Busting the Stafford Gambit
Applying some lessons from IM Andras Toth
This wasn't a blunder-free game by any means, but I'm happy with how it turned out.
The Stafford Gambit is an unsound line of the Russian Defense where Black gambits a pawn to gain open lines. It's also notoriously trappy, as @EricRosen has demonstrated many many times on his stream. Thanks to his #content, this opening turns up a lot in <2000 and <1700 rated arenas.
I refer to it as "unsound" by the way, entirely due to the teachings of @IMAndrasToth (not my own analysis, I am Bad At Chess). See his video on this topic "Refuting Unsound Gambits" at the bottom of this entry.
Anyway, I was happy that finally I was able to execute the refutation - and ultimately deliver checkmate - in a rated game after practicing lines and variations for months (thank you, Lichess "private study" feature).
While I by no means played perfectly (Bad At Chess), I'd say in this game the refutation is pretty stark.
Check out IM Toth's video below. I highly recommend his content, especially the Amateur's Mind series.
