Chess Lesson # 78: The Greek Gift | Chess Tactics

[@NMRobertRamirez]

We finally have a strong and well organized opening course for White and one for Black. With these and the FREE beginner to master level playlist from this KZbin channel, it’s all about consistency over an extended period of time 😎💪 ⬇ Course on Black Opening (Counterblow) www.chessable.com/ramirez Course on White Opening (First Strike) www.chessable.com/firststrike Free Playlist (beginner to master level) rb.gy/hw61wt All the Endgame Knowledge I have rb.gy/zels9y All the Strategy Knowledge I have rb.gy/g1iqro

[@danbone]

Actually the best chess channel on YT!

[@felipejco]

Thanks Robert. Your lessons are great and I, being Spanish, understand everything :)

[@NMRobertRamirez]

You are more than welcome, Felipe! Salados y muchas gracias for su comentario 👍

[@brass4235]

NM Ramirez, I'm once again stunned and amazed by your ability to explain THE WHY the WHAT WORKS!!! I've been having a hard time finding the proper mate patterns after my opponent castles. I will be implementing the concepts from the match you showed us. I've said it before in a few of your other vids I've watched, but I feel like it needs to be said again... Chess has become so much more fun for me since watching these tutorials! Tyvm! Please keep them coming!

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello! It is great to see you here on lesson # 78 and enjoying these lessons. Keep it up and thanks for all your encouragement. It means a lot 👍

[@caperucita8052]

Thanks Robert, very helpful video! Also...such a creative thumbnail 😂 Love it! 😁

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello! You are welcome 👍I am glad you liked both the video and the Greek thumbnail 😅

[@DMS86]

Thank you again, Robert. It's funny that every time I watch one of your videos I soon get a game where I exactly apply those concepts. I watched this video around 3 days ago and the day after I won a game using the Greek gift.

[@mehdila6144]

this lesson came at a very good time !!! I was now practicing lichess tactics. and when I saw the notification I was happy because I know in advance that I will learn more tricks and tactical methods. thhhaannkk you. after finishing it I will comment to say if I have a question but really thank you very much !!! I've never heard of this term (greek gift) so it's cool I'll learn it by heart

[@NMRobertRamirez]

You got it, Mehdi! Looking forward to your feedback 👍

[@mehdila6144]

@@NMRobertRamirez i have an idea in minute 5:16 heehe maybe its a blunder xD . we can play Qd3+ if Kh6 . we have discover attack Nf7 . Kh5 only move after we play pawn to g4+ whatherever if king take or not he is farrr away to his team and we can mate him . wharever if he didnt play Kh6 but he play h5 is the same story but without the discover attack but pawn to g4+ first etc etc hehehe . but i think its totally wrong xD hehehe i will continue my lesson now heheh because i did it in my chessboard and i do pause and i take time to try to learn the variantion and find another ones xD

[@mehdila6144]

but your ideo h4 h5+ heheheh is a quick KO xD very cool than my looooonnggg chekemate haha and sorry i comment before seeing qd3 too hehe but my idea is qd3+ first without h4 and after those moves and im sure its a blunder hehe

[@mehdila6144]

and on minute 11:01 pawn to h4 protecting the knight and opening file too is awsome i think i will use it in many attacks woow

[@NMRobertRamirez]

@@mehdila6144 no worries at all. I am glad that you comment as you go through the lesson. It really helps me understand where you are and what kind of difficulty our future lessons should have!

[@rjesh2062]

12:53 we can also do Queen to h5 followed by Queen to h7 that would also force check mate right??

[@Luckyy_Charms_]

16:39 My God! I just found the same move bishop e2. Glad that I am slowly advancing to a master. Keep making videos.

[@michaelmarmorstein6287]

Thanks again! Love your content. I find that more often than not, due to my opening choices (French), I end up on the defending end of the greek gift. Do you know instructive games where the Greek gift appears to work but fails? 19:17 - Rb3 is an amazing move! Very difficult to see. I'm sorry if it's already been brought up but at 20:47 Black's knight guards the d7 square so it's not mate but is QxR good enough in that position?

