How I Used The Greek Gift Sacrifice To Beat Even Titled Players

Learn 3 Main Ways To Improve Your Chess Results Significantly
FREE Masterclass ► chess-teacher.com/masterclass
Take Your Chess Skills To The Next Level With High-Quality Courses
Learn here ► online.chess-teacher.com/
💰💲 Join the RCA Affiliate Program, promote our courses, and get 50% commission - chess-teacher.com/partnership/
🔹 Random Guy Invents An Aggressive Gambit With 89% Win Rate - • Random Guy Invents An ...
♛ Find the examples shown in the video in this blog-post - chess-teacher.com/greek-gift-...
In this video lesson, GM Igor Smirnov demonstrates how he won five games in a simultaneous exhibition by using the Greek Gift Sacrifice, one of the most common tactical motifs in chess.
You'll discover how to effectively use the Greek Gift Sacrifice across various openings, even against advanced opponents (GM Smirnov successfully employed it against FIDE Masters). Additionally, GM Smirnov reveals some of his secret opening traps that can put your opponents through deadly attacks.
Best of all, GM Smirnov shares the 2 main conditions (or prerequisites) for the Greek Gift Sacrifice to work, as well as 3 ways to attacking your opponent's weakened king.
▬▬▬▬▬▬
► Chapters
00:00 Learn the Greek Gift Sacrifice chess tactics
00:34 What is the Greek Gift Sacrifice? (in the French Defense)
01:06 2 conditions for the Greek Gift to WORK
03:21 3 ways to ATTACK if Black plays Kg6 after Ng5+
05:27 If Black does NOT play Kxh7 (against stronger opponents)
07:21 If Black has their bishop on e7 to prevent Ng5+
08:53 If Black plays f6 to stop Ng5+
10:23 If Black plays g6 to close the diagonal
10:34 If Black plays h6 to escape from the Greek Gift Sacrifice
11:25 Greek Gift Sacrifice for Black against 1.e4
12:31 Using the Greek Gift Sacrifice against the Sicilian Defense
15:30 Against 1.e4 e5
📗 Free chess courses - chess-teacher.com/rca-freebies/
#IgorNation #ChessTips #ChessTactics #ChessStrategy

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

📲 Follow RCA on TikTok for short and engaging chess content (tips, traps, and more) - www.tiktok.com/@gmigorsmirnov

[@johnrazler8394]

Igor - hi. Great stuff. On a different topic, I notice that you often say that the bishop pin is an "amateur's" move. However, in some of your other lines you use it. Can you do a video (or series) on when you recommend to use it, or not?

[@hemant1010]

Yes, that would be really cool. When (and when not) to pin a knight. When (and when not) to exchange a bishop for a knight, or retreat otherwise.

[@scotblust5390]

Brilliant ideas!! So grateful for the knowledge that you share with us! I have learned so much from you. I'm proud to be a part of Igor Nation. Your courses have my strongest recommendation! Thanks again for what you do!!

[@odiram]

I think the reason it often gets called an amateur move is because a lot of newer players will go for the pin during the opening not because it’s part of a larger plan, but because they aren’t sure where else to put the bishop and pinning the knight feels like it accomplishes something. There are a lot of openings where you go for a pin to put more pressure on the center, to trade off a bishop that would otherwise be blocked by it’s own pawns, to make it harder for the opponent to pull off a specific plan, etc, but if you aren’t playing a specific opening that calls for that then it’s often better to put the bishop somewhere that controls more squares, or somewhere that’s less likely to be attacked. Once you’re out of the opening whether you go for a pin or not will usually be part of a more concrete consideration, like you notice going for pin lets you threaten a tactic that would win material.

[@triggerfinger7831]

​@@odiram great stuff mate. I hope Igor can help us visualize it better with his video

[@user-ti4di1uh2d]

The pin (or putting pressure on the knight with the bishop in general) is good when - it threaten something immediately. Example is when you can capture the knight and then the pawn if the opponent doesn’t do something about it. And no, not the Ruy Lopez. You can’t win the pawn there. - it saves you from wasting a tempo. Example when knight develop and attack queen in the center you can pin (and take if the pin breaks) to save you tempo from having to move queens around. - to create double isolated pawns. Or to make double pawns but I don’t want to make this a general rule because double pawns aren’t that bad. So only do it if it create double isolated pawns. - when your plan includes putting pressure on the center and the knight supports the center. This should only be done if the center is already locked. Like in French Defense pawn structure. - when your opening plays on a color complex or have a key square that needs to be under your control. Examples are Queen’s Indian Defense, Nimzo-Larsen Attack, Owen’s Defense etc. If you’re a beginner I don’t recommend these opening. - when you wants to create weakness (for example, h3 which can sometimes allow you to sacrifice the bishop there). Remember that these are just about pinning/pressuring the knight and you don’t have to take the knight. Sometimes you do (usually in case 2 and case 5) but it’s better to not take the knight unless you win something in return.

