Chess Openings: Learn to Play the Hippopotamus Defense

[@TheChessGiant]

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[@alancoe1002]

This was the favorite opening, as Black, of Genrihk Chepukaitis, Russian Master, who Grandmasters feared at speed chess. As White, he played the Trompowsky. Thanks, Solomon.

[@TheChessGiant]

Nice! Thanks Alan!

[@thehyperfinestructure6550]

Thanks for telling this man, I can look up his games and see how this opening is played!

[@SuperQBoi]

I'm just getting back into chess, I used to play years ago in Highschool (even went to State for it). I for the life of me can't remember the opening I always preferred to play. I remember it stacked the bishops atop of each other in the same column (I want to say above the King but might of been atop the Queen, I can't recall), any idea as to what opening it was?

[@alexmiller3220]

.

[@eastenhenry6608]

Bro i quit chess altogether got so frustrated and since I’ve found this video series im back, thanks again man! I love how u explain the ideas and the whys behind the moves and not just the moves, that’s helped me so much.

[@TheChessGiant]

Oh wow! Well hey I'm glad this video helped you get back into it! Chess can be frustrating but it is a beautiful game - and the feeling of improvement is improving. Let me know how I can help you in your journey!

[@CainCalifornia]

I have been using this as a beginner/intermediate to switch it up from the Caro Kann and French and it has worked for me a lot. It's also very easy for me to play the move order and monitor so it saves me a bit more time while white is usually the one who has to think of how they are going to play against it. It also helps that not a lot of people at my rating seem to know this opening and because of those reasons I think this has become my favorite opening for black.

[@TheChessGiant]

That's awesome, it really is a great chess opening that you can play from either side... you might also want to try out the Crab Opening which is the same thing but just starting with h4/a4 or h5/a5... I thought it was bad cuz... well... yaknow h4 and a4 but if you play the system right after these moves it is surprisingly good.

[@zeebest1004]

5:44 - After H setup (pre O-O), …g5 .

[@Re2OnlyMove]

Hey there ! The move order DOES matter in some specific situations. A game i had which is VERY worth to study if you want to play the hippo: 1.e4 g6 2.Nf3 Bg7 3.d4 d6 4.Bc4 a6 5.0-0 Nd7 6. Bxf7 !! wins on the spot because of me not playing e6 before Nd7. A super important thing to know since it loses on the stop. General guideline i now follow is "e6 before Nd7" to prevent the bishop sacrifice.

[@TheChessGiant]

Very true Leon! Thanks for sharing this Leon. I am planning on making another (and more in depth) Hippopotamus Defense video and I would love to include what you just shared if you're cool with that.

[@Re2OnlyMove]

@@TheChessGiant of course !!

[@alancoe1002]

I appreciate that bit about e6 before Nd7. Yes, you just can't bang out 8moves whatever. Nice point.

[@tomaspena5329]

I put this down on the board, to see what happens. That smothered queen is brutal bahaha. This is the first opening i've ever wanted to learn after Hikaru's queen's gambit series. Looking forward to using it as main opening for black. Thanks @The Chess Giant

[@Re2OnlyMove]

@@tomaspena5329 yes ! I felt pain

[@skyeruddell3196]

I've been waiting for you to cover this one!

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks for telling me about it!

[@ProjectHMF]

Been watching your content for a while and learning a lot from it. It was about time, im finally trying the hippo out :)

[@TheChessGiant]

Ayy I hope you like it! The Hippo is OP! I will say it's not for everyone, but some players really thrive with it and love the positions it gives, myself being one of them :)

[@RoaringJaguar]

Excellent video! I learned a lot. Thank you.

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks! And you got it! I also recommend you watch the following video as I made some slight tweaks to the first one I ever made, which is the one you just watched! kzbin.info/www/bejne/fpjWeYaBa7qqn6c

[@noirkitkat]

your channel is so underrated I really hope you get more recognition cuz your videos are so full of information and you have a very soothing voice as well witch puts the icing on the cake, keep it up man much love

[@TheChessGiant]

Thank you!

[@mikethomas6566]

Excellent coverage of the hippo! Think it may give another interesting strategy off of the Owen’s defense. Thanks for going over the Tony Miles game... helps putting it in additional context

[@jerebear6987]

Adding this bad boy to the repertoire. Much obliged chess giant!

[@TheChessGiant]

Ayy thanks brotha! Let me know if there's any other chess openings you'd want to see covered!

[@zeebest1004]

5:42 - g5 attack line with …Nf6, …Qe7, …Nde5 and (Nxb5)-Bxe5 etc.

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks for sharing this!

[@kalistadrake5226]

Thanks for the video. I personally have played the Hippo many times even against engines and have won plenty of games! It's a great weapon against even those who are familiar with it because there really is no good reply to it. In the book by Alessio DeSantis he says that we should avoid playing the Hippo vs. the Four pawns attack, but I have even won games with that position as well... Against my engine !! I play with Chessmaster for PS2 and it's pretty tough. I have liked and subscribed. Again, thanks for sharing this amazing opening! Many people will benefit from it!

[@Grandcapi]

Alessio's book is good, or very good because one of my games is there LOL.

[@TheChessGiant]

Nice!! That's super cool.

[@TheChessGiant]

Hey Kalista! You got it. Awesome you enjoyed it and thanks for the great resource! Keep it up!

[@FloatingSunfish]

Beautiful opening! 😎👌🏻 One of the best underrated openings ever!

[@TheChessGiant]

Couldn't agree more with you!

[@Quittriping]

My opening, tons of thanks for your explanation

[@TheChessGiant]

No problem Noah! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@jasonwolfe2991]

Very interesting. I've been using the colle system for white and have been struggling to figure out something I like for black, and I'm definitely going to try this!

[@TheChessGiant]

Hey Jason. Super glad to hear you're finding the videos helpful man. How do you feel about the Colle System? Hows the Hippo going?

[@jasonwolfe2991]

@@TheChessGiant hi, it's hard for me to tell since I'm so new at chess and haven't won a lot of games. I think the colle is a bit easier than the hippo, but my plan now is to use an easier opening for a beginner and keep studying and once I see some improvement play some games with the hippo again and see what happens. 🤷‍♂️

[@TheChessGiant]

@@jasonwolfe2991 Totally! Ya this is a good approach. Just keep your eye out for openings, and if you like it, play it. A lot of chess players/coaches will tell you that you have to play e4 or e5. But, I personally disagree. I think you will enjoy chess and play your best chess when you play something you LIKE. It's not about what the computer says, but if you feel comfortable in a positoin. Comfortability = Better Results. Anyways I'll stop ranting haha but that's my 2 cents.

[@davidlovesrecess6243]

I love the examples and explanations you made. This video helps me a lot in chess!

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks David! Appreciate the kind words, and I'm glad this video could help! More Hippo stuff on the way, I'm planning on releasing one Hippo game a month which should be fun.

[@zeebest1004]

As for move order, when white does d4 and/or e4 I find it wise to immediately setup your Hippo center pawns - if they push either pawn before you do you won’t be able to …e6 if they d5, or …d6 if they e5. If they push either you can lock the center or do something else I don’t understand yet! I have most success by setting up the Hippo pawns in the same or nearby files of the squares white moves ANY piece to. ALSO, always …h6 after the c1 bishop file is opened - usually after d3 or d4. Also, usually …a6 if the g1 diagonal opens - or their Queen gets in that file. Otherwise white will attack the K or Q, just to thwart your Hippo setup - and/or whatever other plan. At least that seems to always work for me - just to establish the complete Hippo setup. It seems advanced players strive to prevent the Hippo setup. If I can complete the complete Hippo setup I find I can usually match better players…

[@TheChessGiant]

GREAT thoughts here!! And ya, this was made at the beginning of my "Hippo journey," - I saw Stockfish didn't care about allowing Bh6 so I thought "eh it's fine....." It is definetely NOT fine lol and you are 100% correct that we need to play h6, the bishops are the heart of the Hippo and we also need to keep our structure solid!

