A Fun Lovers Guide To The Major Chess Gambits

Explore Openings, Tactics, Initiative, Dynamic Play, Strategic Advantages, and Creative Approaches in Gambit Chess

What you'll learn

Ability to understand the activity generated by gambits.

Ability to recognize key gambit patterns and themes.

Ability to execute gambit strategies in opening play.

Ability to assess risks and rewards associated with different gambits.

Ability to develop creative and aggressive opening repertoires.

Ability to enhance tactical vision through gambit play.

Ability to master specific gambits like the King's and Queen's Gambit.

Ability to counter gambits effectively in defensive play.

Ability to improve calculation skills in complex positions.

Ability to exploit imbalances created by gambit play.

Ability to anticipate opponents' responses to gambits.

Ability to make dynamic and proactive moves in the opening.

Ability to utilize gambits to gain time and space advantages.

Ability to learn to sacrifice material for long-term positional gains.

Ability to adapt to the changing dynamics of a gambit-driven game.

Ability to strengthen board awareness and piece coordination.

Ability to develop a deeper understanding of chess opening principles.

Ability to build confidence in playing less conventional openings.

Ability to practice and refine critical thinking under pressure.

Ability to apply strategic concepts learned from gambit study in other phases of the game.

Ability to analyze historical and contemporary games featuring gambits.

Ability to recognize opportunities to transition from opening to middle game effectively.

Ability to enhance endgame skills through understanding gambit structures.

Ability to develop an intuitive sense for dynamic play.

Ability to balance attack and defense in gambit play.

Ability to cultivate the ability to set and solve complex chess problems.

Ability to improve decision-making skills in critical positions.

Ability to gain insights into the psychological aspects of aggressive play.

Ability to master the art of surprise and innovation in chess.

Ability to enhance concentration and focus through intricate gambit lines.

Ability to develop resilience and recovery strategies after a gambit fails.

Ability to gain a historical perspective on the evolution of gambit play.

Ability to understand the role of gambits in modern chess theory.

Ability to evaluate and adapt gambit strategies over time.

Ability to build a repertoire of responses to common gambit openings.

Ability to improve overall chess intuition and instincts.

Ability to cultivate patience and discipline in chess preparation.

Ability to enhance the ability to recognize and capitalize on opponents’ weaknesses.

Ability to develop a more adventurous and exploratory approach to chess.

Ability to gain a comprehensive understanding of chess dynamics through the lens of gambits.

Requirements

Know how the chess pieces move

Description

Welcome to "A Fun Lover's Guide to the Major Chess Gambits," where the dynamic world of chess gambits unfolds in an engaging and accessible format. This course is designed for chess enthusiasts of all levels who wish to explore the thrilling and strategic depths of gambit play.What You Will Learn:Understanding Gambits: Dive into the fundamentals of major chess gambits, understanding why and how they work. You'll learn the principles behind sacrificing material for positional and developmental advantages.Mastering Key Openings: We'll cover essential gambit lines such as the King's Gambit, Queen's Gambit, and others, providing you with a solid foundation to surprise your opponents right from the start.Tactical Training: Sharpen your tactical skills with an in-depth analysis of classic and modern gambit games. Discover how to create and exploit tactical opportunities in open positions.Strategic Play: Learn to balance risk and reward, understanding when to press with a gambit and when to transition into more positional play.Initiative and Attack: Develop the skill of maintaining and capitalizing on the initiative. Learn how to keep your opponent on the back foot and effectively convert your dynamic advantages.Creative Problem-Solving: Enhance your creative thinking on the board. We’ll delve into the art of creating unexpected problems for your opponent, fostering imaginative and unorthodox approaches.Practical Play: Through interactive puzzles and guided game analysis, apply what you've learned in practical scenarios. Improve your ability to recognize gambit opportunities in your games.Course FeaturesEngaging Video Lessons: Dive into high-quality, engaging video content that brings gambit strategies to life.Gambit Surveys: Checking the soundness of Gambits with modern enginesDownloadable Survey Documents: Access downloadable documents summarizing key points from the surveys for easy reference.Downloadable PGN Files: Towards the end of the course, get PGN files that encapsulate critical gambit lines and game analysis.Expert Guidance: Benefit from the guidance of an experienced chess instructor who has thoroughly enjoyed playing Gambits over the course of his chess experience. Who This Course Is For:Whether you’re a beginner looking to add flair to your opening repertoire or an intermediate player aiming to deepen your tactical and strategic understanding, this course offers valuable insights and exciting learning experiences. Join us on this journey to master the art of gambit play and add a new dimension of fun and creativity to your chess game!