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello Michael! Glad to see you around. The Greek gift is commonly seen in games coming out of the French defense, but as long as you are aware and keeping an eye out for it, you should be fine. This game I showed here and the one I left at the end by Capablanca are examples of how the Greek gift is not so easy to implement and could fail. In both games it was not efficient, but the pressure put on Black made it difficult for them to find the right defensive moves. In the game I showed of Anand vs Karpov, if Black had done f6 instead of Bxe5 after white's Rb3, the game would have been way better for them. However, the pressure made Karpov believe that he needed to eliminate the strong knight at all cost. In the Capablanca position, the sacrifice looks like it could work, but white does not have many pieces to help. I think it comes down to getting as familiarized as possible with this kind of positions and of course sharpening our calculation skills. Regarding the position from 20:47 you are right ―the knight is taking care of d7. However, if they did Ke7, we continue with Qxg7+ and if Ke8, we can do either Rh7 or e7. Qxf8+ looks interesting, but even if you get your queen back is not as decisive as Rh7 or e7. Please, let me know if this makes sense and like always, you made really good observations 👍 Thank you for your kind words and support, Michael!

[@vedbhanushali608]

great explanation sir

[@scorpioSHIVANSH]

I found your channel so helpful n simple to understand plus your teaching skills are really good n patient

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Thanks a lot for you kind feedback! It means a lot 🙌👍

[@scorpioSHIVANSH]

You do so much for chess atleast a student cn do this much

[@zegerproduction2032]

NM Robert Ramirez, thank you for this lesson. I improve a lot from your lessons. I will take this lesson seriously. Love and support from Indonesia 🎉🎉🎉

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Thank you! Let me know if you ever have any questions 👍😎

[@mayanksolanki7028]

Thanks Robert for your lessons, they are too helpful. Love from India. 🤗

[@NMRobertRamirez]

You are more than welcome 👍😎

[@varaprasadreddyy1565]

Hey Robert, I am a 20 yr old from India . I used to play chess during school days but never trained much , just played casually . Started playing online chess during this march . And reached 1500 rapid rating yesterday , only using the London opening as white and Pirc Defense as black. I am at the 78th video in the course . My visualisation and calculation skills has improved a lot , thanks to your tips and training. I just know the london and pirc and the classical opening and queens gambit , which u have taught in the course . So far i have only played games or solved puzzles or watched your videos. So , what should i do right now to further improve my rating ? I hear people talking about chess theory, it might sound dumb but i dont get what exactly they mean (chess theory in general). And i also want to know , how do i differ from the top players (say 2500's and above.) And finally , just have one thing to say , "YOU ARE THE BEST" :)

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello Varaprasad! First of all, congratulations on your progress 🎉🎉 1500 is not easy to reach and specially to maintain. Now, you might go down to 1400 for a moment and then back to 1500 until you adjust, but soon you will break through 1600. So, keep it up! To further improve your game, it is a great idea to complement this course and the rest of your training by reading some Chess books. Feel free to look in the description of any of my videos and go over my book recommendations. Some of these books you might find them for free online, so try that first. And let me know if you have any questions about any of them of course. Regarding Chess theory, people mainly refer to opening theory. Many openings like the Queen's gambit or Sicilian require us to memorize specific lines move after move (theory) because if we mess up the move order, the theory has proven you will get in trouble. In order words, there are encyclopedias where many of the opening lines are written and they tell you what's proven to be the best move. So people learn and memorize such lines typically up to around move 8 or 10, but sometimes more. You can learn more about it in lesson # 72. With that said, many of the openings I have taught you so far such as the Pirc, King's Indian Attack, King's Indian Defense and others are considered systems where you just need to understand the main ideas instead of memorizing lines (although there is some theory to know, but it is not much when compared to other openings). This allows us to have more time to train what really matters ―middle and endgame. Hope this makes sense. If it doesn't, just let me know and we will talk more about it 👍

[@varaprasadreddyy1565]

@@NMRobertRamirez Thankyou very much for the reply 😀, Yes Ofcourse, i will complete the course. And yes this makes absolute sense. I would definitely try reading your book recommendations , Thanks for everything and will let you know if i have anything to say , COACH 😎

[@rajanmishra207]

@@varaprasadreddyy1565 keep it easy bro keep it easy 💀 the words of our NM

[@rajanmishra207]

What's ur rating right now?

