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Weird Gambits; commentary please?

Weird Gambits; commentary please?

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Hey everyone! I am just a beginning chess player. I would really appreciate some commentary by better players on a couple of games where I went out on a limb with a weird gambit but it worked... thanks all in advance for any constructive criticism!

Cochrane Gambit

Game 804090

Latvian Gambit

Game 802510

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Originally posted by Ashley Blue
Hey everyone! I am just a beginning chess player. I would really appreciate some commentary by better players on a couple of games where I went out on a limb with a weird gambit but it worked... thanks all in advance for any constructive criticism!

Cochrane Gambit

Game 804090

Latvian Gambit

Game 802510
Im a little to tired to look at your games right now, but Tal used to play the Latvian gambit. Might be worth looking up some of his games if you want to study it.

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In the first game 3. ...Bd6 is just a poor move. The gambit line played looks ok, but 4. Nc4 is a safer route to a solid advantage.

The Latvian gambit is pretty risky, and probably unsound; 3.d3 is tame and hardly a test of the line, after the much better 3.Nxe5 White has a very dangerous initiative,

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Originally posted by Siskin
In the first game 3. ...Bd6 is just a poor move. The gambit line played looks ok, but 4. Nc4 is a safer route to a solid advantage.

The Latvian gambit is pretty risky, and probably unsound; 3.d3 is tame and hardly a test of the line, after the much better 3.Nxe5 White has a very dangerous initiative,
Thanks for the help. I see 4. Nc4 now, which probably would have been better than the Cochrane, but that forced his King out into the middle which helped a lot.

I really like the Latvian but so far nobody has played the refutation 3. Nxe5, thankfully

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People used to say the Benoni and the Pirc were unsound, too.

Don't worry, you don't have to resign after Nxe5, there are playable lines for black. It can be fun - if White slips you get a strong counterattack. But you do have to study - it's an opening where mistakes can be instantly fatal. Here are two articles that may be of use:

http://www.chessville.com/instruction/Openings/LatvianGambitRevisited.htm
http://www.chessville.com/instruction/Openings/LatvianGambitRevisited_PartTwo.htm


I'd suggest you also learn a bit about a more stable response to e4 (the French, or the Caro-Kann), just so you can play a "more normal" game of chess if you choose.


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