As a general note since people are asking, if Black plays 6.Be2 h5 in the main line, then White is completely winning after 7.c3 Ng4 8.d4 Qh4 9.g3 Qf6 10.Bf3.
this line needs to be covered in more detail given that 6...h5 is by far the mainline and there are still many traps after 10.Bf3: 10...Be6 11.dxc5?! Rd8 12.Qe2? Ne5 13. Bg2?? Nd3 10...Bd6 11.e5 Bxe5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Bg2?? Bg4 10...Bd7 11. dxc5 0-0-0 12.Qe2?? Ne5 These are white's most common responses according to lichess and all lead to losing positions. There is massive danger to taking black's bishop and allowing Ne5 & Bg4.
Hey, GM Hikaru. You've covered this, like since 2019, 2020. You've even done something of a course on this, and you've ranked think Gambit with IM Levy. Please link to those older videos since you've done that presentation. Thanks for your time.
@@DougTown Yup, agreed. I have played the "magical line" a TON of times and white often go wrong. Granted they are blitz and bullet games and I am not particularly high rated.
Rosen said he looked through his opponents match history and saw he had literally never played against the Stafford gambit. In a blitz tournament pulling out a gambit against a stronger opponent that you are fairly certain they don't know seems pretty smart IMO. Maybe in classical or rapid he could figure it out, but in 3 minutes not a chance.
In your analysis you didn't put that the gambit used get you to nearly a +2.0 disadvantage out of the gates. There is a sense in which this is a bit unprofessional. Since even if the opponent didn't have any games in it, they could have studied it and had the refutation, then Eric would have looked stupid. At that world class level play a gambit your opponent has not faced according to the records yes, but not one where you get to a disadvantage of nearly a +2.0 out of the gates.
@@elawchess I am simply pointing out the difference between people playing unsound gambits as their opening, and people having it in their arsenal and using it at the right time. Yes he is gambling here, there is a 20% chance this guy has come across this position in some un-recorded games, and in the 80% he hasn't another 20% chance he has looked into it anyways. But Eric is playing as black against someone over 200 elo higher than him. He is expected to have a below 25% winrate here. So playing an opening that there is like a 60% chance he gets a totally free win and a 40% chance the guy knows it and he loses on the spot is better than playing a normal opening where he has a 20% chance to win.
@@Fieryxjoe I don't know where you are getting the 20% and 80% from. Of course if those are the probabilities maybe it's OK to play it. I think Eric said he beat the same guy in the same tournament maybe in Rapid or something without gambit so it's not like Eric is really desperate and can't win without it. Playing it for content that he can put on his youtube channel looks like a better excuse for playing that. If it's a 1900 player doing that I can understand that better.
@@elawchess he also said that he would like to play the stafford at least once in this tournament, and this was his last game as black might as well do it for content. the fact that it had worked is a big bonus, and it helped him get recaps from Levy and Hikaru (another goal of his)
weak ass opening played by a weak ass player. Tbh jewish chess GM are the strongest in the world and we dont bother with these fake ass openings and fake ass masters. He got lucky tho. Am Israel Chai. I stand with the strongest country and chess players in the world. Shalom.
It's official, Stafford Gambit, Rosen variation ...for the win. What a stellar moment for Eric ...proving long-time Stafford naysayers wrong by defeating a GM. Proof is in the pudding.
We live for this moments, for the excitement of the risk of something new and bold. Whats is horrible is using the same tatics over and over and still gaining nothing from it.
I'm wondering now. If this is a dubious opening, and so bad that most titled players don't bother studying against it... What would happen if the Stafford were played against the top 10 Super GMs in a 3+2 Over the Board competition game? Say the person playing it was not Eric Rosen (to rule out any way the GM would deliberately study against this line) - say it was another IM. Would a Super GM be able to refute it with only 3 minutes on the clock (with increments)?
Thankfully Hikaru isn't actually covering the main line recommended by Eric Rosen and Jonathan Schrantz, where black goes h5 (on move 6) BEFORE moving the knight to g4. This often leads to the "magical variant" which is totally wild. The computer absolutely hates it but I personally have a winning record with it and the games are very fun.