[@varaprasadreddyy1565]

@@rajanmishra207 1750 ish

[@tarekfakhoury2401]

Coach great video. Plz let me ask u these questions before watching a and and Karpov game Is it a MUST to have our pawn on e5 ? At 12:03 what if black didn’t capture our bishop , then we will have 5 pieces and black 6 so we will loose !!

[@tomhuynh407]

Nice lesson. Thanks coach

[@vladislavshevchenko634]

I wouldn't do the Greek gift right now, because the if king moves to g6, the knight on g5 will end up hanging there's no follow up plan of the atrack.

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Thank you for sharing your answer! 🙌👍

[@robferenczi3024]

Quite amazing. It looks like after Bxh7 White has nothing. But the black king is very vulnerable and cannot find safety easily. White can just play normal moves like bring both rooks to the centre and break open the centre. The back king has nowhere to hide. I am not sure if a GM could calculate until mate but their intuition will tell them that there will be a great attack and good compensation for the piece.

[@vijyantmehrotra8119]

Again very well explained dear

[@josephsalmonte4995]

What a brilliant video ❤️😬

[@mehandibysheetal1811]

20:47 it won't be a checkmate on d7 as the knight is there to protect. Isn't it?

[@bhanubanerjee23]

This is very informative lesson and i am sure this strategy will help me to win games thank you sir for sharing this lesson with us 😀.

[@walterbrownstone8017]

So pawn on e5 is the key ingredient to checkmate.

[@flinson3429]

at 11:50 my plan Bd3 takes on h7+, King takes on h7 h4 takes g5+, Kg8 and Queen to h5

[@flinson3429]

at 16:17 what about Queen a4 or Rook fe1

[@NMRobertRamirez]

I think they look natural, but the plan implemented in the game was very interesting indeed 👍

[@buster-108]

This class is totally awesome . Lots of respect from India coach.❤

[@thechesser9750]

Which is your fide rating

[@mbongisenimagutshwa]

So how does one defend this attack? King should not take on bishop or knight?

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Ideally, watch out so that you do not get in a situation like this, but if you do, calculate and consider not taking the bishop. It might be the only way to survive 😎

[@santanusamanta1598]

what if at 19.17 the black bishop go to c8?

[@Treetopper911]

Great!

[@aridojikatochiri9120]

Thanks for the lesson its so useful

[@massimilianos374]

Hello Robert. Thanks for the lesson as always very instructive 💪💪 I think Bxh7 could be good if Kxh7 then we continue with Qh5+ and the mate to the black king should come very quickly; but if instead Kh8 unfortunately I cannot find a forcing continuation so maybe we should not sacrifice the Bishop

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello Massimiliano! You are welcome 👍Regarding your answer, I do not think you queen can jump to h5 right away since you have a knight on f3. Do you mean Ng5+ followed. by Qh5?

[@massimilianos374]

Yes of course 😅 the queen can only go after the knight has moved.... so yes Ng5+ and then Qh5... sorry

[@NMRobertRamirez]

hehehe I figured. Truth is that Bxh7+ is not so clear in this specific position since White has only a few pieces to carry out the attack. Anyways, Black has to be precise in order to defend effectively. In that case, White can get no more than a draw. In this game, Capablanca did 1.Bxh7+, Kxh7 (if they do not take, we won a free pawn and their king is exposed) 2.Ng5+, Kg6 (if 2..., Rg8 3. Qh5, Re8 4.Qxf7+) 3.Qg4, f5 4.Qg3, Kh6 5. Qh4+, Kg6 6.Qh7, Kf6 (6..., Kxg5 7. Qxg7+, Kh5 8. f4, Ng8 9. Rf3 and White wins) 7. e4 (to do e5+ next), Ng6 8. exf5, exf5 9. Rad1, Nd3 10. Qh3, Ndf4 (Ngf4 was the right move)

[@massimilianos374]

Wow thank you so much for the explanation I really appreciate it.

