I'm a big believer in learning any opening theory you can get your eyes on. Even if you don't play it you might have to play against it. Even if you don't expect to play against it you still get transpositions, reversed colors and similar positions, believe it or not. Plus it's such a thrill when someone plays the Latvian or Matinovsky or Portsmouth gambit to throw you off only to find you know it better than they do
@TheChessGiant8 ай бұрын
Yes!!!! Agreed. Love this approach.
@michaelallport58169 ай бұрын
Good to have you back.
@TheChessGiant8 ай бұрын
Thanks Michael!
@banzaiburger9 ай бұрын
It’s possible you’ve already done a video on this, but I would love a video on Shirov’s style of the Modern (Hikaru too maybe). They did some interesting things with it
@TheChessGiant8 ай бұрын
I don't think I have beyond the Hippo stuff Hikaru does with a6 -- I will keep this in mind!
@billi92309 ай бұрын
I get those ideas from diffrent master games, moves which aren't the best, but the position is just so much easier to play and normaly is it really hard to find them. Engine doesn't show them and very few players play them. Looking into winrate on the moves is more important than I thought. Awesome video
@TheChessGiant8 ай бұрын
Glad you liked it Billi, and yes I will almost always take overall performance of a move even if it's just slighty not what the computer recommends
@bigslick750937 ай бұрын
@@TheChessGiant At what point though do you take into account the % of times a move was played? If a move that wins 55% of time has been played 1,200 times (say 95% of the time) while a move that wins 62% of the time has only ever been played 2 times, are you still taking the latter? If not, how big of a sample size do you need in order to go with the better performing move?
@asfasdfsd84769 ай бұрын
Best chess educator for us normal folks!
@TheChessGiant8 ай бұрын
Thank you for that! 🙏🏼
@wraethcs29 ай бұрын
good to have you back, look forward the some alekhine's stuff too!
@kshitiz63769 ай бұрын
Didn't know that you grinded chess as well.
@TheChessGiant8 ай бұрын
Thanks for that brotha, and yessirrr!!
@walterbrownstone80179 ай бұрын
Hippo ideas have found their way into every chess game I play regardless of the opening I may be playing. If I don't know what to do I'll think what would the hippo do?
@TheChessGiant8 ай бұрын
Love it!!! Ya it is very interesting how Hippo ideas can be seen it so much different stuff
@phidybee33347 ай бұрын
Thanks chess g this modern hippo ting has totes transformed my chess, Ur vids have been so helpful
@randycarson98129 ай бұрын
You don't fool us, CG. You've been glued to the candidate's tournament like the rest of us. By the way, loved seeing you practicing your hoops moves in some old KZbins. Welcome back!
@TheChessGiant8 ай бұрын
Hahaha ya for sure. It was a crazy one! Do you have Gukesh or Ding winning it all?
@randycarson98128 ай бұрын
@@TheChessGiant Gukesh. Ian blew it last time, and I'm not sure Ding has the personality or fortitude equal to the task. He looked totally spent at the end against Ian.
@sweaterkev9 ай бұрын
Wheeze honk!! Glad to see you are back and safe.
@TheChessGiant8 ай бұрын
🙏🏼🙏🏼🦛🦛
@banzaiburger9 ай бұрын
Good to see you back, Solomon 💪
@TheChessGiant8 ай бұрын
Thank you brotha 🙏🏼
@Ebobster9 ай бұрын
Great video! Another interesting option is playing a6 on move 3, so that Black has options (other than d6) if White plays f4 or c4. Namely, if f4, then Black has d5. If instead 4.c4, then Black Nc6 when if White kicks the knight with d5, Black has Nd4 & can reinforce the Nd4 outpost with c5 bc if dxc en passant Black having not moved his d-pawn yet has dxc6 reinforcing Nd4 with his Q on d8. If White piles on attacking the Nd4 outpost again (with say Nf3 or Ne2) Black locks it in with e5. Stockfish gives Black an advantage here bc of his center grip. Of course, if 4. Be3, Black probably has nothing better than transposing into your suggested line with 4…d6, but I’ve found many players in reply to 3..a6 will rush to establish a 3-pawn center (with f4 or c4) which Black is perfectly poised to immediately attack. Some of the slipperiness of the Modern & Hippo is to play moves that give white a chance to rush forward & get tripped up but are still useful even if White does not take the “bait.” Anyway, Solomon bravo on this video & please post more. PS: Hope your upcoming Alekhine course has a way to handle the exchange variation, as it seems to give white an annoying special edge while also suppressing black’s counterplay.