@@GMHikaru After 7. c3, Ng4, 8. d4, Qh4, that is the "magical line" which Jonathan Schrantz in particular has made videos about. The computer hates it, but it leads to some very wild and fun lines, where white is objectively winning, but can very easily go wrong. I often find that people playing white often knows this refutation still get in trouble here. Usually the next moves are 9. g3, Qf6,10. f3, h4. Black has two pieces hanging, but the position is still dangerous for white. EDIT: Sorry, I now see the other comment you made!
In competitive StarCraft they have atta is called “cheeses” where you attempt to surprise the opponent with counterintuitive all in play. This seems like a chess equivalent.
It's been a while since we've gotten a collab with another chess creator and Eric knows sooooo many lines of the Stafford. I'd love a Hikaru Eric video (on other silly lines of this gambit or just on other meme openings Eric plays)
I think it's fair to say that....for ANY gambit, if opponent is prepared, then it's not good...that's why it's called a gambit...and if opponent is unprepared, then it can work. Perhaps Hikaru should remind us how he fared the first time he played against the Stafford, when he was unprepared?
i also enjoyed the tiny tidbit into Hikaru’s convo w his stepfather and how meme openings are affecting current trends in chess. we hear a lot about trends happening at the professional level. not so much at the cultural level where most of us play at.
Can you please make a Video like this one for beating the scandinavian defense? it’s so tough to play against and it always feels like im playing their game
My go to gambit, is the Rosseau gambit as black. You are right though, I likely should put more energy in sound openings or strategic play than trick chess.
Eric playing this opening was 90% strategy (he probably knows the Stafford better than anyone else, and he looked up his opponent's games) and 10% him being silly and a little devious (playing h5 instead of Qd4)
Stafford gambit is the most popular move in the Petrov with the highest win rate for black on Lichess. What's shown here is hardly a refutation. It's simply the main line. Black gets serious counterplay with the "magic line" Qh4 after white's c3, d4. I win much more against people who think they know "refutation" than those who play a random move that declines it.
I think it's much easier if white declines the gambit by playing 4.d4, not allowing any tricks and maintaining a large part of the advantage. The most common responses are Nxe4, where white basically wins after Qe2, or Nxe5 dxe5 Nxe4 and white can again play Qe2, followed by Nc3, Be3, 0-0-0 with a great position.
what areas did Eric teach in New York?? im from Upstate NY mohawk valley and im pretty sure i heard of him teaching around here but not for sure since its been 2 years ive been in school
Hikaru's next speed run should be with the Stafford Gambit (when he's playing Black and the Petrov is on the board). See how far he gets before sheer opposing skill and knowledge stop him.
I remember when Eric kept using this opening at Coffee Chess and he was getting crushed left right and center. I guess from time to time you get the odd opponent who falls for the booby-trap :\
5. f3 can be worth looking into. Got the idea from an Andras Toth video on TH-cam. The idea being - , Bc5 6. c3 Do NOT answer Be6 With c3, Nxe4 will make you sad! 😊
this openning annoyed me for sooomany games on lichess I couldnt understand why I was losing to it, im glade to know that its a "trick opening"/"gambit"/"chess-trap"...
Eric knows it's not a very good opening - has said so many times. But he'd already beaten Erenburg with the boring old London and played the Stafford for content.
gotta love these so called refutation, thats like the 5th video a big chess youtuber is making on this. The stafford gambit just won a game against a 2500 grandmaster and just saying some computer lines out loud will make a difference? lmao this is just a great opnening in blitz and people need to give credit to Rosen for making use of it instead of trying to put it down.
I thought I'd see more praise for Hikaru teaching us the refutation than the lots of comments and upvotes for IM Eric playing this dodgy opening in a serious tournament.
