Hippopotamus Defense MASTERCLASS

[@TheChessGiant]

MY HIPPO COURSE!!! thechessgiant.gumroad.com/l/hippopotamusdefensecourse

[@brig0]

Is the 30% off sale over?

[@TheChessGiant]

Yes, however if you email me at "[e-mail]" I can help you out! :)@@brig0

[@stolenhandle]

The Breather Moment (c) is the key to winning. Love the term!

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks! Sometimes in chess, you gotta take a second and realize that the following moment in the game is a big one! Thanks for tuning in as usual my friend!

[@ChessterCopperPot]

Yeah this is on my radar! Niiice!

[@TheChessGiant]

YERR

[@ChessterCopperPot]

@ CHyyeeeaaaahs!

[@FloatingSunfish]

Many thanks for another instructive Hippo video, Solomon! 💪🏿🦛 More Masterclass videos are always appreciated by the Hippo community!

[@TheChessGiant]

Yessir!! Thanks for that. More Masterclass videos on the way!

[@michaelallport5816]

Hey Solomon, this video is at the center of concern for many Hippo players. It clarified many early middle game approaches. Of the four approaches to initiate the middle game, I use, almost exclusively, the first two. Knights 'out-the-gate' is a classical approach which negates the idea of the Hippo being a modern opening. Central pawns? -perish the thought. Solomon, return to your earliest Hippo videos and compare and contrast them to your latest presentations. Your use of the word aggresive has virtually melted away, and you have reached a wonderful balance. The resultant improvement in your game "speaks for itself." Congratulations! Thanks again for all the wonderful support you have given all of us in the Hippo universe.

[@TheChessGiant]

Thank you Michael for that! Ya many question what I think as what I say now often contradicts or goes against what I said then. On one hand, it can give mixed signals. But on the other hand, I think it shows the evolution of understanding the Hippo which is cool too. Thanks for all the support over the years man, appreciate it a ton.

[@michaelallport5816]

Always a pleasure, Solomon.

[@seamusoleary3712]

I've gotten my rating up just playing the hippo, but to the point that if I play any other opening, I usually lose.

[@Ebobster]

GREAT video Solomon! Please make more like these & kudos for pointing out the tactical shots beneath the surface, as these are key. Thank you! Cheers!

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks Robert! More on the way!

[@josefgross1493]

Excellent analysis

[@TheChessGiant]

Glad you liked it brotha! The Hippo Defense is a strong one!

[@gagg11]

I can watch hippo masterclasses for ever

[@eco4145]

10 mins in and love this cg! keep coming with this masterclass for serious hippo heads like me!

[@TheChessGiant]

Glad you like it!! More of these on the way!

[@RyanRedwood-sf8eu]

Man this is exactly what I needed, had questions and you clarified just about all of them in some of these same exact positions, thank you kindly! This is so dope! Maaaannnnnn clarity is power, now if I can take this new found confidence into my games, I will be doing just fine!

[@TheChessGiant]

Hey Ryan! I am glad you liked the video, thanks for the kind words! More of these Hippopotamus Defense Masterclasses on the way!

[@trondthomassen1185]

Great Master Class. Love to have more of that. Thank you!

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks! And yessir more on the way!

[@wesnhisthoughts]

Watched about 30 of your hippo vids. This is my favorite so far. Thanks for the content!

[@TheChessGiant]

Oh wow! Thank you for this feedback and for the kind words. More Masterclass videos on the way!

[@Ebobster]

Great video. I’ve messed up some of these exact positions in bullet & blitz games… & have watched this video at least a half dozen times to absorb Solomon’s thinking process & great pointers, especially the surprising c5 center strike in the first example… & taking back on c5 away from the center (with the d pawn, not the b pawn) so as not to be saddle with a backward pawn on the open d file. These type of middle game pointers are so key to playing the Hippo well & improving one’s results. Thank you Solomon! Cheers

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks as always for the support and great thoughts! Repitition is key to improvement, good on you for soaking the concepts in!

[@joshuakogan5861]

Exactly what I was hoping for! Please make more. Will def consider paying for a large set of positions like these with your analyses.

[@TheChessGiant]

Hey Joshua! Thanks for the feedback and for the kind words of encouragement brotha. More on the way!!

[@Mike-VR]

Brilliant video Solomon! I've played the hippo on occasion over the years and although I'm a 2000 player and looked at a few books on the opening, this video was the best explanation of where to find counterplay. Your process of elimination method was excellent. Thank you.

[@lorenzozorrer]

"If you dont know what the heck is the Breather Moment", it is because I made it up" 😂 Great video Solomon! Have a nice sunday m8!

[@TheChessGiant]

Hahah thank you Lorenzo! Same to you brotha.

[@loosehorsemedia]

Great content, never get the big views for higher level stuff but really helpful. Re 5:00 I'd say the you often do want h6 in when black has a pawn on f4 so you can think about f5 yourself without worrying about Ng5 hitting e6.

[@teacherlee3527]

I love all your Hippo content and this video is one of the best! Can you do another one on when or when not to castle and also when it's a good idea to castle queenside. Thanks!