[@iweirjkdkfmk]

Yeeey what a nice video,I am a stubborn hippo player and have to say that quite often I'm getting my opponents into positions in which they are just completely passive and have almost no breakthrough- little do I always know that according to engine I'm just always worse, but the psychological pressure black has can play a role. Try to play this set-up with a6 on a first move, it can totally throw your opponent off

[@TheChessGiant]

I should try that move order with a6! I've been playing this opening a ton lately as well, but I usually start with g6 and Bg7... I will try a6 I like that move order

[@iweirjkdkfmk]

@@TheChessGiant CHahcha yes for blitz it can be fun. The problem I'm facing in a late game is that if hippo closes the position, white is always one who can open it with for example sacrificing a pawn and hippo is kinda just laying in a mud waiting for its destiny. It was nicely shown in a video /watch?v=yTI2pjJU7bg

[@TheChessGiant]

Ya totally! I’ve seen some GM’s play it in tournament games but black has to be ready to push first with c5 or f5.... in blitz we can probably sit but in a longer game we also have to fight for the control of the center a little bit I think.

[@firefeathers8121]

What about rating? Is hippo that good? Im queen gambit player rated 1450 and looking for something unusual

[@iweirjkdkfmk]

@@firefeathers8121 It is stupid opening of course, but for some reason I love it. Hippo (and Dutch) got me to 2150 rapid rating on lichess. For unusual opening you can try Owens opening or on your level is good to know a few lines in Scandinavian

[@mannyv.2769]

Very nice! I've always favored the knights over the bishops, so this would work for me.

[@TheChessGiant]

Nice Manny!

[@domonkosszakaly4328]

Great video, was very instructive and interesting!:)

[@TheChessGiant]

Hi Domonkos, glad you enjoyed it!

[@kylecomber6371]

I’m just getting into chess and I’m intrigued with hippo as I signed up with club. Just studying now. Find this very useful

[@TheChessGiant]

Hey Kyle! That is super dope you are just getting into chess! It's a really fun game - you and I think similarly as I like the Hippo as well. Would there be any videos I could make that would be helpful for you?

[@kylecomber6371]

Yes a recommendation of another defensive opening that I can try out because I’m comfortable with being aggressive but it challenges me being defensive as I’m waiting to counter every move

[@MrAiyer]

Hey Solomon, could you consider making an additional video on the Hippo when white challenges our set up?

[@TheChessGiant]

Hey Amit, sorry for super late response. We got 8 out so far and four more on the way!

[@khaeshchess3186]

Your voice over is top notch. Do you do twitch? Excellent content

[@TheChessGiant]

Hey, thank you my friend! I do not but we plan to launch onto Twitch in 2022. I'm glad you're enjoying it, always feel free to send me any chess content you'd want to see!

[@edmundhilgen3795]

Thanks for sharing hippo chess opening.

[@TheChessGiant]

No problem Edmund!

[@Isti115]

The c in "fianchetto" is a hard k sound instead as far as I know. Thanks for the video on this opening, I became interested after Eric Rosen's "Don't mess with the hippo" video. 😀

[@TheChessGiant]

Ya! There's two pronunciations of it and that's one of them! And of course, that video he made on it was great!

[@edoardoquerci406]

Actually, fianchetto is an italian word and being italian I confirm that the one and only correct pronounciation is with "k".

[@mcronrn]

Thx for presenting the Hippo!

[@rayirving4215]

Thanx got this. I have a friend who loves this opening

[@TheChessGiant]

You're very welcome brotha, and that's cool!

[@icehound6763]

Very nice video. I hope to see more good content from your channel.

[@TheChessGiant]

Ayy thanks man! Yup we got more coming out! Today we just posted another Hippo Opening video but played by Simon Williams! Zero pressure, but I'll drop the link just in case it is of interest for you. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bX-8lJegf76ep7s

[@bridge716]

Just discovered this channel and tbh, it's kinda sick

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks brotha!

[@OregonMikeH]

Huge Thumbs Up! Always so greatly enjoying your productions. Such a Series is so Outstanding. Thank You!! As Always, wishing Blessings your way from Oregon. ... Mike.

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks Mike! Glad you're liking the Hippopotamus Defense series! Another one coming tomorrow. Blessings to you as well!

