The Berlin Defence 3…Nf6 has a reputation for solidity at the expense of drawishness. White scores 56.3 percent in the Berlin, which equals White’s score in the Ruy Lopez in general; but 37 percent of Berlin games end in draws, compared to 30 percent in games played across all openings.[2] The Berlin Defence was played by Emanuel Lasker and others in the late 19th century and early 20th century, who typically answered 4.0-0 with 4…d6 in the style of the Steinitz Variation. This approach ultimately fell out of favour because of its passivity and the entire variation became rare. Arthur Bisguier played the Berlin for decades, but always chose the variation 4.0-0 Nxe4. Then in 2000, Vladimir Kramnik used the same line as a drawing variation against Garry Kasparov in their World Championship match, after which the Berlin enjoyed a remarkable renaissance; even players with a dynamic style such as Alexei Shirov and Veselin Topalov have tried it.

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