@@GMHikaru Yes, I know. To add context I'm 2300 in online blitz and decently familiar with the stafford refutations, even though I don't even play into the Petrov. My main point was that this video isn't very useful for people who are using it as a guide on how to play against the Stafford, as it misses blacks most sommon response. It's good that you posted a line as a pinned comment, though I'd argue that line continues a few moves further if black knows what they're doing, concretely: 10...Be6 11.h3 0-0-0 12.hxg4 hxg4 13.Rxh8 Rxh8 14.Bg2 Rh2 15.Kf1 Bd6 16.Kg1 Rxg2 17.Kxg2 and at this point blacks attack shouldn't work out. Btw I'd personally recommend 4.d4 as I think it's easier to play and still gives white a very good position.
As a general note since people are asking, if Black plays 6.Be2 h5 in the main line, then White is completely winning after 7.c3 Ng4 8.d4 Qh4 9.g3 Qf6 10.Bf3.
Thanks, this makes sense to, as you say, "slam the door" on the bishop.
this line needs to be covered in more detail given that 6...h5 is by far the mainline and there are still many traps after 10.Bf3:
10...Be6 11.dxc5?! Rd8 12.Qe2? Ne5 13. Bg2?? Nd3
10...Bd6 11.e5 Bxe5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Bg2?? Bg4
10...Bd7 11. dxc5 0-0-0 12.Qe2?? Ne5
These are white's most common responses according to lichess and all lead to losing positions. There is massive danger to taking black's bishop and allowing Ne5 & Bg4.
Hey, GM Hikaru. You've covered this, like since 2019, 2020. You've even done something of a course on this, and you've ranked think Gambit with IM Levy. Please link to those older videos since you've done that presentation.
Thanks for your time.
@@DougTown Yup, agreed. I have played the "magical line" a TON of times and white often go wrong. Granted they are blitz and bullet games and I am not particularly high rated.
Nice purple shirt. Bro is goated at looking like a full time surfer every morning.
My life is complete.
👑
You Sir are a legend. I will tell my kids about your tale one day.
Hikaru makes a video about your stafford. Is this a Rosen trophy?
"A masterpiece"
Love to see it.
Rosen said he looked through his opponents match history and saw he had literally never played against the Stafford gambit. In a blitz tournament pulling out a gambit against a stronger opponent that you are fairly certain they don't know seems pretty smart IMO. Maybe in classical or rapid he could figure it out, but in 3 minutes not a chance.
In your analysis you didn't put that the gambit used get you to nearly a +2.0 disadvantage out of the gates. There is a sense in which this is a bit unprofessional. Since even if the opponent didn't have any games in it, they could have studied it and had the refutation, then Eric would have looked stupid. At that world class level play a gambit your opponent has not faced according to the records yes, but not one where you get to a disadvantage of nearly a +2.0 out of the gates.
@@elawchess I am simply pointing out the difference between people playing unsound gambits as their opening, and people having it in their arsenal and using it at the right time. Yes he is gambling here, there is a 20% chance this guy has come across this position in some un-recorded games, and in the 80% he hasn't another 20% chance he has looked into it anyways.
But Eric is playing as black against someone over 200 elo higher than him. He is expected to have a below 25% winrate here. So playing an opening that there is like a 60% chance he gets a totally free win and a 40% chance the guy knows it and he loses on the spot is better than playing a normal opening where he has a 20% chance to win.
@@Fieryxjoe I don't know where you are getting the 20% and 80% from. Of course if those are the probabilities maybe it's OK to play it. I think Eric said he beat the same guy in the same tournament maybe in Rapid or something without gambit so it's not like Eric is really desperate and can't win without it. Playing it for content that he can put on his youtube channel looks like a better excuse for playing that. If it's a 1900 player doing that I can understand that better.
@@elawchess he also said that he would like to play the stafford at least once in this tournament, and this was his last game as black
might as well do it for content. the fact that it had worked is a big bonus, and it helped him get recaps from Levy and Hikaru (another goal of his)
@@TheOneWhoHasABadName Yes that's fine. Get that youtube content.
Everybody gangster until Eric Rosen spots a funny line…
which leads to stalemate
Then comes Hikaru..
