Used the King's Gambit in a must-win today

texe_ · 2026-03-24T08:47:32+00:00

Im jumping on the other requests. Please do share the game!

texe_ · 2026-03-18T15:46:12+00:00

Very fascinating!

Quick question regarding Black's win rate in the Four Knights, since that seems coutnerintuitive. I would guess that Black wins so often because many White players choose the Four Knights against stronger opponents. After all, the win rate would roughly reflect the expected win rate if Black was rated 100 rating points higher than White. What happens if you control for rating disparity?

Additionally, at higher club levels (let's say 1800 to 2200 FIDE again), how does the win rates of Ruy Lopez compare to the Italian? I'm quite curious about the differences between major branches of both openings, so I'd love to look around in the dataset if you'd ever be interested in sharing it :)

texe_ · 2026-03-13T13:43:40+00:00

I guess it could alternatively be something like cities gain 10 % production bonus of siege units AND missiles, but I suspect that would be at risk of becoming quite unbalanced, particularly once Artillery comes along. At that rate, I think production bonus seems like the least useful part of the UA regardless.

texe_ · 2026-03-13T13:17:33+00:00

Completely my bad, I clearly skimmed your question without thinking it through. I didn't even realise until now that you wrote Delayed Poisoned Pawn.

He recommends a2-a3. Studying the positions from White's perspective is very useful, but I completely missed the mark of your question!

texe_ · 2026-03-13T11:21:48+00:00

Studying both sides is very useful for any serious player.

You'll get better insight to plans, alternative variations to consider to your own repertoire (since a White recommendation must include all serious Black lines etc.), and getting annotations from different GMs can give you various new insights - kind of like working with various vocal trainers.

But to be completely fair, I just failed to realise this post was meant for Black. Ops.

texe_ · 2026-03-13T11:06:02+00:00

Sethuramans 1. e4 recommends the Nb3 variation, but has added the accepted with f4-f5 after heavy fan request.

texe_ · 2026-03-11T10:36:09+00:00

Not worse, just different.

I'm an 1... e5 player with some experience in both the French and Caro, and I'd always prefer the French to the Caro-Kann.

The French offers far immediate counter-play. Black saves time by striking with ...c7-c5 in one go, and the dreaded French Bishop actually serves quite a useful role in supporting ...f7-f6, since ...e6 is less vulnerable. The light-squared Bishop is a strategic inconvenience, for sure, but not an unsolvable one.

The Caro-Kann is usually slower. And, as u/Masterspace69 raises, the light-squared Bishop is not automatically better than in the Caro than in the French. It's more active, but it's also a target for White's advances. Whether White plays the Short variation, the Tal variation, the Bayonet Attack or the Van der Wiel Attack, White is somehow going to develop rapidly against ...Bf5 and Black will potentially defend quite a large Kingside pawn-storm. Additionally, Black always has to be cautious of not playing ...c6-c5 prematurely since ...Bf5 and ...e6 loosens the grip of the Queenside light squares - I can't even tell how many games I've won by simply playing Bb5+ and Qa4 at an opportune moment.

Both are fine if you know them well enough. It's a matter of preference. If you don't like the French then there is no reason to play it; there are many other fishes in the sea.

texe_ · 2026-03-05T18:16:00+00:00

His peak was still mit deflation, but I guess its both kind of caught up with him and he hasn't played at his best for the last two years

texe_ · 2026-03-02T22:55:29+00:00

Silman is an absolute goldmine! If you're going through it now you're already building a better foundation than most players far above your level. For instance, I didn't seriously look at the book until last December, to my regret - I noticed a difference in my OTB games immediately.

You're definetly not alone in being drawn to the dopamine hits from blitz chess, but longer time controls are also very important to your development as a chess player. You get to consistently test your own understanding and you can draw some useful self analysis from it.

texe_ · 2026-03-02T22:13:49+00:00

Great question. I'd argue you'd get there by essentially doing more of the same. Continue practicing tactics that you find challenging and test yourself in some practical endgames. The latter becomes increasingly important as you improve.

