Theoria
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Ruy Lopez

Closed, Flohr System

C92positional

  1. 1.e4e5
  2. 2.Nf3Nc6
  3. 3.Bb5a6
  4. 4.Ba4Nf6
  5. 5.O-OBe7
  6. 6.Re1b5
  7. 7.Bb3d6
  8. 8.c3O-O
  9. 9.h3Bb7
947 games50%42%

Closed Ruy Lopez line in which Black puts the bishop on b7 to pressure e4, leading to complex maneuvering positions long favored by Karpov.

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About the Flohr System

Also known as the Zaitsev or Flohr–Zaitsev Variation, 9...Bb7 aims the bishop at e4. Black adds pressure with ...Re8, ...Bf8 and an exchange on d4, while keeping the queen's knight free to go to a5 or to b4. White nearly always replies 10. d4. After 10...Re8, the sequence 11. Ng5 Rf8 12. Nf3 lets White force a repetition. Karpov relied on the line during the 1970s and 1980s.

Popular continuations