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

► Chapters 00:00 Learn the Greek Gift Sacrifice chess tactics 00:34 What is the Greek Gift Sacrifice? (in the French Defense) 01:06 2 conditions for the Greek Gift to WORK 03:21 3 ways to ATTACK if Black plays Kg6 after Ng5+ 05:27 If Black does NOT play Kxh7 (against stronger opponents) 07:21 If Black has their bishop on e7 to prevent Ng5+ 08:53 If Black plays f6 to stop Ng5+ 10:23 If Black plays g6 to close the diagonal 10:34 If Black plays h6 to escape from the Greek Gift Sacrifice 11:25 Greek Gift Sacrifice for Black against 1.e4 12:31 Using the Greek Gift Sacrifice against the Sicilian Defense 15:30 Against 1.e4 e5

[@ReflectionOcean]

00:01:00 Use the Greek gift sacrifice in the French defense by taking advantage of the absence of the Knight on F6. 00:01:21 Ensure your Knight on G5 is supported by the Bishop to prevent easy captures by the opponent's Queen. 00:02:27 Execute an in-between move with Queen takes F7 before playing Queen to H7 to counter the opponent's attempt to resist with Rook to E8. 00:03:02 Utilize discover checks like Knight takes F7 when the opponent's King moves to H6 to maintain pressure. 00:03:39 Consider attacking the exposed King with Queen D3, Queen G4, or advancing the pawn to H4 in different scenarios. 00:05:43 Refrain from moving the Bishop back to D3 when the opponent plays King to H8 after the sacrifice; instead, continue with Knight to G5 and plan for Queen H5. 00:07:34 Reinforce the Knight's path to G5 with Pawn to H4 even when the opponent tries to block the sacrifice by controlling the square. 00:09:29 Incorporate the Greek gift sacrifice in various openings like the Sicilian Defense and French Defense by sacrificing pawns strategically to set up the sacrifice. 00:14:24 Employ the Pawn H4 move to create threats and open up attacking lines, even if the opponent tries to prevent the Greek gift sacrifice. 00:15:59 Push the pawn forward to E5 after developing casually to clear the path for your Pawn and win the game. 00:16:23 Resign if necessary after making correct and natural moves but falling into a losing position. 00:16:30 Consider playing King G6 as a more resilient option in certain scenarios. 00:16:43 Utilize discovered checks or play Queen G4, Queen H4 for a checkmate opportunity. 00:17:00 Explore the fascinating Gambit strategy invented by a random player to improve your gameplay. 00:17:10 Check out free masterclasses to enhance your skills as a strong attacking player. Generated by yousum.live

[@farouqbaiti4315]

Now that I've got all the knowledge about the Greek Gift Sacrifice, I will definitely play one of these openings.😼

[@AlSuChess]

Thank you for making some of these positions clear and easy to understand!

[@AniLovesChess]

My favorite tactic ever. Great video sir Igor!

[@mschoenen]

Love all the permutations of the Greek Gift. I think the Halasz gambit by itself has improved my ELO by 100. Thank you, Igor!

[@makayneilson7570]

Awesome video! It's great to learn more about the Greek Gift!

[@MichaelClerk-xd6ft]

fantastic video, thanks!! For what openings this trick will not work?

[@eclecticexplorer7828]

A great video. I have not seen this many variations of the Greek Gift in one lesson before. I do have one common continuation of the French where I don't see a path to this gambit. After 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3, in stead of playing 3... Nf6, black continues with dxe4. The move is nearly as common (26% vs 31% for Nf6). This takes away the eventual e5 to chase away the knight. It also blocks Bd3 and Nf3 unless the pawn is captured (Nxe4). This might be the simplest way playing as black to prevent the gambit, although Stockfish still gives white an advantage of around 1 point for many of the common continuations. Black can still play Nf6 and avoid the gambit, but it is more difficult.

[@Edouard7800]

Always covering great topics ! Thank you Igor for all you are doing

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Glad you like them!

[@Rearmostbean]

Love these videos. Used a tactic from one of your short videos to get a family fork (queen king) Thank you for these, they are really useful and helpful

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Fantastic!

[@kaushiksarkar3509]

Igor Sir, that's a great gift for viewers from you. ❤ from India

[@scottysutherland3568]

Veey instructive video. Thank you

[@babayaga9723]

Im not sure Igor and I share the same definition of secret

[@rumputyangbergoyang4978]

Ikr😂

[@vaderx2000]

I’m a London player and I see a lot of opportunities for a possible greek gift but I don’t do it because I’m not too confident I can execute it, I’ll definitely be able to pull it off now. Thanks Igor 💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽

[@Chichud_enjoyer]

Could you do next video about NImzo-Larsen attack?