[@TheChessGiant]

Oh good idea! I like this! And thanks for tuning in as always my friend!

[@WalterReade]

Super helpful content. Thanks !

[@TheChessGiant]

Thank you for that Walter! More of these on the way!

[@randycarson9812]

Thanks for the content, Solomon. Excellent as always!

[@TheChessGiant]

Glad you like it Randy! And THANK YOU for this idea!!!!!

[@eco4145]

❤️ this big dog! masterclass part iii PUH lease!

[@TheChessGiant]

On the way!!!! Would like to drop one in June.

[@matsonruddell8795]

Great work

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks pops 🙏🏼🤙🏼

[@randycarson9812]

I think the big takeaways for me in this video were A) to not waste a tempo on a6 and B) that playing g5 without gaining tempo simply allows W to play h4. Up to this point (as a new Hippo player), I've been going for the FTSH and taking my breather moment after move 10. Useful when learning but now it's time to play a more nuanced game. However, in the first game, you DID play g5 without gaining tempo on the bishop. White didn't play h4, but they could have, right? I'm a little confused as to what the rule of thumb should be when h4 is a possibility.

[@TheChessGiant]

Great thoughts and great question! When I speak of "not playing g5 if you don't have tempo" - I mean when we have a knight on e7 and the queen is blocked. However, in the position I played g5, I had a knight on f5 covering h4 (which a knight on e7 obviously doesn't) and on top of that my queen was getting vision on that h4 square. Do to this, g5 is okay. Let me know if this makes sense Randy!

[@randycarson9812]

@@TheChessGiant Got it. I was sort of treating the "no g5 without tempo" idea as a hard and fast rule. Your explanation makes sense. Thx.

[@tomcave7931]

love these master classes and the hippo content

[@TheChessGiant]

Glad to hear it brotha! More Hippo stuff on the way (as always lol)

[@HungarySportandNews-cp7mr]

More hippo

[@TheChessGiant]

More Hippo will happen then

[@WallySoto-yi8fz]

On 3 minutes this opening is pretty dangerous! Pure 🔥

[@dbrandow]

Hippo content vs Austrian attack would be great, I struggle the most against it.

[@TheChessGiant]

Here is a video I made on the Hippo vs the Austrian! kzbin.info/www/bejne/enyvi6CrnbSVgac

[@simonsmith3030]

The best video on the Hippo I've seen...

[@TheChessGiant]

Thank you for that 🙏🏽

[@octopus_pulpo]

What a good like I left you!!! "2000 games, 2000 lessons", I steal your phrase 😊 _PS: I steal it from you to put it into practice, I don't analyze many of my games, now I see that maybe I should review them all, briefly, try to get at least one idea or concept from each game. Thank you very much for the invaluable lesson._

[@TheChessGiant]

Yessir!!! Glad you liked that concept. It has done me good! Keep it up brotha and more Hippo content on the way!

[@eco4145]

3rd time watching .. ty TCG! keep hippo coming!

[@rayflutemakerman6094]

Way to go with this great offer.

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks Grandpa! Appreciate you supporting me in this.

[@AlphaLabRat]

Great video! Keep them coming! Also, a great deal on your Hippo course, which I thought was well worth the full rate, so I hope others reading the comments are able to take advantage of that offer.

[@TheChessGiant]

Hey Jason! Thank you a ton for that. Hope you've been well and I'm looking forward to meeting soon! (Just a reminder you still have a free lesson to cash in.)

[@ProjectHMF]

Great video

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks!

[@skyeruddell3196]

So proud of you Solo!

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks!

[@MaxChessman007]

Very helpful, that is definitely the moment to start thinking. Would love to see more of these. Thanks!

[@TheChessGiant]

You got it brotha, glad you liked it!! More on the way!

[@phidybee3334]

Wow saw your vid thought let me try this, had no clue what I was doing other than making my opponent think I was.playiing piric or kings Indian then just solidified pieces with this super weird move order & sure enough white blundered trying to unlock the position,& eventually his clock fell, maybe it was beginners luck but I'm deffo exploring this 1,big respect CG🤙

[@TheChessGiant]

Love to hear you had some early success with it! Keep it up!

[@alexmiller3220]

Cool video! Make more content on Hippo Defense please!

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks! And will do!!

[@RL.777]

WOW!!!

[@TheChessGiant]

Glad you liked this one!

[@jamesreed4483]

Have you considered turning this into a chessable course? There is currently one on chessable by Simon Williams but it is a disappoint to say the least. So there is an opening for a great course on the Hippo and clearly you are the man for the job.

[@zeebest1004]

2:25 But what if white plays the Hippo?!!

[@TheChessGiant]

GOOD POINT! In that case, you can't have two Hippos sitting in the swamp! Maybe half of each hippo, but neither is fully immersed.

[@elephantheart9988]

[@TheChessGiant]

Yessir!! 🦛🙏🏽🗣❤️🤝

[@MaryLittle-ix9dj]

v helpful. more please

[@Ebobster]

Good video… telling it like it is… the Hippo’s pros & cons. Well done. Cheers! PS: with all the websites, engines, info, vids & coaches available to today’s kids they’re absorbing very quickly what those of us older chess die-hards took years to learn. All good for chess.. even if tough on old guys like me! lol.

