The Hippopotamus Defence

The Hippopotamus Defence was first named and promoted in the 1950s by an English amateur player named JC Thompson.
While Thompson pioneered the system and its name, its rise to international prominence happened in 1966, when Grandmaster Boris Spassky famously used it twice during the World Chess Championship match against Tigran Petrosian.

Key Milestones in its History

• 1950s: JC Thompson coins the name "Hippopotamus" because the pawn structure reminded him of a sleeping hippo. He published a short pamphlet on it in 1957.
• 1964: Slovak International Master Maximilian Ujtelky experiments with similar structures against Spassky, likely influencing the future World Champion.
• 1966: The opening goes mainstream after Spassky draws two championship games with it.
• Modern Era: The system has seen a resurgence as an "anti-computer" or "anti-theory" line used by top players like Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura.