Robert Ris' Fast and Furious: A tricky sideline

by Robert Ris
6/16/2025 – In his new Fast & Furious show, Robert Ris has a look at an interesting line of the English that helped Andrew Hong to win against Boris Gelfand in just 22 moves at the World Rapid Teams in London. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.
This video course offers you a complete, clear repertoire for Black against the moves 1.Nf3 and 1.c4. The recommended variations are easy to learn and not difficult to remember, but also pose White serious challenges.

Robert Ris: "I take a look at the spectacular 22-move miniature game between Andrew Hong and Boris Gelfand at the World Rapid Team Championships in London. In the symmetrical English opening (1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 g6), White surprised his opponent with the tricky 7. Qb3 e6 8. Ne4, sacrificing a pawn with 9. d4!?. The ensuing positions were full of tactical possibilities, and Black had to navigate a minefield to achieve equality. Gelfand was unable to rise to the challenge, and one mistake decided his fate."

Exercise: Can you spot White's killer blow?

Feel free to move the pieces on the live diagram!

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Robert is an International Master who mostly spends his time training and coaching talented youngsters. On the PlayChess server The Fast and the Furious is a popular show where he explains sharp opening lines for a wider audience. He is also a well-known ChessBase author who produced numerous DVDs and regularly contributes to ChessBase Magazine as well. Since 2015 he is the organizer of the Dutch Rapid Championships in his home town Amstelveen. He has started a YouTube channel with chess analysis as well.

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