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I have chosen the Englund Gambit, 1.d4 e5, as the subject of this month’s article for three reasons: (i) It would be advisable knowing how to avoid the ‘one big trap’, which sees White either lose a lot of material, or get mated; (ii) when White avoids the trap, the subsequent lines are an absolute joy to play; and (iii) White has a counter trap, which, while less strong than the main line, leads to a quirky position which would be very instructive to play over the board, thus making it suitable for blitz or study.
You probably know that in the JavaScript replay below you can maximize the board to fill your browser window, flip sides and move pieces to analyse the lines given.
You can even start an engine to assist (by clicking the fan button below the board). And in the end you can save your analysis in your personal cloud database without ever leaving your browser. Full instructions are available on this tutorial page.
The above article appeared in the August 2016 of the British magazine CHESS
CHESS Magazine was established in 1935 by B.H. Wood who ran it for over fifty years. It is published each month by the London Chess Centre and is edited by IM Richard Palliser and Matt Read. The Executive Editor is Malcolm Pein, who organises the London Chess Classic.
CHESS is mailed to subscribers in over 50 countries. You can subscribe from Europe and Asia
at a specially discounted rate for first timers here, or from North America here.
Interested in unorthodox openings and traps? There are a number of interesting ChessBase DVDs that include the Englund. The best way to find them: go to the Position Search page and enter the moves on the board (it is useful to remember this function!).
We particularly recommend the DVD Unorthodox Chess Openings by Valeri Lilov, who devotes 24 lectures to various unorthodox openings - some more popular with super GMs like Alexander Morozevich and others less known - yet all aiming at one and the same goal: to strengthen your opening repertoire and provide you with more weapons for the opening stage. The Chigorin Defence, the Chicago Gambit, and Grob’s Attack are among the systems included for White, with the Hippopotamus Defence and the Elephant Gambit are intended for Black. Lilov effectively teaches the best plans and ideas in each of these unique openings and guarantees success with each and every one of them. Video running time: 5 hrs 16 min.