Then boss music intensifies when he says "Oh no my queen!" then proceeds to checkmate.
Todays is Eric's happiest day ever.
That Rosen game was the highlight of the whole world championship for me.
same, it made my day, and the commentary for it with Jan was hilarious.
weak ass opening played by a weak ass player. Tbh jewish chess GM are the strongest in the world and we dont bother with these fake ass openings and fake ass masters. He got lucky tho. Am Israel Chai. I stand with the strongest country and chess players in the world. Shalom.
It's official, Stafford Gambit, Rosen variation ...for the win. What a stellar moment for Eric ...proving long-time Stafford naysayers wrong by defeating a GM. Proof is in the pudding.
ai generated ahh comment
It was great fun to watch Eric win with the Stafford and there's nothing wrong with that.
Eric said his only hope of the tournament was to have Hikuaru to cover this game I'm so happy he did this
Where is my "todaayyysssssssss"? 😢
I thought there was a hair on my screen. Or an eyelash.
We live for this moments, for the excitement of the risk of something new and bold.
Whats is horrible is using the same tatics over and over and still gaining nothing from it.
Hikaru blunders right at the beginning of the video. For "TODAYYYYYYS" video was the best move.
"Thou shall not play the Stafford Gambit , unless you are Mr. Stafford ( Eric Rosen ) himself " 😊 .
"thou shalt" is the correct conjugation ;-)
Eric is somewhere smiling ear to ear and he should be. What a great day and great win for a great guy.
He also said in an interview one of his hopes for the tournament was to get covered by hikaru or one of the other major channels
☺
@@eric-rosen its the man himself!
Chances with 50 years it gets called Rosen gambit?
That's what I call it
You saying “today’s video” instead of “todayyyyyyys video” made me feel unwell
I'll tell my grandchildren that if anyone won the Blitz championship in 2024 it was Eric Rosen playing the Stafford Gambit.
2:26 I just love that there's an opening carrying my name
😂😂😂😂
I'm wondering now. If this is a dubious opening, and so bad that most titled players don't bother studying against it... What would happen if the Stafford were played against the top 10 Super GMs in a 3+2 Over the Board competition game? Say the person playing it was not Eric Rosen (to rule out any way the GM would deliberately study against this line) - say it was another IM. Would a Super GM be able to refute it with only 3 minutes on the clock (with increments)?
Thankfully Hikaru isn't actually covering the main line recommended by Eric Rosen and Jonathan Schrantz, where black goes h5 (on move 6) BEFORE moving the knight to g4. This often leads to the "magical variant" which is totally wild. The computer absolutely hates it but I personally have a winning record with it and the games are very fun.
As I commented above, if black goes h5 then White plays c3 and is winning.
@@GMHikaru After 7. c3, Ng4, 8. d4, Qh4, that is the "magical line" which Jonathan Schrantz in particular has made videos about. The computer hates it, but it leads to some very wild and fun lines, where white is objectively winning, but can very easily go wrong. I often find that people playing white often knows this refutation still get in trouble here. Usually the next moves are 9. g3, Qf6,10. f3, h4. Black has two pieces hanging, but the position is still dangerous for white.
EDIT: Sorry, I now see the other comment you made!
He wasn't aware of the memes, so he became one
In competitive StarCraft they have atta is called “cheeses” where you attempt to surprise the opponent with counterintuitive all in play. This seems like a chess equivalent.
0:12 *mega famous and handsome, soon to be, grandmaster* eric rosen
Very evil openning
These type of videos are honestly so educational, especially the way Hikaru explains them.
Hikaru totally spoiling Rosen's best opening. I love it.
nah, he didn't even touch on the main line
Eric: Oh no my opening!
@@MaxIronsThird The h5 line is refuted by c3.
@@nr1771 well, that's not "refuting", that's going to a completely different opening.
@@nr1771 The refutation is much more complicated than c3, go see some of Eric games, white still has to be really precise to defend himself.
great educational video on both the gambit, its refutation and most of all how important it is to develop sound fundamentals.
