The Deferred Steinitz – A Strategic Weapon for Black
An old defence, rearmed
Wilhelm Steinitz built his legacy on a single, radical idea: that sound defence could outlast the most brilliant attack. The opening that still carries his name — the Deferred Steinitz, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 — inherited that DNA. Protect the centre, develop without haste, and let solidity do the work.
For more than a century that solidity came with a quiet reputation to match. In The Deferred Steinitz – A Strategic Weapon for Black, GM Sina Movahed keeps the soundness and deletes the passivity. His version of the old defence is built to play for a win against the Ruy Lopez.
What makes this course different
The character of the position changes at move five. After 5.O-O, Movahed chooses 5...Bg4 over the tamer 5...Bd7, steering the game toward sharper, more dynamic battles. Then comes the heart of the system: 6.h3 h5!?
Rather than retreat the bishop, Black keeps the pin and invites White to capture on g4. If White does, the h-file cracks open and the black rook stares straight down at the enemy king. A structure that looks calm at first turns concrete and dangerous in a single move.
Movahed doesn't sidestep White's most testing replies — he meets them head-on. In the 5.c3 f5! complex he neutralises the awkward 9.Re3!, one of White's most challenging sidelines. And in the main line he follows the fight to its end: after 7.d4 b5 8.Bb3 Nxd4 9.hxg4 hxg4 10.Ng5, Black has the precise 10...Nh6!, where the knight is far from passive and quietly guards both f7 and g4. He's honest about the objective picture, too: engines give White a nominal pull in the deepest line, but in a practical game all three results stay firmly on the table.
Map of Variations
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6
5.O-O — main move
- 5.d4 and rare 5th moves → Chapter 1
- 5.c4 (grabbing space, controlling d5 and b5) → Chapter 2
- 5.Bxc6+ bxc6 6.d4 Nf6 7.Nc3 and deviations → Chapter 3
- 7.O-O (the most testing) → Chapter 4
- 5.c3 f5! 6.d4 and rare tries → Chapter 5
- 6.exf5 Bxf5 7.O-O Bd3! 8.Re1 Be7 9.Bc2 and deviations → Chapter 6
- 9.Re3! (poses the most problems) → Chapter 7
5...Bg4 6.h3 — the main tabiya
- 6.d3 and rare tries → Chapter 8
- 6.c3 (preparing d2–d4) → Chapter 9
- 6.Bxc6+ → Chapter 10
6...h5 7.d4 — White's best, striking the centre at once
- 7.c4 and sidelines → Chapter 11
- 7.Bxc6+ bxc6 8.d4 Qf6! 9.dxe5 → Chapter 12
- 9.Nbd2 (the critical try) → Chapter 13
7...b5 8.Bb3 Nxd4 9.hxg4 hxg4 10.Ng5 Nh6! 11.c3 and rare tries → Chapter 14
- 11.Bd5 (the main test, provoking ...c6) → Chapter 15
Premium course features
This is a Modern Chess premium course, built as a complete training system:
- 15 Chapters
- 30 test positions
- 5 positions to practice against the computer
- Memory Booster
- To Go Version of every chapter
- Video instruction
- Multilingual PGN availability (English, German, French, Spanish)
Start playing the Ruy Lopez on your terms
If you want a reliable answer to 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 that keeps every game alive, The Deferred Steinitz – A Strategic Weapon for Black gives you the plans, the theory, and the practical bite to do it. Players building a larger repertoire can pair it with the same author's A Modern Repertoire against the Italian Game: The 4...Bb6 System, which handles White's other main bishop move, 3.Bc4.
The result is an old defence with a new edge: solid enough to trust, sharp enough to win with. Keep the pin, open the h-file, and let White worry about the king for a change.
INTRODUCTION BY THE AUTHOR
SAMPLE CHAPTER