Opening Tactics - Part 3: Miniatures in the Elephant Gambit

Opening Tactics - Part 3: Miniatures in the Elephant Gambit

What is the Elephant Gambit?

The Elephant Gambit is a defense for Black which arises mostly after the opening moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5.

Let's take a quick look at the main tabiya and some transpositions:

I have heard people refer to it as Queen's Pawn's Counter Gambit and in German it is sometimes also called Mittelgambit im Nachzuge.

It is possible to enter the Elephant Gambit via transpositions.

The Tennison Gambit can be played either via the move order 1.e4 d5 2.Nf3 or alternatively 1.Nf3 d5 2.e4 and in either case 2...e5 will transpose to the Elephant Gambit. People who play the Tennison Gambit usually do so for the surprise value and in the hope to trap their opponent - YOU - with some tactical cheapos. If you feel so inclined, this transposition, while not the best from a theoretical point of view, allows you to turn tables on them so to speak and surprise them with a tricky gambit they might not know so well.

The Scandinavian Defense gives another option to transpose to the so called Scandinavian Variation of the Elephant Gambit after the moves 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nf3 e5. This line can not be recommended for Black.

It is not possible for me to give you as much as an overview over the theory and practically relevant non-theoretical lines of this gambit.

What I will show you are a couple of miniature games with 20 moves or less, which are sort of a teaser. Just so you get a glimpse of the possibilities this gambit offers. Please do not make the mistake to believe that these games are representative of the way this gambit usually goes.

It is no miracle wonder weapon that will always win for Black. There is no such a thing in chess and anybody who tries to tell you differently is probably just trying to sell you their newest book / video lessons.

Should you play it?

Well, that's up to you to decide. Personally I do not recommend it as a main part of your repertoire, but it is fine as the occasional surprise weapon, at least below 2200 Elo FIDE rating.

You need to be aware, that there are lines in this opening, that will give White an advantage of 1.6 or more in computer evaluation. So if you are a chess purist or an engine fetishist this gambit is certainly not for you! If on the other hand you are a pragmatic, you might appreciate the practical chances, especially in faster time control games.

Myself I have used the Elephant Gambit in 4 rated OTB tournament games with classical time control and I scored three victories (one of which despite a botched opening and a very bad position initially) and one loss (despite big advantage after the opening). I might or might not decide to play it again one day.

If you like the following example games, I encourage you to study the opening for yourselves before you give it a try in one of your own games.

The ChessBase DVD "The Elephant Gambit in 60 Minutes" by Andrew Martin is good for a quick introduction.

If you want to go into greater depth there is an invaluable 8-part series by Peter Leisebein in ChessBase Magazine, starting from #102.

What to play against the Elephant Gambit?

So you are looking for a good way to play against the Elephant Gambit as White?
There is no actual refutation that I am aware of, but there is a game David Howell -vs- Simon Kim Williams (= GingerGM) from 2007, where White made it very unpleasant for Black. This is as close to a refutation of the Elephant Gambit as I was able to find, even though it is possible to suggest some improvements for Black.

The Maroczy Variation with 6.c4 is one of the very critical lines. I encourage you to study this yourself if you are interested.

Without further ado, I would now like to show you the miniatures.

The Miniatures:

Svetozar Gligoric - Holze, 1970:

To be fair to Gligoric it should be noted, that this game was played in a Simul. Nonetheless it is impressive how Holze, a player I had never heard of before, demolished the great GM Gligoric in less than 20 moves. If anything is an advertisement for the Elephant Gambit, this game is!

NN - David Bronstein, 1954:

David Bronstein plays the Elephant Gambit with Black here. While his opponent is "only" NN and not another GM of his own caliber, it provides us with another fun miniature game, this time with the Wasp Variation.

Debast - Emil Joseph Diemer, 1983:

Okay, so I actually I lied to you when I promised miniature games with 20 moves or less. This one has 27 moves. My bad! Please look at the game anyway and maybe you will excuse me for including it anyway.

Holle - Emil Joseph Diemer, 1983:

You may feel about Emil Joseph Diemer whatever you will but you have to admit that he was always good for entertaining and unconventional games.

Anatollovich - Pastorino, 2000:

The source of the game is the Tactics in the Opening database by Richard Schollar. Variations and annotations are my own.

Bautista - Vallejos, 1999:

Like the previous game this is taken from Richard Schollar's Tactics in the Opening database. Annotations are my own.

NN - Emil Jospeh Diemer, 1978:

Another quick win by Emil Joseph Diemer.

NN - Emil Joseph Diemer, 1978:

This 15-move miniature concludes today's selection.

I hope you enjoyed the games. If you did, please leave a like and make sure to check out my other blog posts as well. Thanks!