[@Icee1331]

Can you please include the eval bar in your analysis so that we can get a visual for each variation.

[@berthonynelson1410]

Great !

[@TheChessGiant]

🦛🙏🏽🤝

[@danieljeffries6430]

Great Video I’ve Been A Subscriber for About 2mo , your Explanation of the Chess Game is very Easy to Comprehend. I’ve Been A Chess Player off and on for 20+yrs and never Knew the Strategies or how to Recognize Different openings Can You Suggest The Proper Course To Learn the Intricacies of Chess if so, what is a Good Start? Look Forward to Hearing from you Awesome Class

[@TheChessGiant]

Hey Daniel! Thanks for subscribing brotha! And ya that is a good question! I would say that Lev Alburt's books are very good! I would say for video content, there are many KZbinrs who cover educational stuff. If you are looking to improve at chess (which it sounds like you are), I would say ENDGAMES AND TACTICS ARE HUGE!!!!!!! Many skip over these, but they are the top 2 ways to improve at chess. Thanks and always feel free to let me know any thoughts, questions, or video requests you want to see. Here to help! Thanks, Solomon

[@SinKieran]

First day using the hippo. Win 9/10 games, go up 200pts. Nice. Next 4 days since then. Terrible win rate despite having more experience with the opening now.... Down 100 pts. Enemy keeps throwing themselves at me within first 4 turns they're already trading both bishops for my knights and then pressuring me before I can finish setting up.... Nobody in 400-600 rating wants to go through 10 rounds of set up. They're always attacking in first 2-3 turns.

[@Grandcapi]

My main problem is to know when to break with c5 or f5. I have been playing the Hippo OTB but the results are not so good. In blitz on the internet, things are different because of the limited time I use to play.

[@TheChessGiant]

Ah for sure. Ya this would be a good video for me to make, simply focusing on flank pawn pushes. And sorry to hear you've been having a hard time OTB. If you want you could email me at "[e-mail]" and I could maybe make a video on some of your game(s).

[@godkingcthulhu138]

🐙

[@TheChessGiant]

🦛🦛🦛🦛

[@GeneralBlorp]

I would be curious how well this holds vs a reasonably well prepared, 1200-1600 ish London player ? 🤔

[@TheChessGiant]

Yep! Ya I played the Hippo Defense exclusively to get to 2200 ELO and I played the London System multiple times, we just get into our setup and go from there.

[@joshuakogan5861]

In the first video, if after the thrust, white doesn’t take but instead pushes any of their 3 pawns, what would you recommend?

[@TheChessGiant]

Hey Joshua! Can you send me a timestamp so I know exactly where you're talking about? Thanks!

[@eco4145]

hope u r ok tcg please let us know!

[@TheChessGiant]

Ya I'm okay! Just posted a video on the King's Indian Defense to kick off 2025 - sorry for the long wait!

[@edoggo1887]

Do you still go for the hippo against anything not including e4 and d4 (e.g. a london or italian)? I was kind of dubious when you said you play the hippo against the English or bird or smth else, because it’s so different

[@TheChessGiant]

Yep! I play the Hippopotamus Defense against everything!!

[@KENTGALLEROS]

Yes hippo is powerful but sometimes in endgame is intimate.

[@TheChessGiant]

Intimate? Not sure what you mean by this but if you meant intimidating that is very understandable. I would encourage you really study the endgame and master it! Get so good at it that you look forward to it! Your results will vastly benefit from this.

[@amiyrlewis153]

Hungry for chess(cheese) like hungry hungry hippo!!

[@TheChessGiant]

🦛🦛🦛🦛🦛🦛🦛🦛🦛🦛🦛🦛

[@amiyrlewis153]

@TheChessGiant I went from 400 to 800+ elo in 5 days with the hippo ..[Mindwiz2006](bullet)

[@TipsyFlipper]

imma chew through this video and the course #worldhippoday

[@TheChessGiant]

Yessir!! 🦛🦛🦛

[@zorrow1000]

Get what you are saying about the queen side castle in the position you show in your game but throwing pawns forward/attacking on the queen side isn’t always straight forward - more queen side castling positions for white and what to do in them would be greatly appreciated! Sometimes I am faced with a knight sacrifice against a black pawn on g6 in a locked position …find that tricky to deal with

[@TheChessGiant]

Ya for sure!! And ya I will have to think more on this. Every single time my opponent castles queenside in the Hippo I attack the king, but I understand how this statement wouldn't make initial sense. (There are usually plenty of exceptions to the rules.) I would say one moment we might not attack a king on the queenside is if they had a 3 pawn center from e4/d4/c4.

[@GhostAids]

nice beard

[@johnmahugu]

5:40 in this position, against a master? what would i do? i would analyze the position then shit myself.

[@TheChessGiant]

Dang bro that sounds tough 😂😂😂

[@chris936chris9]

Sinon tu utilise jamais avec les blancs

[@chris936chris9]

Is very bad opppening stop spamming hippotamus easy refuted

[@TheChessGiant]

Let's play a game! Settle it like adults!