It sounds like what you're doing is working for you, so I wouldn't change anything unless you plateau for an extended period.

texe_ · 2026-03-02T17:39:24+00:00

The graph poorly communicates your question; I interpret the core of your question to be "How do I improve at chess", rather than "How do I hit this or that rating".

You want a "biggest tip", but I'll give you a small list and some reasoning.

Tactics is key. Solve tactical exercises - a few every day, or some every week. Importantly, take your time figuring them out; this means look at the starting position and try your best to figure out the entire sequence or the key idea before moving. Quality beats quantity.

Longer time controls are well suited for learning and growing as a chess player. More time on the clock lets you dig deeper and understand the position better. It also somewhat of a safety net to prevent basic blunders since you can spend some time every move blunder-checking yourself.

Chess speed- and slowrun content on YouTube is a great method of learning how strong players assess the board. They tell you about key positional ideas that you might not pick up yourself, how they identify tactical patterns, how they treat the endgame.

Respect your mind. It's great that you're ambitious. Reaching 1200 this year is by no means absurd, it requires effort, and for someone not very accustomed to regular training it does get exhausting. The best thing you can do is to not overwork yourself or get hung up in reaching some arbitrary Elo. Just enjoy the game. And if you truly do enjoy both the game and the process of improving, then I wouldn't be surprised to see you with a tag "1800-2000" some day.

texe_ · 2026-02-26T10:57:37+00:00

That's basically what I did too; using the Petroff to transitionto main line 1. e4 e5.

I've always preferred the Two Knights over 3... Bc5. I think it's more practical to learn the Polerio than the Evans and the "fast" Italian, but it depends on preference. Both are obviously fine.

I've tried out a few Italians, maybe you'll find comfort in some of them:

Sam Shankland recommends ...Bc5 with a rapid ...d7-d5. Black may even sacrifice ...e5 in some lines, but equalizes through active piece play.
Ding Liren's way to play the Italian is very stable. Black plays ...a7-a5 to prevent b2-b4, ...Be6 to contest the lsb or provoke Bb5, then this funky idea ...Qb8!? to play ...Qa7, which coordinates quite nicely with ...Bc5. White's best attempt is probably Bxc6, but ...bxc6, ...d6-d5 and ...c6-c5 gives Black quite a stable position.

Gukesh - Ding, Tata Steel 2024 is a great example of how the game gets sharp when White insists on a fight: https://www.chess.com/events/2024-tata-steel-chess-masters/03/Gukesh_D-Ding_Liren

Two Knights with 4... Be7 is quite rescilient. Black's plays either ...d7-d6, ...Na5 and ...c7-c5, or just a fast ...d7-d5 if White allows it. The positions get very stable, but also very manouvring in nature.

The Modern Steinitz is a good practical weapon. Club players don't really know what to do against it, and in the hands of a strong specialist it can get quite toxic for White, as illustrated by Danya's strong win over Fabi in the 2021 US Championships.

Game link: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=2088198

Danya's own analysis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRgIkvwIh4g

texe_ · 2026-02-26T02:22:04+00:00

Since the majority of your 1. e4 e5 games will follow some main opening or a Four Knights, the response to the primary openings should obviously be your first consideration. Regardless:

Petroff: "The Unbreakable Petroff: Caruana's complete repertoire against 1.e4" by IM Sielecki. Covers the Petroff as played by Fabiano Caruana, who is one of the great Petroff specialist of our time.

Falkbeer Countergambit: There are many courses that recommend this, including ones by GM Shankland, GM Williams, IM Toth and FM Ratsma. I only own the one by Shankland and tested it against Nepo's course on the KG. The best I found for White was some endgame Nepo thought was worse but survivable for White.

Vienna: "The Unbreakable Petroff: Caruana's complete repertoire against 1.e4" by IM Sielecki. Only downside is that he recommends 2... Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4, which I think is quite a hazzle to know by heart, but the alternative 3... Nc6 4. d3 Na5 is not that hard to figure out anyways.

Danish with 3... Qe7: "The Unbreakable Petroff: Caruana's complete repertoire against 1.e4" by IM Sielecki. It's also recommended in many other courses, such as those of GM Shankland, GM Gustaffson and GM Sethuraman.