It's been a while since we've gotten a collab with another chess creator and Eric knows sooooo many lines of the Stafford. I'd love a Hikaru Eric video (on other silly lines of this gambit or just on other meme openings Eric plays)
I love playing this one. Admittedly I lose with black significantly more than my standard London with white.
Eric's life is now complete!!!
I'm flattered by your heart Hikaru!
I think it's fair to say that....for ANY gambit, if opponent is prepared, then it's not good...that's why it's called a gambit...and if opponent is unprepared, then it can work. Perhaps Hikaru should remind us how he fared the first time he played against the Stafford, when he was unprepared?
I think he sacked the ROOK!
It is, but some gambits are still perfectly playable if refuted. At this level, if white refutes it, black can almost just resign.
Great to see this sort of educational content. I really like things like this. Thanks!
i also enjoyed the tiny tidbit into Hikaru’s convo w his stepfather and how meme openings are affecting current trends in chess. we hear a lot about trends happening at the professional level. not so much at the cultural level where most of us play at.
Can you please make a Video like this one for beating the scandinavian defense? it’s so tough to play against and it always feels like im playing their game
This was great! Could you do a break down refuting the Halloween gambit, since so many people are trying it now?
8:43 that would make it the Stafford Gambit's Gambit
Eric is fantastic. Skilled, humble.
My go to gambit, is the Rosseau gambit as black. You are right though, I likely should put more energy in sound openings or strategic play than trick chess.
Eric playing this opening was 90% strategy (he probably knows the Stafford better than anyone else, and he looked up his opponent's games) and 10% him being silly and a little devious (playing h5 instead of Qd4)
Eric Rosen fan club like this comment!! ⚡️ ⬇️⚡️
As someone who doesn’t feel much of anything, I feel very bad for the gm that fell for this trap
Dammit hikaru got me on the intro 😂I went to yell TODAAAAAAAAY and got duped
11:00 can’t black play …Bg4+
Threatening taking the rook or the king on a ride with further checks by the Q?
Stafford gambit is the most popular move in the Petrov with the highest win rate for black on Lichess. What's shown here is hardly a refutation. It's simply the main line. Black gets serious counterplay with the "magic line" Qh4 after white's c3, d4. I win much more against people who think they know "refutation" than those who play a random move that declines it.
Great video!
I think it's much easier if white declines the gambit by playing 4.d4, not allowing any tricks and maintaining a large part of the advantage.
The most common responses are Nxe4, where white basically wins after Qe2, or Nxe5 dxe5 Nxe4 and white can again play Qe2, followed by Nc3, Be3, 0-0-0 with a great position.
Thanks Professor! This opening by stronger players have been troubling me - now more confident!
what areas did Eric teach in New York?? im from Upstate NY mohawk valley and im pretty sure i heard of him teaching around here but not for sure since its been 2 years ive been in school
I lost so many times to this gambit that I ended up checking it on the computer. The key move is c3 (to go d4) when white goes h5.
You forgot the ‘Oh No My Queen’ trap: 5. d3 Bc5 6. Bg5 Nxe4! (if 7. Bxd8, Bxf2+ 8. Ke2 forced and Bg4#)
Watching Hikaru get all the stafford lines is hilarious. Also where’s the refutation? The magic lines goes way way deeper than
Hikaru's next speed run should be with the Stafford Gambit (when he's playing Black and the Petrov is on the board). See how far he gets before sheer opposing skill and knowledge stop him.
Hikaru himself played the unsound 1.e4.e5. 2.Qh5 early in his carreer.
8:10 bars
I wouldn't mind more of these refutation videos. Everyone should eventually learn how to deal with these types of gambits.
Stafford Gambit speedrun! Do it! Do it nao!
1:23 This is a terrible opening?? Coming from the man who plays The Bongcloud?? 😆
Suggesting Eric Rosen shouldn't play the Stafford Gambit in serious tournaments is like telling Levy he shouldn't play the Caro-Kann.
Rosen unlocked the "Troll Hikaru" Stafford trophy..