[@gpanther5280]

Why does'nt this channel have mores subs and veiws its so useful.

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks man, I really appreciate the kind words!

[@aspoonfulofknowledge]

Love it! I play this defense all the time. From Pirc to Modern to the Hippo. However, you said white can play this too? Never thought about that, and is there an advantage to that? Does one not lose tempo by using the Hippo for white as an opening? Maybe you can do a video on that? Thanks for your time on this!!

[@TheChessGiant]

He brotha! So ya white can totally play this setup. White doesn't lose a tempo, but actually gains a tempo compared to playing it with black since white makes the first move. There's really nothing black can do from stopping white from playing this setup. I would say that white needs to be okay with having a quiet game for awhile.... one of the advantages of the hippo is that it is dangerous when attacked... which is why most prefer it as black

[@roland.j.ruttledge]

Love it. My new Way. Many thanks UK

[@TheChessGiant]

You're very welcome! Good on you for learning/playing the Hippo!

[@thomaskoukouris4070]

its crazy ive been playing this opening for months which i though i develoiped and didnt know it was an opening i feel smart now

[@TheChessGiant]

Hey Thomas! Dang that's crazy you made it up! It's a great system I play it all the time.

[@torrubirubi]

Great video, thanks!

[@TheChessGiant]

Glad you enjoyed it Eusou! Let me know if there's any other chess openings you would want to see on the channel!

[@WorldChessComunity-gh3xx]

it is a great tutorial, Thank you

[@TheChessGiant]

Thank you! I appreciate it! (I also do want to mention that I did get something wrong!) Against the bishop going to e3 and the queen going to d2, I didn't have black play h6 which is a practical mistake! Black is technically okay, but black needs to play h6 there to keep the bishop out!)

[@julienmcat]

I was waiting for this one!

[@SaugaSen]

Saw Magnus play this in blitz I wanna try this now so I’m here

[@TheChessGiant]

Nice!

[@tehPlay3r]

Great analysis, subscribed for more!

[@TheChessGiant]

Ayy thanks Marcin, welcome to the fam!

[@gabriellouisetti5033]

great video as usual!! only, I miss the expected Hippo's national geographic documentary! :D

[@TheChessGiant]

Sorry for SUPER late response Gabriel! Glad you enjoyed it brotha!

[@brasileirosim5961]

Solomon, in your explanations to the defense I wonder why you didn’t play …h6 to prevent Bh6 (later you even mentioned that …a6 and …h6 are often played in the hippo). Would you allow the exchange of bishops, and if yes, why? Thanks for the great video! I began to learn the hippo in Chessable, but there are a lot of deviations of the hippo setup, making quite challenging to learn the opening. It seems that the most challenging setup for white is d4 and c4, and not to put the queen and bishop at the same diagonal (to exchange on h6), as black can often gain the bishop pair.

[@TheChessGiant]

Hey! Glad you enjoyed the video. You bring up a great point and I actually made a mistake here when I made this! I had just learned the Hippo at the time and I wasn't too worried about Bh6 ideas at the time. Most openings we don't worry about it, but with the Hippo we need to hold the fort! Great ideas you just shared - keep it up!

[@brasileirosim5961]

Solomon, I have a few questions about your course. If I bought it, I will have access to the course in your website, or do I have to download it? I am working since years with Chessable, where everything is just ready to go. (Ir are planning to publish your course in Chessable? Probably not, right?) . Anyway, thanks for the videos, I am really sick of learning too much theory, and the Hippo seems to be a nice set up to play.I usually play the Alekhine, so I am used to the idea of having less space and to counterattack.

[@iaindooley9275]

You mention that the move order doesn’t matter but I have found if people come out with bishops early you can lose the centre if you do your fianchettos first. Also if you start a fianchetto and don’t finish it you can lose your rooks

[@TheChessGiant]

This is true!

[@xingchilee7078]

Great vid!

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks brotha!

[@TheChessGiant]

My 6+ Hour Hippo Course! thechessgiant.gumroad.com/l/hippopotamusdefensecourse

[@REKKnives]

Great video!! Quick question... At 3:25 in vid, if white plays kb5, black b5, white Bb5 wouldn't this leave white in a good position locking the knight down at D7, albeit temporarily?