Overview

Section 1: Gambit Play: Tactics, Classification, and Strategy

Lecture 1 What is a Chess Gambit?

Lecture 2 Gambit quotations

Lecture 3 Standard Classification of Chess Gambits

Lecture 4 Interesting and Potentially useful Classifications of Gambits: Part 1

Lecture 5 Interesting and Potentially useful Classifications of Gambits: Part 2

Lecture 6 Understanding the Power of Chess Gambits

Lecture 7 Characteristics of the most sound Gambits

Lecture 8 Mitigating factors for playing unsound Gambits

Lecture 9 How to rank Gambits - Engine Evaluation Considerations

Lecture 10 How to rank Gambits - Practical Chances

Lecture 11 How to rank Gambits - Decline, countergambit or outright avoidance options

Lecture 12 Mastering Gambits that are likely to turn up early in games

Lecture 13 Why Gambits can particularly effective at faster time controls

Lecture 14 Focused Gambit Mastery in Structured Course Modules

Lecture 15 Embracing Risk and Innovation in Online Chess or even club OTB Chess

Lecture 16 Embracing Gambits in the face of potential refutations

Lecture 17 Supercharging gambits with strategies for effective Gambit preparation

Lecture 18 Supercharging gambits with transpositions

Lecture 19 Selectively supercharging gambits with deferred pawn breaks (see attached file)

Lecture 20 Move orders to avoid torture chamber decline options

Lecture 21 Gambits with Black considerations and brief survey (see attached file)

Lecture 22 Neural Network differences in evaluation of brief survey (see attached file)

Lecture 23 Expanding the Gambit Concept Beyond Material Sacrifices

Lecture 24 Differences between Gambits and simply punishing mistakes with sacrifices

Lecture 25 Gambits in the Opening versus the diversity of middle game sacrifices

Lecture 26 Special thanks to David Solan and Siderite for many insights and resources

Section 2: Specific kinds of Gambit compensation to look out for and celebrate

Lecture 27 Going soon:Difference between having "the initiative" and "dynamic compensation"

Lecture 28 Difference between having "the initiative" and "dynamic compensation"

Lecture 29 Difference between having "the initiative" and "dynamic compensation"

Lecture 30 Spectrum of gambits - are pawns always sacrificed for dynamic compensation?

Lecture 31 Accelerated Development can be troubling compensation for opponents

Lecture 32 The upside of extra semi-open files can be troubling compensation for opponents

Lecture 33 Reduced King Safety via "soft spots" can be troubling compensation for opponents

Lecture 34 The upside of central pawn mobility can be troubling compensation for opponents

Lecture 35 A bishop without a counterpart can be troubling compensation for opponents

Lecture 36 The downside of X-rayed Queen can be troubling compensation for opponents

Lecture 37 The upside of rook lifts in Gambits can troubling compensation for opponents

Section 3: Gambits from White perspective: 1.e4 e5 - Tier 1

Lecture 38 Evans Gambit - Kasparov vs Anand - 1995

Lecture 39 Danish Gambit - Brief introduction

Lecture 40 Danish Gambit - Move 3 Black decline alternatives - in focus

Lecture 41 Danish Gambit -Lindehn's continuation - 4.Bc4 alternatives to cxb2 - in focus

Lecture 42 Danish Gambit - Lindehn's cont. - 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 alternatives to 5…Nf6

