The Grand Prix Attack with 1 e4 c5 2 Nc3 (followed by 3 f4) was coined by the prominent British chess writer Leonard Barden, because it featured heavily in so many games during the 1970s & 1980s in the British Grand Prix weekend tournament circuit - and especially from David Rumens and GM Mark Hebden;  both these players literally devastated the opposition with it en route to many Grand Prix titles. And in his latest Gambit Guide series, GM Boris Alterman takes a closer look at one of the main themes of the Grand Prix Attack, with the pawn sacrifice for White of f4-f5 followed by the launching of an all-out kingside attack. 

IM Alvis Vitolinsh (1946-1997) was a multi-time Latvian champion who was a friend of Mikhail Tal and worked alongside the Magician from Riga. His style of play was similar to Tal’s, and in the early 1980s he came up with some creative gambit play with b5!? for Black in two lines of the Nimzo-Indian Defence that bore his name. The first being in the Capablanca variation with 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Qc2 0-0 5 a3 Bxc3 6 Qxc3 b5!?, the other in the Reshevsky variation with 4 e3 0-0 5 Ne2 b5!? - both leading to the sort of dynamic play that can easily see White being overrun if not handled correctly. And in his next four Gambit Guide shows, GM Boris Alterman will look at this aggressive way of playing for Black in the Nimzo with the Vitolinsh Gambits’ - series 1 & 2 against the Capablanca variation with 4 Qc2 0-0 5 a3 Bxc3 6 Qxc3 b5!?, followed by 3 & 4 on the Reshevsky variation with 4 e3 0-0 5 Ne2 b5!? 

The "Fantasy Variation" of the Caro-Kann defense in chess, otherwise known as the Tartakower variation, begins with the simple 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 f3. The idea is to open the f-file with the pawn sacrifice and use rapid development to bring pressure on Black's kingside quickly. It isn't that difficult to learn, resembles the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit in many ways, and often leads to sacrifices and other fireworks not usually associated with the solid Caro-Kann. And in the latest of his Gambut Guide series, GM Boris Alterman takes a closer look at the Fantasy variation.

The Scandinavian or Center Counter with 2…Qxd5 3 Nc3 Qa5 has a reputation of being solid for Black with the position going on to resemble a Caro-Kann or Slav Defense set-up. But for those looking for the cut and thrust of swashbuckling play, then there’s a more speculative approach to 3...Qa5 - the Kotrc-Mieses Gambit with 4.b4?! If Black plays correctly, White should have no compensation for the sacrificed pawn, but it can be difficult to prove this over the board. And in his latest Gambit Guide series, GM Boris Alterman has a closer look at the Kotrc-Mieses Gambit.

The Belgrade Gambit (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 d4 exd4 5 Nd5!?) had its heyday in the 1970s, long before the Database deluge. Nowadays, every 'Russian Schoolboy' knows that 5...Be7 is a very effective antidote to this gambit. The main virtue though of obscure gambits, lies in the element of surprise when you play them.  And despite not being in vogue, former world champion Anatoly Karpov, writing in his 1988 book The Open Game in Action, heartedly recommends the Belgrade gambit: "...this gambit leads to quite exciting and lively play.  I think those who favor stormy complications should include the [Belgrade] gambit in their repertoire."  And in a new two-part Gambit Guide series, GM Boris Alterman re-evaluates the Belgrade gambit and suggests, just like Karpov, that it should indeed be included in your repertoire for surprise value alone!

The Blumenfeld Gambit with 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 c5 4 d5 b5!? is a blood relative to the more universally popular Benko Gambit. While it was the invention of Russian master Benjamin Blumenfeld (1884-1947), it only became of interest after Alekhine used it to good effect as he destroyed Tarrasch in 1922 with a text-book advert for the gambit.

Modern master praxis has been to decline the gambit with 5 Bg5 rather than being faced with a strong pawn sacrifice for easy piece play and a direct attack a la Alekhine-Tarrasch. But in his latest Gambit Guide series for ICC, GM Boris Alterman shows that the Blumenfeld - even when White declines the gambit - has strategic depth beyond its first impressions.

GM Boris Alterman explores the Benko Gambit (1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 b5). Black's counterplay is very durable compared to many other gambits, in that the queenside pressure can last well into the endgame. The idea to sacrifice a pawn with ...b5 and ...a6 was an old favorite of Czech master Karel Opocensky in the mid-1930s. Then, the original name of the opening was the Volga Gambit - named after the Volga River - after an article about 3...b5!? by B. Argunow that appeared in the magazine Schachmaty in USSR of 1946. But it soon shot to fame and near universal club-level adoption at the end of the 1960s after its eponym, Pal Benko, honed and developed the gambit into a potent attacking weapon for black on the back of many big U.S. Swiss victories during this period.