[@TheChessGiant]

Hey just seeing this! (Trying to catch up on comments) Ya I think black is still okay there with 0-0 and Rxa5 ideas in the air. Bxb5 and then Nxb5 is also an interesting try for white. Hope this helps!

[@jenebelbantayan4165]

Thanks maestro!

[@TheChessGiant]

You're very welcome!

[@marywoo5928]

Great video!

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks Mary! I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@petersambrini6693]

Nice work. How would this fair against a more attacking opening though. White is very slow in your example?

[@TheChessGiant]

Good question! I think many times the Hippo looks like it's going against passive openings because the Hippo is really hard to attack since it doesn't have many weaknesses! But that is a good question Peter, I think oftentimes if white is too aggressive in breaking open the center the bishop pair will become alive as long as the knights on e7 and d7. I am hoping to make a video soon though on how to play against the Hippo which may be helpful for Hippo players as well.

[@nacausbr8664]

that opening in bullwt is insane

[@TheChessGiant]

FACTS.

[@harshrupani7196]

At 9:59 is rook take b2 good coz bishop takes knight and fork queen and rook and can win a pawn

[@yousef54ai]

I play this opening with knowing what its called just felt right for me :)

[@TheChessGiant]

That's dope! 🦛🦛

[@Kindred1a1]

It's called Hippo but it feel like a snake coiled up ready to explode lol Saw your gameplay video wrecking people with this opening and it got me curious : - At the final position at 1:44, what do you recommend as a plan if White uses the Queen bishop battery to get the dark-squared bishop out? Intuitively, I would want to push the pawns for a kingside pawn storm, castle queenside if necessary and start bringing my forces to that side. Is there a different/better way to proceed?

[@TheChessGiant]

Hey! Ya I actually want to make a video on this and plan to release it soon! So, when I first started learning the Hippo (this video) I wasn't too worried about Bh6, but I now am very much. In fact, white gets so many benefits by playing it I don't allow it. So, if I see Be3 and Qd2, I play h6 immediately as it's supported now by the bishop AND the rook, preventing Bh6 at all. And I play a6 the moment I see Bd3 and Qe2. And then ya, a common idea there is playing g5 and Ng6 (after h6) or b5 and Nb6 (after a6). Something to keep in mind is that often e4 will lack defense if a bishop is on e3, so against a setup with a bishop on e3, an f5 push is sometimes good, adding pressure to the weak pawn. Videos on these ideas coming soon... but hope this helps in the meantime! Thanks.

[@Kindred1a1]

@@TheChessGiant Ok sick that makes sense. Thanks for the response and looking forward to your next video!

[@meteowite72]

@10:29 wouldn't it be better to take with bishop? Even if they push pawn to attack the queen you take the rook after they take your queen.

[@TheChessGiant]

Great question! Ya taking with the bishop is far from a mistake but I think the white queen could just step over one square. Hard for black to keep making progress there. However, by taking with the pawn the knight on d1 has no way of getting out anytime soon, we keep pressure on b2 with the bishop, and the g-file is now open. We are really just trying to give white more potential issues they have to deal with. Hope this helps!

[@Trudragon88]

You should do a speed run with the hippo

[@TheChessGiant]

Once I get an offical speedrun account with Chess.com, this is my first go-to series!

[@johnp845]

is there a slightly different move order for the hippo (when playing as black), depending on whether white plays e4 or d4 first? thank you !

[@TheChessGiant]

Hey John! Great question. I would say against e4 or d4 I would personally go with g6, Bg7, d6, a6, and then continue from there how you'd like... maybe with Nd7 and e6 and Ne7 and b6 and Bb7? Those last 5 moves in terms of the order don't matter a ton usually but that's what I would go with. Maybe through castling somewhere in there too. After that, or even during, h6 and a6 are always good options to slow down white's attacking chances.

[@bladmorane7613]

GREAT TRUE STUFF AS ALWAYSA, YOUR CANADIAN RUSSIAN FAN

[@TheChessGiant]

Thank you my brotha!!

