Boris Alterman’s Gambit Guide – Blackmar Diemer Gambit (3 Part Series) Ichessnet

Over 61 hours of 1. e4 Opening Gambits

4-knights-Rubenstein (3 part series)

When the great “uncrowned king” Akiba Rubinstein introduced the variation that bears his name (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Nd4) into praxis at San Sebastian 1912, overnight the formal fearsome Spanish Four Knights, which up until then was a popular opening, went into rapid decline. And now, in the latest series of Gambit Guide, GM Boris Alterman shows why even today this is a good line to have in your arsenal, as the resulting pawn sacrifice allows Black to dominate the centre.

Alekhine-4-Pawns-Attack (2 part series)

GM Boris Alterman again responds to ICC members who have asked our resident expert in all things gambits what to do in the Alekhine 4-Pawns Attack if Black eschews the big main line with 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. d4 d6 5. f4 dxe5 6. fxe5 Nc6 7. Be3 Bf5 8. Nc3 e6 9. Nf3 Be7 10. d5 Nb4?! His answer? Look no further than a particularly aggressive gambit line with 11. Rc1 f6 12. a3 Na6 13. g4!? – originally a recommendation of the leading Soviet master of his day Alexander Zaitsev (1935-71), and lately given the big thumbs up by another top Russian in Alexander Morozevich!

Belgrade-Gambit (2 part series)

The Belgrade Gambit (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 d4 exd4 5 Nd5!?) had its heyday in the 1970s, long before the Database deluge. Nowadays, every ‘Russian Schoolboy’ knows that 5…Be7 is a very effective antidote to this gambit. The main virtue though of obscure gambits, lies in the element of surprise when you play them. And despite not being in vogue, former world champion Anatoly Karpov, writing in his 1988 book The Open Game in Action, heartedly recommends the Belgrade gambit: “…this gambit leads to quite exciting and lively play. I think those who favor stormy complications should include the [Belgrade] gambit in their repertoire.” And in a new two-part Gambit Guide series, GM Boris Alterman re-evaluates the Belgrade gambit and suggests, just like Karpov, that it should indeed be included in your repertoire for surprise value alone!