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Grandmaster Dariusz Swiercz’s follow up to his first volume on the Ruy Lopez is a worthy sequel. He starts out by examining lines that involve Black playing an early …b5 or …. Bc5 (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 and now 5…Bc5 as well as 5…b5 6.Bb3 Bc5). He then moves on to the big main lines that begin after 5…Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 while opting to sidestep the Marshall Gambit with 7…0-0 8.a4. Swiercz concludes with a bonus chapter on 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 where White steers play into more positional waters and sidesteps a lot of theory, but at the cost of putting less direct pressure on Black.
The Modernized Ruy Lopez, likes its sister volume, is a practical book written by a world class player. The days when White could theoretically prove a first move advantage are long gone but Swiercz shows how to steer for positions that computers might assess as equal but which are much easier to play for White.
If you play either side of the main lines of the Ruy Lopez you will want this book.
IM John Donaldson - April 2021.