@edoggo18879 ай бұрын
An improvement to that is 3… a3 only if 3. Nc3, that’s what I do
@TheChessGiant8 ай бұрын
Thanks for these ideas! I will pin this comment so people can see some good extra theory/ideas. And YES, the first two chapters of the Alekhine's Defense course cover the exchange variation with how to play exd6 and cxd6 as well!
@Ebobster8 ай бұрын
@@TheChessGiant Good. Thxs :). Miss studying new chess ideas in depth but will pick up lessons were left off when back home in USA again in about 2 weeks. Cheers
@shahzadahmed4669 ай бұрын
a6 idea is so good. I don't play hippo but I get that annoying bishop queen battery so many times in pirc kid and dragon. Also this idea is valuable in many queen side castle scenarios in Sicilian
@TheChessGiant8 ай бұрын
Yep that is exactly right! There is so much that this a6 move helps with... the Sicilian Defense, French Defense, Pirc Defense, Modern Defense, and probably some other stuff too.
@pianxtremeyt9 ай бұрын
mmm.....I always try to do 4. b5 when I can with black after the setup you had after 2:23. but what I usually do is the opposite with b6, e6, and h6, followed by g5, and Bg7, hoping to get into a polish setup. Every time I have tried the hippo I have drawn (out of 50 games) W 12 L 10 and D 38 which is ridiculous, but that's why I stick to my good ol' St. George or Reversed Anderson Hobb Attack. having pawns. on d6 AND e6, or the other way, really hurts my position for me personally.
@TheChessGiant8 ай бұрын
Ya I personally (usually) like to play slow with a6/b6/g6/h6 before I advance at all.... just because I don't want to extend the pawn structure when my pieces ain't ready to go.
@sjorsmors50808 ай бұрын
Problem with blacks h5 after h4 in the Modern Tiger is that you can expect a white knight on g5 after Nh3 that won't go away. In one video about pirc/modern defense they said one should capture Nh3 with Bc8 but that is not possible when there is a pawn on e6 or a knight on d7 or when Bb7 has already been played.
@TheChessGiant8 ай бұрын
Good points! I would recommend plugging that line into Stockfish and seeing what the engine has black respond. The knight is very annoying, but we can also plant a knight or bishop on g4 so both sides give something up. Of course, white can play pawn f3 but that gives them a ton of issues just like pawn f6 would for us. And ya I don't recommend giving up our light-squared bishop. Great thoughts thanks for sharing.
@sjorsmors50808 ай бұрын
@@TheChessGiant White often plays f3, Be3, Qd2 and will castle long. But when black has already played b5 black won't castle long. So f3 is not bad for white. If I remember correctly Stockfish giving about an equal game after Ng5. But black has to be careful. Good idea to use Stockfish again for i forget and position is difficult to play for black.
@bigslick750937 ай бұрын
I'm thinking we should refer to the "a6, b5" setup as the "Rhino" since they're kind of in the shape of a Rhino's horn :)
@TheChessGiant7 ай бұрын
I like this name! 🦏 🦏
@baka-oni83583 ай бұрын
"new ideas that ive been working on" brother, its the main line
@jasonmunoz58568 ай бұрын
You should make fitted polo shirts with chess pieces
@amiyrlewis1536 ай бұрын
i vote a6 as hippo official 4th move
@MartinZanichelli9 ай бұрын
cool!!
@RodKinnaird6 ай бұрын
i belive a lot of people prefer the choice -logo /picture on back ...(adults)