[@mikejameson7678]

11:30 Isn't f3 better? It looks devastating. Sure enough, I let the engine run a little, and it found f3 to be -M11

[@TheChessGiant]

f3 is NASTY!

[@asminmoktan883]

Thank you

[@TheChessGiant]

You got it Asmin!

[@freddym223]

i'm not a high rated player ,but have played hundred's of hippo's . but i need to know why you would play .......Ne7 allowing white to play Bh6 ? please help me understand . thank you ! great video !

[@TheChessGiant]

Hey Freddy! Could you send me a timestamp? Thanks!

[@freddym223]

@@TheChessGiantsorry but i don't know what a time stamp is

[@TheChessGiant]

Zero worries! So basically it's just when you type what specific time you want me to look at in the video. So if it's at 1 minute and 30 seconds, you can type 1:30 and then I can click that.

[@TheChessGiant]

But also that's funny I went to 1:30 and I see where you are talking about. Ya h6 may be better to play honestly before Ne7. I mean if Bh6 we can always castle kingside and prepare to capture back with our king. But ya h6 is good before playing Ne7!

[@freddym223]

thank you very much@@TheChessGiant ! your the best . and i have all the hippo books . i'm gonna to figure out how to get your course . not sure if it's a dvd or what .

[@edibleanimals4392]

Thanks for the opening! Time to confuse people with the hippo!

[@TheChessGiant]

Thank you! Let me know how it goes!

[@jeffprai]

I have never won a game playing the hippo yet I thought it would be fun and easy system to learn but so far it’s been nothing but frustration

[@TheChessGiant]

Sorry to hear Jeff. I gave you a longer response to one of your other comments. Let me know your thoughts.

[@shubhamkumarmajhi8943]

Great opening now i know which opening i can play to troll my friends😂

[@jerrafordsalvana5020]

A favorite defense of Duncan Suttles

[@TheChessGiant]

Didn't know this!!

[@luukienquoc1251]

hippo is the dopest

[@Mike-VR]

Hi Solomon, what do you consider to be the best resources to learn the Hippo .... Other than your own videos of course😀

[@TheChessGiant]

Hey Michael! I heard the Ginger GM just dropped a course of Chessable! Outside of that I'm not sure. I'm looking to make a course soon as well! Maybe a book too.

[@Mike-VR]

@@TheChessGiant Bought it! It's based on the book by de Santis. Thanks for your time in replying 😃👍🏻

[@mlayte]

Hi, I’ve had some opponents playing white open with b3, Bb2. Do you have a recommendation regarding this or should I just choose another opening?

[@TheChessGiant]

Hey! Ya it's interesting because two hippos can't play against one another as the bishop pairs would obviously intersect... if you wanted to, you could play b6/Bb7/e6/d6/Nd7/Ne7 - usually at some point white would play d4 and in that case you are free to finish out your Hippo with g6 and Bg7... and if not maybe you play e5 eventually to give yourself the breathing room. Just a couple of thoughts if you're wanting to still try for the Hippo!

[@TheVet414]

I can't stop playing this def!! Lol!! Some figure it out, MOST dont!

[@TheChessGiant]

THAT'S RIGHT!!! 🦛🦛🦛🦛

[@dea-animator1906]

5:37 what i play ofton is queen f8 and after that pawn f5

[@TheChessGiant]

Queen f8? The queen is unable to get there... do you mean c8?

[@prodyumnasinghabijoy7048]

There is a game of leela c 0. Where lc0 played hippo.

[@TheChessGiant]

Oh interesting! Don't think I have seen this!

[@lolnub265]

Nimzo vs Hippo?

[@TheChessGiant]

Hippo all day long!

[@iXNomad]

I would play h6 to prevent Bh6 good trading for white

[@TheChessGiant]

YES! That's a mistake that I made in this video. I had just started playing the Hippo and little did I know just how important those bishops on g7 and b7 are!

[@dannytran1587]

How tall is the chess giant?

[@TheChessGiant]

7’1” haha

[@dannytran1587]

@@TheChessGiant WOW.. something all of us would wish to experience at least once. 😥

[@elperro3683]

Curious how to react when white has his knight on f3, pawns on d4 and e4 and on his fourth move, he advances his e-pawn to e5. I have had this happen several times now-either with the e- or d-pawn.