[@davidmarts7489]

Hello Igor! Could you explain what happens if knight takes h4 without castle? 14:37

[@jamesderoc6717]

as a completely unread chess player i have tried that sacrifice countless times and it usually failed, looks like im about to try it another 100 times with renewed vigor . . . . and knowledge

[@Tree_skin]

Thanks! I always want to pull out the Greek gift sacrifice, but i dont know the right way to do it. So thanks a lot 😊

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Good Luck 😊

[@selvarajjehovahelohim7379]

❤❤❤lot more love you bro

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

❤l

[@VipinKumar-xw2ft]

Damn bro It's devastating !!

[@joyel5873]

Hey why don't you review candidates games. Its one of the biggest event right now, and i think that it would be great to see game review from you

[@cBromo]

Che belle giocate **.**

[@Ivan-yq4oq]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems way too risky to use the Greek Gift in the Sicilian Defense because we end up opening up our position on both sides and not having a good place to castle in the hopes that we will win via the Greek Gift.

[@AbirBiswas-gd7ht]

Love from Bangladesh sir

[@ricardopinto2611]

I've seen a lot of chess videos and I'm trying to create a thinking system that can filter out the various golden rules and concepts. I thought in the following way and order: 1) discover the opponent's biggest threat mainly within my half of the board 2) Try to attack any piece or weak square mainly in my opponent's half of the board 3) If number 2 is not possible, try to prepare an attack using preferably the least active piece. WHAT'S YOUR OPINION? I await response. thanks

[@rumputyangbergoyang4978]

Nice one, i saw those each of it at each separated video, so yeah the system you want to create probably would be really helpfull

[@carpelo]

I use it all the time from the colle system 😅

[@supercolossal68]

I've tried this about 6 times now and can't even get it setup, my opponents NEVER play the moves yours do..

[@omazi-otokiwa6451]

And that, my child, is why you don't just sacrifice the bishop or knight or you might sound like a witch with your laughter bit instead giggle and rub your hands like Gru to seem like you have a plan when in fact you're about to burn the entire board

[@ntandamarvinbukenya]

Love from Uganda ❤

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

❤

[@boffo63]

This works if your opponent cooperates lol

[@Chichud_enjoyer]

Спасибо за ролик с греческим подарком

[@josephsalmonte4995]

I absolutely LOVE this tactic. I usually notice it just after it's not possible anymore in my games 😂

[@ahmadsho3a]

>goes up to the trojans >hey guys, here is a definitly not suspicious huge wooden horse that is definitly not a sacrafice to athena >thanks hence, greek gift (im kidding, idk why its called greek gift)

[@jstb6102]

There is nothing Greek in the Greco (because Gioacchino Greco discovered it first in 1630) sacrifice.

[@ZDTF]

Make Taimanov sicillian video pwease🥺

[@josephsalmonte4995]

Chessbrah have a whole Taimanov speed run. 👍

[@ZDTF]

@@josephsalmonte4995 but it's a speedrun not tutorial

[@Fishy_17]

12:22 Just to note: if Ng5, the greek gift no longer works. Instead, Bg4 is better.

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

🔹Random Guy Invents An Aggressive Gambit With 89% Win Rate - kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoCWqXt5jJdgbbc

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

💡Register to GM Igor Smirnov's FREE Masterclass "The Best Way to Improve at Chess INSTANTLY" - chess-teacher.com/masterclass 💲Join the RCA Affiliate Program, promote our courses, and get 50% commission - chess-teacher.com/partnership/

[@farouqbaiti4315]

I am slowly improving by your videos.😅

[@JimBobDewayne]

Bro, my opponents never go along with your plans. I’m only 1700 Lichess. Somehow, they just don’t fall for these tricks. Trying this stuff causes me to either give up a pawn or position, which ultimately costs me.

[@byaruhangajonah9092]

You probably don't follow what's happening

[@JimBobDewayne]

@@byaruhangajonah9092I guess you use these traps and people just go right along with it lol. You must be super low rated then.

[@fashygoy]

I go from 1750-1800 on lichess and I get them with this all the time

[@cristianstefaniga1674]

To all tye people who watch this. Congrats you've ruined your chess fun by learning others strategies and not playing yours which will make you an NPC.

[@ZDTF]

I dont mind these bots

[@SuhbanIo]

whagt

[@WhistlingRabbit]

I ran this through Chessbase 17 and Stockfish 16. Black's mistake is 6...O-O? after which he is nearly lost after 7 h4! 6 ...c5 maintains equality. I think it is good to know that castling can be a losing move. I did not find any games in Chessbase 17 MegaDataBase 2024 with Igor as White in this variation of the French. I suspect that titled players would never castle Black at move 6!