When did you last attend a buffet?
It has certainly been a while. Chess players tend to behave well at buffets, because they know the buffet rules: ‘touch move’ and ‘touch take.’ However, nobody could have foreseen just how dangerous buffets would become.
Until we can attend standard buffets again, you may be interested in a brand new and very special Gambit Buffet which has just been served up by our friends at chess24.
Grandmaster Simon Williams, who joined the Play Magnus Group at the start of this month, is back – and he has more than enough gambits to go round. Help yourself to a plate – you should already know how to find the forks – and prepare for a feast of attacking chess.
Gambit Buffet is a series of attacking games with video commentary by Simon. All of the games are entertaining and instructive. Simon’s style of presentation is ideal for such sharp battles and he brings the games alive in typical fashion. Gambit Buffet is very accessible to relative newcomers to chess.
16 Gambit Games
There are 16 games and they all start with 1.e4. It is good to see Frank Marshall, one of the most entertaining players in chess history, featuring in two of the games. Furthermore, he immediately comes out fighting with the Wing Gambit against Black’s Sicilian Defense.
Frank Marshall – Stodie
US, 1920
Marshall could whip up an early attack from any opening (including the Petroff Defense) and when he starts the ball rolling as early as the second move then it is potentially very bad news for the opponent.
As Simon correctly observes, Marshall has an excellent position after just seven moves, due to his extra space and fine pawn centre. Despite playing a gambit, he is not even a pawn down.
Two more moves down the line (7…Nge7 8.Bd3 0-0) and Marshall already has the opportunity to unleash the most famous of all sacrifices against the castled king.
White to Play
I am not giving the answer here as it would be preferable for relative chess newcomers to have the opportunity to ponder the possibilities in this position. Whether you know the answer or not, it is a good idea to head to the Gambit Buffet to enjoy Simon’s lively coverage of the action.
Right; who wants seconds…?
More for Less
Now look; don’t tell anyone who told you, but for those of you who are tempted to tuck into the Gambit Buffet then you can get 40% off with this code SIMON40 by clicking here.
Head to the GingerGM Twitch channel for more chess instruction from Simon Williams, including coverage of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour.