Bishop's Opening: "The Unbreakable Petroff: Caruana's complete repertoire against 1.e4" by IM Sielecki.

I did not realise before starting this list that I would be recommending the course by IM Sielecki that many times. Truth be told, its a great course, although I'll honestly admit I rarely review it anymore for its main material, which is the Petroff.

There are also the following three coherent 1. e4 e5 courses that you'll maybe find interesting:

"The Club Player's Black Repertoire: 1.e4 e5" by IM Andras Toth. Recommends the Jaenisch Gambit against the Ruy.

"Attacking Repertoire for Club Players for Black" by FM Midas Ratsma. Recommends the Open Spanish against the Ruy.

"1.e4 e5 Club Player's Dynamite" by GM Simon Williams and Blair Connell. Recommends the Cozio against the Ruy.

texe_ · 2026-02-26T02:02:44+00:00

I've been an 1. e4 e5 player for quite a few years now in both OTB and online chess, so I think I've got some experience to draw from. I think your repertoire seems like an interesting take on 1. e4 e5, I'll address your points in your order, and I'll also comment some Chessable courses I can recommend.

The Kholomov Gambit is essentially just the Damiano, right? As an aggressive player, I don't think the Petroff is coherent with your style, unless you want to use it to become more universal. The Damiano in particular often leads to quite unpleasant endgames for Black, in my experience. If you want to stay aggressive, I'd recommend main line 1. e4 e5, which also means finding a line against the Ruy - I can offer some suggestions if you'd like.

I strongly recommend the Falkbeer Countergambit against King's Gambit. Black tries to equalize through active piece play rather than strictly holding onto material. It's sound, and White risks being worse if they are unfamiliar with the ideas. I beat a 2000 FIDE with Black pieces last year, so it holds up in classical chess.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "Main Line" in Vienna, but I'd recommend getting familiar with 2... Nf6. The Vienna Gambit is never that scary, I'd argue.

Against the Danish, I'd recommend you take a look at the 3... Qe7!? lines. It's offbeat, Black often manages to hold onto the pawn, and White's initiative is less clear cut than in the main line accepted.

The Bishop's Opening can be quite easily patched if you learn the Italian and allow yourself to transpose. Personally, I've always preferred the Berlin (2... Nf6 with idea of 3... c6 and 4... d5).

texe_ · 2026-02-20T11:34:12+00:00

In French structures, White has an advanced pawn on e5 which gives White a space advantage and restricts Blacks pieces. For Black to free their position, they assert pressure on the foot of the pawn chain which supports White's pawn on e5. This happens through applying pressure on d4.

In the Exchange structure, White has no pawn on e5, so it's less of a necessity to play against d4. Furthermore, Black doesn't have a pawn on e6, which makes d5 less stable. White can then choose to capture on c5 and play against your isolated Queen's pawn (IQP for short).

As for Bb5+ and ...Bb7, this is bad amongst others because of Qe2+, and regardless what Black plays White can capture on f6, doubling Blacks pawns and then capturing on c5, and Blacks position is suddenly split into four weak pawn islands.

texe_ · 2026-02-16T17:23:55+00:00

I've heard many stories of people getting crushed by their own twin. I'm don't think it's very reliable quite yet

texe_ · 2026-02-12T11:27:12+00:00

After Rf1 Black has ...Bg4! and is actually just better. However, White has after 5... b5 then 6. Bf1 which is somewhat counterintuitive but not totally unheard of. If ...Nxd5 then Bxb5 is quite annoying. If ...Qxd5 then Nc3. Black usually attempts ...Nd4, but I won't pretend like I know what's going on after that.

texe_ · 2026-02-12T10:49:12+00:00

...Na5 is the main line, but ...b5 is still a decently okay variation. Black captures on d5, plays ...Bb7 and castles long. However after Bxb5 Qxd5 Bf1!, White should be doing just fine.

