Looking for a surprise weapon against 1.e4? Try the Stafford Gambit! After the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5, rather than following the solid lines of the Petroff after 3...d6, Black prefers to sacrifice a pawn with 3...Nc6 4.Nxc6 dxc6. As compensation for the pawn Black enjoys free development which ensures tactical possibilities against the pawns on e4 and f2. In this 60 minute video course you will learn the most common tactical ideas and typical patterns for Black with the aim to checkmate the white king from the get go. Recommended for daredevils!
After 2.Nf3 Black is in no way obliged to defend his e-pawn. Instead, he can play 2...Nf6 and start a counter-attack against White’s e-pawn. In the 19th century the Russian players Alexander Petroff (1794–1867) and Carl Friedrich Jänisch (1813–1872) made important contributions to the development of the variation, which has therefore become known as the Petroff Defence (or the Russian Defence).
In the second half of the 20th century after a long period of neglect, it developed in the 1980s into one of the most reliable ways for Black to achieve a draw at the top level. Worldclass players such as Karpov, Yusupov, Gelfand, Kramnik and Anand adopted it as part of their repertoire and the question as to how White could manage to reach an advantage against the Petroff became an even more ticklish one.
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