Bro really said those who struggle with visualization process
Yes we do
The easiest refutation is Nxc6 dxc6 e5 Ne4 d4! and white is just much better and black doesn’t have any big traps
I remember when Eric kept using this opening at Coffee Chess and he was getting crushed left right and center. I guess from time to time you get the odd opponent who falls for the booby-trap :\
I use an even better refutation of this gambit: exclusively play 1d4 as white
Thanks Hikaru
"You're gonna like the way you look. I guarantee it."
--Men's Warehouse
I really like how seriously Hikaru takes chess
Why does bro take a pause and stare at my soul before saying welcome back guys
5. f3 can be worth looking into.
Got the idea from an Andras Toth video on TH-cam.
The idea being - , Bc5 6. c3
Do NOT answer Be6 With c3, Nxe4 will make you sad! 😊
Somebody told me never play f3
Didn't know you were in fkn Squid Games 2?! Niiice Hikaru
13:27 most people are going to play ng4.. lol
most people are going to play h5.. lol
That shirt is sick. I'd love to know where he got that.
U should record how to refute alien gambit...
Men's Wearhouse gambit on deck.
this openning annoyed me for sooomany games on lichess I couldnt understand why I was losing to it, im glade to know that its a "trick opening"/"gambit"/"chess-trap"...
OH NO, MY CONTENT
Rosen gets his flowers
Something is missing in the intro...
Is the Stafford the new QG?
What you should do is do a video or stream whatever you want, make a new account and see how far you go without losing. It's been cool.
how is h1 checkmate at 7:13
I guess that it is Qh2 or Qh3 first (if white doesn't do anything) and when the king moves down the board then you play Qh1+#
where is h5 line
Thanks for disarming my beautiful Stafford and telling everyone what to Play against me!
I love good old BWC
Thumbnail is savage
noooo don't tell people the refutation :((
Lots of GMs/IMs don't even watch YT
@koalabrownie the people I play do though
All i remember in the stafford gambit is very evil opening
wtf, he didn't go tuhDAAAYS video, he just said today... end of an era
Eric knows it's not a very good opening - has said so many times. But he'd already beaten Erenburg with the boring old London and played the Stafford for content.
Sir pls analyze a4 opening of Brandon Jacobson its interesting.
8:00 Refute
Stafford gambit, Rosen variation
Have you acted in Squid Game 2 as Choi Woo-seok?
gotta love these so called refutation, thats like the 5th video a big chess youtuber is making on this. The stafford gambit just won a game against a 2500 grandmaster and just saying some computer lines out loud will make a difference? lmao this is just a great opnening in blitz and people need to give credit to Rosen for making use of it instead of trying to put it down.
Improper introduction, I need my FOR TOOODAAAAAYS VIDEOOO!
Hikarus doppelgänger was in squid games
I thought I'd see more praise for Hikaru teaching us the refutation than the lots of comments and upvotes for IM Eric playing this dodgy opening in a serious tournament.
Why wasn't 6...h5 covered? It's literally the main line with 60-80% of games.
6...h5 7.c3 is winning for White.
It's not so easy for white, eric has some damgerous ideas against c3@@GMHikaru
@@GMHikaru Yes, I know. To add context I'm 2300 in online blitz and decently familiar with the stafford refutations, even though I don't even play into the Petrov.
My main point was that this video isn't very useful for people who are using it as a guide on how to play against the Stafford, as it misses blacks most sommon response.
It's good that you posted a line as a pinned comment, though I'd argue that line continues a few moves further if black knows what they're doing, concretely:
10...Be6 11.h3 0-0-0 12.hxg4 hxg4 13.Rxh8 Rxh8 14.Bg2 Rh2 15.Kf1 Bd6 16.Kg1 Rxg2 17.Kxg2 and at this point blacks attack shouldn't work out.
Btw I'd personally recommend 4.d4 as I think it's easier to play and still gives white a very good position.
@@eriksteffahn6172ignored you hahahahsha
“Welcome back…for” what?????
Hello Hikaru
Lots of love from india❤
Thanks for the non cringe intro. always appreciated