Lecture 43 Danish Gambit - Alekhine's continuation in focus

Lecture 44 Scotch Gambit - introduction

Lecture 45 Scotch Gambit - 4….Bb4+ in focus

Lecture 46 Scotch Gambit - 4….Nf6 - Solid choice - Dubois Reti Defence

Lecture 47 Scotch Gambit - 4…Be7 - Not so solid

Lecture 48 Scotch Gambit - 4…Bc5 with the dangerous 5.Ng5

Lecture 49 Scotch Gambit - 4…Bc5 with the dangerous 5.c3 (before White castles)

Lecture 50 King's Gambit - Falkbeer Counter Gambit (White's perspective)

Lecture 51 King's Gambit - Bishop's Gambit - a favorite of Judit Polgar

Lecture 52 Going Soon: King's Knight Gambit - example game Spassky vs Fischer

Lecture 53 King's Gambit - King's Knight Gambit - example game: Spassky vs Fischer

Lecture 54 King's Gambit - King's Knight gambit - Spassky vs Bronstein

Lecture 55 Italian Game - Deutz Gambit - Introduction

Lecture 56 Italian Game - Deutz Gambit - celebrate if they play Nxd4 giving up e5 pawn

Lecture 57 Italian Game - Deutz Gambit - know your Scotch game if they play exd4

Lecture 58 Italian Game - Deutz Gambit - Bxd4 Nxd4 and early 7.Bg5 without f4

Lecture 59 Italian Game - Deutz Gambit - Bxd4 Nxd4 and early 7.f4 instead of 7.Bg5 - 9.Bg5

Lecture 60 Vienna Gambit - Example: Rudolf Spielmann vs Alexander Flamberg

Section 4: Gambits from Black perspective: 1.e4 e5 - Tier 1

Lecture 61 Scandinavian defence: Panov Transfer (c6) - Example game: Anderson vs Glasscoe

Lecture 62 Scandinavian defence: Icelandic Gambit (e6) - Introductory analysis

Lecture 63 Scandinavian defence: Icelandic Gambit - McLaren vs Wang

Lecture 64 Scandinavian Defence - Portuguese Gambit

Lecture 65 Scandinavian Defence - Portuguese Gambit - Vaibhav vs Carlsen - 2018

Lecture 66 Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne-Kloosterboer Gambit - intro analysis

Lecture 67 Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne-Kloosterboer Gambit - Stockfish vs lc0.31

Lecture 68 Rubinstein gambit - complements Stafford gambit - Spielmann vs Rubinstein

Lecture 69 Going soon: Marshall gambit overview

Lecture 70 Marshall Gambit - A classic very sound gambit if you can get there :)

Section 5: Gambits from White perspective: 1.e4 e5 - Tier 2

Lecture 71 Belgrade Gambit in 4 Knights Scotch game - Rubinow vs Kashdan -flight of fantasy

Section 6: Gambits from Black perspective: 1.e4 e5 - Tier 2

Lecture 72 Stafford Gambit Introduction

Lecture 73 Stafford Gambit - early disaster moves at move 5 other than 5.f3 and 5.d3

Lecture 74 Stafford Gambit - 5.d3 focus - Inferior alternatives to 6.Be2 discussed

Lecture 75 Stafford Gambit - 5.d3 focus - with 6.Be2 principled move follow up in focus

Lecture 76 Stafford Gambit - Kamsky vs Venkatesh - 2022

Lecture 77 Schliemann Gambit (deferred Latvian - much sounder)- Example: Szily vs Bronstein

Lecture 78 Traxler Counter Attack (actually a gambit!) - Example Reinisch vs Traxler

Section 7: Gambits from White perspective with 1.e4 e5 - Tier 3

Lecture 79 Halloween Gambit - basic introductory analysis

Lecture 80 Halloween Gambit - Remarkable use of compensation - Leela ID61068 vs SF 10

Lecture 81 Halloween Gambit - Remarkable blockading strategy shown - SF 10 vs Leela ID61056

Section 8: Gambits from Black perspective: 1.e4 e5 - Tier 3 - fun to crush gambits

