Fighting the Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation with Qe7 in 60 Minutes

The seemingly strange move 5…Qe7 is an ideal surprise weapon against the Spanish Exchange Variation. The move was introduced into practice by Smyslov in the 1970s and has been refined in recent years by top grandmasters such as Svidler, Sokolov and Ivanchuk. 5…Qe7 is an attempt to fight for the initiative and leads to sharper play than most lines of the Spanish Exchange Variation. In some variations, Black even castles long and attacks on the kingside!