As John said in a previous blog, Quality Chess has just published The Exhilarating Elephant Gambit. In that connection, Killer Chess Training is organizing a Gambit weekend.
For any reader of Quality Chess who wants to join the simul tomorrow, the 5th of December, 17:00-19:00 UK time, just join the team.
Also, you can join our Blitz tournament on Sunday for free here.
Now, for anyone who wants to join for the whole weekend for free, we came up with a special offer. Whoever takes a photo of their brand new Exhilarating Elephant Gambit book and upload it on social media, tagging Killer Chess Training – The rebranded 365chessacademy using the @KillerChessTraining shortcut for Facebook and Instagram, will get a free pass for the whole weekend. Bonus point if you tag also The Exhilarating Elephant Gambit page @ElephantGambit.
If your book has not arrived yet, you can make a post tagging the pages and you can use the book cover photo.
Yes, if you buy your copy now, you can still get the Gambit weekend for free.
Afterwards, go to the Killer Chess Training e-shop, add the Gambit Weekend Camp and check out without paying.
Send us an email to KillerChessTraining (a) gmail (dot) com with your order number and we will activate your pass. We can guarantee the pass for the first 50 people.
You will own the product and have access to the recordings indefinitely, so even if the live classes are not compatible with your schedule, it is still worth it signing up.
If you are not a social media person, we respect that. Go to the website, add the Gambit weekend camp to your basket, checkout without paying, send us and a photo of your book and we will activate your pass.
Thank you for this. Not a social media person, but expect my email soon!
Sound good. and the elephant looks pretty cool
Catch 22. Saw this and quickly checked my doorstep, the book arrived today! By my calculation it’s 16:24 UK time. But I will be too busy reading my new book to be doing any online chess. (After this post, of course.)
Bad math on my part, 1:00 PM +5 hours = 18:00 not 16:00. Already in the preface I see some poor logic : The same players who notice the Marshall Gambit success and avoid it with antis are somehow completely surprised by 2…d5!? Anyway, back to reading.
Very nice work! And the perfect complement to the Petroff (book) – but a little more enterprising!!
For a quick start it’s probably enough to play through the 35 commented games.
I spotted some (unimportant) typos:
– p.116 left: „the simple 13.Nxd5“ must be 12.Nxd5
– p.131 diagram: Nf6 is still on g8
– p.286 left: „there were a few anxious moment before“ ; moments
– p.300 last line: „staying in the centre will invites“ ; invite
I have some question about the status of the French, because of some statements of Anish Giri:
1) Is the Nf6-System in GM-Rep. by Berg still reliable?
2) Winawer: For Giri the only choice is the Poisened Pawn. What about alternatives:
a) 0-0 refuted?
b) Armenian varition (…Ba5) refuted?
c) Portisch-Hook-Variation refuted?
d) Botvinnik-System (6…Qc7) refuted?
e) …b6 / …Qd7 Sytems unplayable?
@Phil Collins
1) Evaluations and what people like is different of course. But I do not think there has been a shift in theory for the last few years. Emmanuel made his decisions based on roughly the same information as would be had today.
2)
7…0-0 is not refuted. But 8.Bd3 Nbc6? is.
The Armenian variation is not refuted as far as I am concerned. But white has chances to fight for an advantage.
I don’t know what Portisch-Hook is.
6…Qc7 is poor.
e) This is a matter of opinion. I probably share it to a large extent. +=.
But I have to say that I find the poisoned pawn analysis he presented to be very superficial. Where my personal analysis starts, his end.
Basically, it is a top player giving a repertoire in an opening he does not play for u2000 players. He has not done the serious investigation of someone like Swapnil in his book on the Petroff. Giri knows a lot and his judgement is good in general. He is perhaps my favourite player. But I did not feel that the repertoire was usable for my level.
A general problem wirh chessable. The courses come at a price of books (or more), but don’t go into the same depth.
They cannot either really, or one would have 10000 variations. The depth of a book just doesn’t fit the chessable format.
That said, I do love chessable.
What I sometimes miss is a chessable course together with QC book: A QC book for the depth where needed, and a chessable course with the most important lines/plans. I’d pay extra for it. But likely not a good business model for you, as I can imagine that most would get just one ir the other.
@Tobias You can create your own repertoire in Chessable, for your own use, using your QC books. This also makes it easy to take different parts of your repertoire from different books, update lines as things change etc. Creating it is also part of the process of learning.
@Phil Collins
Kryavkin covers b) and c) in his 2020 book. He thinks both are ok.
Oh I know. But I have a more-than-full time job and two small kids, so this part that takes a lot of time and effort, I need to skip. I’m more a consumer-kind if person when it comes to chess. Would love to be a (semi-)professional and invest much more time into chess, but I fear I and my family would need to move under a bridge then 😀
So pretty the only time I need (and consult) jigh quality books in-depth these days is when preparing for specific opponents. It helps me beat 2200 players now and then.
For daily play on the internet, I am fine with what a stock-chessable course has to offer.
I have the money to buy (to a linired degree) but not the time to create the content myself…
Though I understand this, Chessable’s terms and conditions do not allow this if it is basically lines from a published book. I guess if you add some of your own analysis and words it may be permissable but I think Jacob et al would be rightfully annoyed or stronger if you then shared or published your new ‘book’ as Chessable’s PRO features allow if it was little more than a copy.
Giri played the French when he was a teenager. He talked about it in a show on chess24. According to him the only way to equalize against the French-Tarrasch is 4. exd5 Qxd5. The only reason form him to play the French is/was the…
Some more typos/mistakes from the most critical Chapter 10 (the only one I checked deeply):
p.308 : the first diagram is wrong, as 9…f5 was played and not 9…Bf5
p.313 left : 16.d5? Bxg3!! 17.Bg5 Ng4 18.Bh4 e3! ; why the hell 18.Bh4?? Black is much better anyway after 17…Ng4, but 18.Bh4?? changes the evaluation from -2 to -15 and isn’t instructive. Maybe 18.hxg3 e3! is meant?!
p.320 right : 6…b6!? was our choice in variation B1 above, but here it [is] unnecessary and …
p.320 right : 7.g3? is an unlikely choice, but we mention it to illustrative the importance … ; better: to illustrate ?!
p.324 left before diagram: 16.Qxb7 Bxd5 17.exd5 Nc7 ; it’s 17.cxd5
p.324 right : 14.Nf1 is solid, but Black can soften the white kingside with 14…Qh5 15.g3 Qf6 ; of course it’s 14…Qh4
p.325 right last line: 19.Nc2 Ng6 20.Rxe1 Qc7! ; it’s 20.Rxe4
p.328 left : 18…Kxf8 19.Kxe2 Qxd5 ; 19…Qxd5 is illegal but for sure Black has not enough compensation anyway
p.328 right : b) 12…Nbd7!? … 15.Nxf6+ Qxf6 16.f3 exf3 17.Rxf3 ; that‘s impossible, White hasn‘t castled yet so Rh1xf3 is illegal and Ke1 stands in check! Maybe something like 16.0-0 Bxx 17.f3 is meant?!
* * *
All other white attempts seem to be manageable, even the Hebden Gambit and the double Tusk, but 5.Nfd2 looks too strong. I doubt that the Elephant is playable in corr or OTB on expert/master level if White has done his homework.
Nevertheless, it guarantees much fun in blitz and rapid. Probably I will play ONE tournament game with it, a database-destinated game against a much weaker opponent, just to mislead and irritate future opponents 😉
Thank you for sharing
A nice scalp for the Elephant in this evening’s Titled Tuesday blitz:
https://www.chess.com/live#g=10258371655