[@TheChessGiant]

Here is a video answering this exact question! kzbin.info/www/bejne/rqLPl5pjd91gl5I

[@manocholai2730]

6.43 can the king long castle

[@TheChessGiant]

Very good question! I was just looking at the position and it appears to be a possible option - although I'd be a little bit concerned about king safety with moves like b4 and a4/a5 on the way. This setup reminds me somewhat of a King's Indian Defense type middlegame, and usually in those positions are king is actually safer behind the attack!

[@dylanandrejic4902]

I would give all the cookies in my cookie jar if you would make a video on the Portuguese opening 1.e4 e5 2.Bb5 You would be the first person to have this opening up on KZbin!

[@TheChessGiant]

I'll add it to the list!

[@eloquentpixellawl7841]

i typed it in and found over 30 videos

[@chazzerayen4615]

The way he explains it may help other people more

[@dylanandrejic4902]

@@eloquentpixellawl7841 I just looked it up and can only find videos on the portuguese gambit, NOT the portuguese OPENING. Pay attention to this particular line. The portuguese opening is a variation of the ruy Lopez while the portuguese gambit is a variation of the Scandinavian.

[@aneesh7038]

Playing a tournament rn. Feels like my opponent is using an engine. Hippo is good against cheaters, so thank you for this vid Update: My opponent got banned

[@blueshoter4283]

Lmao, engine doesnt know what to do again this

[@TheChessGiant]

100% haha

[@TheChessGiant]

Well said Aneesh! Ya it's interesting how computers don't know what to do with this setup.

[@TheChessGiant]

Interested in PRIVATE LESSONS with Solomon? Here's a link! www.thechessgiant.com/lessons

[@thesos5880]

in Italian CH sounds like C so fianchetto sounds like fiancetto

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks!

[@darrylkassle361]

Btw the files are not open they are semi open . I am I seeing that correctly

[@TheChessGiant]

I haven't watched this video and I made it awhile ago but this is probably true.

[@mikemcwilliams2735]

You wanna know how to really play some hippo? add a kn delay in... odds are your opponent may be pushing pieces unfavorably towards their deaths. Which helps because in hippo I try to castle (rarely castle in hippo usually artificial castles) opposite. Then it becomes an exciting game of who can promote a queen first. Rarely in hippo is it about CM... it's about material and position. Once you land the epic queen kill or rook kill the rest begins to fall apart for the enemy.

[@TheChessGiant]

Sounds like you got some experience with the Hippo Mike! It’s definitely a very underrated chess opening that you can play with either white or black

[@dragonore2009]

This could be the best defense if the opponent is a chess cheater, since the computer might not know how to best respond and will simply make a bunch of neutral moves.

[@TheChessGiant]

Totally! I believe I saw Gotham use it against a cheater and the guy ran out of time as the computer kept making strange neutral moves after a ton of time calculating.

[@justloki_]

hype for a new animal

[@tristian14]

I heard this is good to use against chess cheaters. Cheers!

[@TheChessGiant]

Yes! Computers have a harder time in these positions because there is not clear and easy way to victory by tactics. One has to know good strategy and principles etc. I've seen Gotham beat some cheaters with this I think.

[@maciejpartyka5341]

everyone knows that the best hippopotamus defense is 1.e4 Nh6!!

[@TheChessGiant]

Haha!

[@chandrabhushanmanikpuri7405]

What when I was kid I used this

[@yanniammari1491]

Even a 1600 like me can outstall a cheater with this

[@TheChessGiant]

Yep! I've seen Gotham get cheaters with I'm pretty sure

[@lavatrex6736]

how u only have 5.32k? woof woof! Bark!!

[@TheChessGiant]

Haha that’s brotha! 🐶 😤🗣

[@botramduuze7188]

This opening is total garbage

[@TheChessGiant]

...

[@ДенисІванович-р9э]

Thanks you so much. Appreciate it.

[@TheChessGiant]

You're welcome brotha! The Hippopotamus Defense is a great system, good on you for looking into it!