Lecture 82 Elephant Gambit

Lecture 83 Latvian Gambit - Analysis which shows white can be clearly better

Lecture 84 Latvian Gambit - Nimzovich vs Behting shows dangers on a2-g8 diagonal

Lecture 85 Latvian Gambit - Mikhail Tal vs Searle - Simul display

Lecture 86 Blackburne Shilling Gambit - Analysis showing opportunity and pitfalls

Lecture 87 Blackburne Shilling Gambit - Zevetov vs Yakimov correspondence game

Section 9: Gambits from White perspective 1.e4 vs Sicilian Defence - Tier 1

Lecture 88 Wing Gambit Introduction

Lecture 89 Immediate Wing Gambit - Accepted with 3.d4 d5 explored

Lecture 90 Immediate wing Gambit - Accepted with 3.d4 - d5 alternatives

Lecture 91 Immediate Wing Gambit - Accepted with 3.a3 d5 alternatives explored

Lecture 92 Delayed Wing Gambit vs Sicilian defence - where Nc6 not played

Lecture 93 Delayed Wing Gambit vs Sicilian where Nc6 is played and 3…Nxb4 after that

Lecture 94 Delayed W.G. where Nc6 is played and 3…cxb4 - also gets iconic position

Lecture 95 Smith Morra Gambit - Example: Marc Esserman vs Loek van Wely

Section 10: Gambits from White's perspective 1.e4 vs Caro-Kann defence - Tier 1

Lecture 96 Fantasy Variation - Maroczy Gambit - 61% online win rate for White, 0.6 Eval

Lecture 97 Breyer Variation Gambit aka Villiers Gambit - has nasty trap

Section 11: Gambits from White's perspective 1.e4 vs Caro-Kann defence - Tier 2

Lecture 98 Von Hennig Gambit

Lecture 99 Very obscure "Shimanov" Gambit

Lecture 100 Landau Gambit - has a big trap to it

Section 12: Gambits from White's perspective 1.e4 vs Caro-Kann defence - Tier 3

Lecture 101 Mieses Gambit

Section 13: Gambits from White's perspective 1.e4 vs French Defence - Tier 1

Lecture 102 Going soon: Alekhine Chatard Gambit

Lecture 103 Alekhine Chatard Gambit

Lecture 104 Wing gambit - General Introduction to main central construction idea

Lecture 105 Wing Gambit - Nc6 is played instead of the usual c5 - Secret gambit here

Lecture 106 Wing Gambit declined with Nc6 - celebrate :)

Lecture 107 Wing Gambit declined with b6

Lecture 108 Wing Gambit - Declined with c4 then White chooses 5.c3 - The Masters choice

Lecture 109 Wing Gambit Accepted but then after 5.a3 b3

Lecture 110 Wing Gambit Accepted but then 5.a3 d4

Lecture 111 Wing Gambit Accepted but then 5.a3 Nc6

Lecture 112 Wing Gambit - Double accepted

Lecture 113 Korchnoi Gambit vs French Defence

Lecture 114 Reti Gambit - Basic introduction analysis

Lecture 115 Going soon: Reti Gambit - The original game - Reti vs Maroczy

Lecture 116 Reti Gambit - The original game - Reti vs Maroczy

Lecture 117 Coming soon: Milner Barry Gambit

Section 14: Gambits from White's perspective 1.e4 vs Scandinavian defence - Tier 1

Lecture 118 Blackmar Diemer Gambit - Ryder Gambit

Lecture 119 Blackmar Diemer Gambit - Lemberger Counter Gambit

Lecture 120 Tennison Gambit - Examples: Tennison vs NN and Paul Keres vs Luck

Lecture 121 Coming soon- The Leonhardt Gambit

Section 15: Gambits from White's perspective 1.e4 vs Alekhine Defence - Tier 1

Lecture 122 Wing Gambit declined with d4

Lecture 123 Lasker Simul Gambit - with White

Lecture 124 Alekhine Gambit - with White - Example fun game: Alekhine vs Reshevsky - 1937

Section 16: Gambits from White's perspective 1.e4 vs Alekhine Defence - Tier 2

Lecture 125 Matsukevich Gambit - with White (Privileged from Advantage)

