The Most Offbeat Gambit of All Time: The Sturm Gambit of the Bird

Today's blog is going to be relatively short but its because around 6 months ago, I was watching a YouTube video by chess content creator Croissant (@The_Croissant) who was doing a challenge with his friend where he was trying out random chess openings on an opening generator and got the Sturm Gambit of the Birds Opening. Generally you never know what openings the generator will come up with since there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of variations and sidelines so its rare that you will get a well known one or good, but he ended up playing the Sturm Gambit. (Sorry, I can't find the video, Lichess don't sue me.) But after looking at the opening more and researching about it, I see that it has rarely been played at master level, but looking at all the variations of the Accepted, it's surprisingly good!

The Sturm Gambit

Outro

While this doesn't look too good of a position to the computer, in blitz this is a dangerous gambit that could get your opponent thinking. Obviously Black doesn't have to play the Accepted, and there are many lines where Black is the one attacking, but that's only if every opponent you play is always wise and won't take the bait. It's just a fun opening to keep in your toolbox that your opponent's may occasionally fall into.