3 and 6.d4. To complete the 5.c3 f5 variation, Roeland takes a quick look at some quiet and harmless 6th move alternatives for white.

Video 9: 5.0-0 Bd7 6.c3: The funky 6...g5. Roeland introduces the other big mainline here with 5.0-0 Bd7 and only then the move 6.c3 which avoids black’s f5 idea discussed in the previous chapters. In this video Roeland explains his choice of 6...g5 (introduced by world class player Shakh Mamedyarov) and what to do after the critical 8.d5 move by white.

Video 10: 5.0-0 Bd7 6.c3: The funky 6...g5. Roeland continues to break down the funky 6...g5 move and takes a look at the other critical reply for white: 8.Ne1.

Video 11: 5.0-0 Bd7: The solid 6.c4. Roeland introduces white’s solid setup with 6.c4 and explains his choice of the setup with 6...Nf6 and 7...g6. In this video the main focus will be on the ambitious 8.d4

Video 12: 5.0-0 Bd7: The solid 6.c4. In this second video on 6.c4 Roeland shows his reply to White’s positional alternatives with 8.d3 and 8.Bxc6.

Video 13: 5.0-0 Bd7: The tricky 6.d4. 6.d4 is a line that could get very tricky if black is too ambitious. Roeland explains why this is the case and why he chose the solid 6...exd4 as his reply. In this video the focus will be on white’s setup with 10.Nc3

Video 14: 5.0-0 Bd7: The tricky 6.d4. Roeland discusses the alternative setup for white with 10.c4.

Video 15: 5.0-0 Bd7 6.Bxc6 and 6.Re1. To complete the 5.0-0 variation Roeland takes a quick look at two harmless 6th move alternatives for whtie.

Video 16. The early 5.d4: 8.Bd5. With the mainlines out of the way, Roeland here discusses the move 5.d4. In this video Roeland explains why he thinks this move is too early and what to do after white plays 8.Bd5.

Video 17. The early 5.d4: 8.c3 and 8.a4. Here Roeland focusses on the better alternatives 8.c3 and 8.a4

Video 18: The positional 5.Bxc6: 7.Nxd4. Last but not least Roeland introduces White’s positional move 5.Bxc6 and why he regards 7.Nxd4 as the inferior choice compared to 7.Qxd4.

Video 19: The positional 5.Bxc6: 7.Qxd4. A dangerous line as Nakamura has beaten World Champion Magnus Carlsen with it. Roeland takes a look at how to counter this variation.

Video 20: Outro and general remarks: Roeland says a few final words and gives some general remarks about which variations you are most likely to face in your games.