Lecture 126 Mikenas Gambit - with White (Privileged with advantage)

Lecture 127 Lemberger Gambit - with White

Lecture 128 Krejcik Gambit - with White

Lecture 129 Myers Gambit - with White

Lecture 130 Spielmann Gambit - with White

Section 17: Gambits from Black's perspective vs 1.e4 with Alekhine Defence - Tier 2

Lecture 131 ===============Black Gambits===============

Lecture 132 Geschev Gambit - with Black

Lecture 133 Cambridge Gambit

Lecture 134 O'Sullivan Gambit - with Black - has interesting traps (HORRAY!)

Section 18: Gambits from White perspective 1.e4 vs Petroff - Tier 1

Lecture 135 Cochrane Gambit - Example game: John Cochrane vs Bonnerjee Mohishunder - 1848

Section 19: Gambits from White's perspective 1.d4 - Tier 1

Lecture 136 Note: If you want an early 1.d4 gambit and opponents play d5 - check BDG

Lecture 137 Going quite soon: Perspective 0: The Queen's Gambit - not really a gambit :)

Lecture 138 Going fairly soon: Perspective 1: The Queen's Gambit - not really a gambit :)

Lecture 139 Really going soon: Perspective 2 The Queen's Gambit - not really a gambit :)

Lecture 140 The Queen's Gambit - not really a gambit :)

Lecture 141 Going soon: Gibbins-Weidenhagen Gambit - 1.d4 Nf6 2.g4

Lecture 142 Gibbins-Weidenhagen Gambit - Basic analysis - 1.d4 Nf6 2.g4

Section 20: Gambits from Black perspective vs 1.d4 and 2.c4 intention - Tier 1

Lecture 143 Von Hennig-Schara Gambit - Example game: Pirc vs Alekhine - 1931

Lecture 144 Albin Counter Gambit - Nakamura has used this with success

Lecture 145 Budapest Gambit - GM exponents include Peter Svidler

Lecture 146 Benko Gambit - many GM exponents including GM Adams from time to time

Section 21: Gambits from Black perspective vs London system - Tier 1

Lecture 147 Sneaky g5 gambit - 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 c6 3.e3 g5 - Contains trap

Lecture 148 Paul Georghiou's h5 gambit 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 h5 - Contains trap - 62% black wins

Section 22: Gambits from Black perspective vs London system 2.Bf4 or 2.Nf3 - Tier 3

Lecture 149 Going soon: Early Nc6 for e5 - option for Anti-London: Soller Gambit Deferred

Lecture 150 Early Nc6 for e5 - option for Anti-London: Soller Gambit Deferred

Lecture 151 Note: 1.d4 e5 (no London system anymore) - See Englund Gambit

Lecture 152 Englund Gambit

Section 23: Gambits from White perspective with 1.Nf3

Lecture 153 Note: Tennison Gambit - see vs Scandinavian Defence as it transposes

Lecture 154 Coming soon: Lemberger Gambit - 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.e4

Section 24: Gambits from Black perspective vs English Opening (1.c4) - Tier 1

Lecture 155 Going soon: Reverse Smith-Morra Gambit aka Vector Gambit

Lecture 156 Reverse Smith-Morra Gambit aka Vector Gambit

Section 25: Gambits from Black perspective vs Birds Opening (1.f4) - Tier 1

Lecture 157 Going soon: From's Gambit

Lecture 158 From's Gambit - example game: Bird vs Lasker - 1892

Section 26: Grob gambit from the White perspective - Tier 3

Lecture 159 Going soon: Grob Gambit aka Fritz Gambit

Lecture 160 Grob Gambit

Section 27: PGN Downloads

Lecture 161 PGN of Gambit analysis and key game examples in this course

Section 28: Conclusions and Philosophical points

Lecture 162 Conclusions

Lecture 163 Going fairly soon: note: Have fun with your gambits:)

Section 29: Bonus

Lecture 164 Bonus Lecture

Beginner to intermediate players who want to improve their chess in all phases of the game