It’s a bit silent on this blog lately…, Yes seems like the QC team are on ‘blog strike’. Get Unlimited Access To All Of Our Strategies, Practice Games And More. Elephant Gambit. Ray :I think the number one priority of an opening book should be that the analysis and accompanying explanations are first class. @RYV I would never take it as my main defence to 1.e4 but I’ll certainly continue to enjoy playing it at fast time limits. In the introduction, where you try to boost the morale of the reader, Black wins all 3 games. If you would like to learn more about each of these variations be sure to watch the video below. Hi After the opening I continued to play carefully and eventually outplayed my opponent and won. I guess when people are surprised by this opening, they want to play safe and the tactical finesse of 6.Qh5 does not seem to occur to them as a way of reaching the endgame. @Topnotch James. Were you just going to wing it if your opponents played exd5 or were you following some theory of someone else or your own? 2) Playing strength still counts, and you have to be able to make good moves after the opening. I love your concern about King safety in an open game gambit. Frankenstein-Dracula Vienna, Kalashnikov and halloween gambit all deserve a decent cover too. Some just wanna have fun I thought this project was long abandoned. Seems a clear choice to me. It’s a book I quite look forward to, there has to be space for good books on not fully sound openings. Any plans to publish something on the Leningrad Dutch? Maybe the authors are encountering insurmountable challenges. @JB Just keeping the pachyderme is a bit too simplistic to me….. Pachyderm – excellent word! Is there an opening named after the anteater? The Elephant Gambit is a rare response to the King’s Pawn Opening – and it’s rare for a reason! @Thomas you have a problem with information? So white just have to read a few pages and you will be in trouble.? First of all, check out the fantastic cover design for this book! He says (!?) We have no immediate plans for a Hippo book. I can’t wait for this book!!! Statistics don’t necessarily mean all that much, which is why I mentioned this point last, but it’s worth noting. @Jacob Aagaard so white is forced to accept a tactical game where he is not better, or he can suffer from black lasting initiative. The Elephant Gambit is an uncommon gambit that arrives after the starting moves: White can take either of the pawns on e5 or d5. @Jay I went slightly astray in the opening (the relevant chapters have not been delivered yet, so I had to rely on my own guesswork rather than the authors’ expertise) but won both games after some adventures. I love your books but…Frankly, I think this type of book damages the reputation of Quality Chess. Nothing like this is likely to happen in the Elephant, unless Black seriously misplays it. No official strike: just busy with other things. Very brave playing it without the notes to the main line! everybody’s input is welcome. What do our blog readers think? I’m particularly looking forward to seeing the cover of the ‘Monkey’s Bum’ when QC agree to publish it. Good point! (This is by far the most important point of the three.) I agree! maybe both openings are close or even twin Brothers ? Nbd2! We will announce a publication date when the time comes. @Barbaut Michel Well, there is the Malaniuk book on 7…Qe8 and there is the recent work by Karolyi on 7…c6. By the way , i dont have any problem with such a book on “strange” openings and everyone can play what he wants ( i play 2..Df6 in king’s gambit !) 6…Bb4 now accomplishes nothing because of 7. c3, so black will have to look for an alternative plan. Therefore I don’t know what they are recommending, but they are diligent researchers and will surely have some ideas for Black. Yes, it is so much better with the elephant in full so to speak! (Despite the minor spelling mistake, which is certainly forgivable for a non-native speaker.) Nc4 Nf6. Another view is that an opening book should match reality, and so a book on the French with 50 games should see Black score about 46 percent or so (haven’t looked up the actual percentage in any database) in those 50 games, or 23 points out of 50 games. @RYV We tried moving the text, and updated the post. The king will take care of himself alone. @An Ordinary Chessplayer But if you have to choose : activity first. The book needs to have little mice in the margins to indicate variations where the elephant is running away. No exact dates are possible now, but a lot of preliminary work has been done by Negi on Book 5. Original at the top of the post or updated at the bottom. a good book on a bad openning is not a problem ; We need that QC GMREP on taimanov sicilian asap ! Nxf6+ gxf6 11. You get to the Introduction to part 1, and there is a game where White wins, and then in Chapter 1, White wins the first three games. Black just ignores the attack on his e-pawn and starts a direct counterattack! Maybe you have your own idea ? Frequent updates – new openings, strategies and commentary are always being added. Still waiting for QC-books on the Classical Sicilian and the Leningrad Dutch. I suspect the QC dongeon to be by now full of prisoners working hard on late books from the 2018 catalog. Think Caruana was much better able to get his prep in too during the WC and that was a major part of his success eg 7.Nd5 against Sveshnikov and the rare …Rd8 line against the Bf4 QGD- I’m sure Magnus was super prepared in the main lines but as he never got the chance to use it some mug will get it both barrels in the future. 3.Nxe5 was played against me in the two league games I mentioned, and 3…Bd6 4.d4 dxe4 was my reply, following the authors’ recommendation. Then there is the question of advertising. @Ray The authors are quite open about the fact that White can get at least a slight advantage with optimal play, but they will show how Black can still get an interesting game. Did this book get cancelled? Which cover does everyone prefer? That’s a Sunny start of the day, thanks . But seriously, I like his other repertoire books, so this should indeed be interesting. 6…Nc6 has been tried, giving up on defending the pawn. I have a quite recent book by J.Watson about ” wild chess openings” where the elephant gambit is called Bad black opening: 4 pages for Nxe5 and 4 more pages for exd5 giving white an advantage. – I have no clear idea of the status of this gambit, presumably it will give Black some compensation for a material deficit. Black’s attempt to grab the full center could be seen as ambitious, but black simply doesn’t have the development needed to justify this pawn thrust. is the elephant more or less justified/correct compare to 2N. I had never seen it before and had no idea what to do, so I played passively but carefully. I know one GM who would be ideal, and I have asked him a few times, but he is too busy with other things.