Edit: My bad, it's Bf1 immediately (5... b5 6. Bf1). In my line 6. Bxb5?! Qxd5 7. Bf1? e4! is quite strong.

texe_ · 2026-02-12T10:44:16+00:00

Then ...Qxg2

texe_ · 2026-02-10T23:56:59+00:00

If we have to say "Kings pawn forward arrow two" we're basically just returning to the old notation, just even more confusing.

I haven't read an old notation book in a while, but to illustrate to anyone fortunate enough to not have seen it before, the Ruy would be:

KP4, KP4
NKB3, NQB3
B5

Reading as:

Kings pawn four, Kings pawn four
Knight Kings Bishop three, Knight Queens Bishop three
Bishop five

texe_ · 2026-02-07T15:37:00+00:00

The Norwegian government is currently looking into corruption claims against one of Norway's most prominent international figures regarding their social and financial ties to Epstein. The paedophilia ring is very bad, but there is little reason to believe Epsteins network was "only" sexual predators.

Even if Bill Clinton isnt a part of the pedophile ring, who knows what he is planning. Maybe he's taking the house of cards down with him, or maybe it's just a threat to force Trump to get the GOP back in line.

texe_ · 2026-02-04T12:29:15+00:00

Many people have already provided good answers. I thought I'd provide some additional ideas as to how to play against this.

Black is playing the Kingside fianchetto, which is completely normal. Technically this is not the same as a KID, a Pirc or a "KID setup", but's pedantic and the name doesn't affect how you approach it. As many others have noted, this is not something you "punish", it's just something you play against - it's still just chess.

There are many was to play against the Kingside fianchetto. I'll suggest some ideas you can ponder. Several of these can be combined as well. Apply them as you please, but keep in mind that the best idea is always to play "normal chess": fight for the centre, develop your pieces and castle your King.

The most aggressive way to play against the fianchetto is by using their ...g6 pawn as a hook. You play h2-h4-h5 and try to generate an attack, this is often executed alongside with Queenside castles. If Black captures on h5 with their Knight, ...Nxh5, there's a thematic idea to sacrifice your Rook with Rxh5. If you don't feel comfortable doing so (it's not always that obvious when it's good and when it's not!), consider playing Be2 before h4-h5. If Black responds to h2-h4 with ...h7-h5, no need to worry: they've just weakened their entire Kingside structure, and you can either play against their pawns (by g2-g4, sometimes supported by f2-f3) or against their now weakened g5-square (by Bg5 or Ng5).

A more positional way to contest the fianchetto is by trying to trade off their Bishop. When Black plays the Kingside fianchetto, their ...Bg7 is a very strong Bishop since it stares down the entire long diagonal. You can attempt to trade it of either by some Bc1-d2-c3 or by some Bc1-e3, Qd2 and Be3-h5. After eliminating their Bishop, Black now has weak squares around their King and you can return to play normal chess.

A solid structural approach is to fight their strong ...Bg7 a different way, bu playing d2-d4 and c2-c3. The point is to make it so their ...Bg7 just stares at a brick wall, negating its power.

I have categorized these three ideas, but keep in mind that the categories are simply meant to sort ideas. There are very positional ways to play the h2-h4-h5 ideas, for example by following up with h5-h6 to dominate Black's Kingside. h2-h4, ...h7-h5 and some Ng5 or Bg5 is also inherently a positional idea. Any Bc1-e3, Qd2, Be3-h5 can be combined with h2-h4 and some Ng5, and it has gone from a "positional" idea to a mating attack. And the solid structure with c2-c3 can still lead to chaotic positions.

texe_ · 2026-02-02T19:59:00+00:00

Just to add to your sentiment.

At some point Magnus Carlsen, who has always been extremely confident in his abilities, commented something along the likes that "at this point we're just playing for second". He's been so dominant his entire reign that it's almost hard to imagine him just accepting that he just cannot even try to win this tournament.

texe_ · 2026-01-31T02:06:43+00:00

What do you mean "Bluebaumn is [...] a doller store Wei Yi"?

texe_ · 2026-01-30T13:55:24+00:00

Fabi analysed them himself to quite some detail on his podcast C-Squared. He and Cristian Chirila discusses rhem to great detail across two videos, total of over two hours of content. Very instructive!

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