[@NMRobertRamirez]

@@massimilianos374 👍

[@mychessnotebook8653]

I tried the final position against Stockfish on the highest level on lichess. Despite giving White +9.0, I didn't win! It was a draw after: 1... Ne7 2. Qh7 Ra7 3. Bxf6 Qxf6 4. Rxd5+ Rd7 5. Rg8+ Kc7 6. Qc2+ Nc6 7. Rxd7+ Kxd7 8. Rg6 Qa1+ 9. Kh2 Qe5+ 10. Kh3 Qd5 11. Qxc6+ Qxc6 12. Rxc6 Kxc6 etc. I thought I could win with three connected passed pawns vs. bishop, but I was wrong. The tablebases say it was a draw after move 12. I learned a lot, though. Great suggestion to play things out against the engine!

[@mohammadkheireddine5608]

What is the best opening for it

[@andrewwilson9123]

It’s one of the main ideas in the regular London (it can happen in the Jobava, but it’s definitely less common) especially when black takes the knight on e5, or an early e6 happens

[@mohammadkheireddine5608]

@@andrewwilson9123 thank you

[@tonynorriss379]

Black could play Kh8 rather than take the bishop. Then Knight g5 threatening Bd3 Qh5+ etc. The Re8, making room for Nf8 (N on f8 there is no mate). But the N x f7 + forking the K & Q.

[@flinson3429]

what if the black pieces chose to take the rook instead of taking the knight? Bishop takes rook, King takes bishop rook a1 check, King e2 Queen c2+, King f3 / Bishop d2 Queen takes b3 is black better in this position?

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello! At what time in the video?

[@flinson3429]

At 19:35

[@NMRobertRamirez]

@@flinson3429 I see! I think White could do Rh3 threatening mate and there is nothing Black can do 💪

[@dariodesansebastian]

This is explained in "the art of attack in chess", by Vulkovič! Tomorrow I'll have that book delivered! Can't wait. I also ordered 100 endgames from De La Villa, 1001 Exercises for club players and the book you recommended on the pirc! Thanks for your videos, the quality is top notch!

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Thank you Dario! It's great to see you getting serious about your training 👍 I can tell you the De La Villa book is great, but please, let me know about Vulkovič's 👍

[@kaankahveci1153]

Hey Coach! I want to ask a question. Against 1.e5 I play 1...c6 because I want to restrict my opponent's moves, against 1.d4 I play Grünfeld but I don't know what to start with white pieces. I generally play London but at a certain level, London gives an easy game. What do you recommend to start with? Like I said I want to restrict my opponent's moves and I like sharp positions. I am thinking maybe I can play Catalan?

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hello Kaan! I like the Catalan, but it is not sharp. Take a look at the last game I played on lesson # 84. It is called the Colle/Zukertort system. It could turn strategic or aggressive. It depends on your style. Let me know what you think!

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Here it is kzbin.info/www/bejne/hGfScqaGYs58l9E

[@kaankahveci1153]

@@NMRobertRamirez What about Rapport-Jobava System?

[@NMRobertRamirez]

@@kaankahveci1153 yes, I played a game with it today. I like it.

[@BeilinIlya]

i think that the bishop takes and then the night would come over, with the queen

[@mehdilolar286]

anotherreview , and the game of anand is amazing love his style thank u foooooorrrrr alllll ; (greek gift lesson and profilaxist lesson in one )

[@jonshive5482]

11:20---Despite grossly inferior visualization and calculation skills, I'd guess that if instead of ...f6 Black played ...h6 it appears Ng5 doesn't work now. Allowing Black's dark-square Bishop to capture at some point makes the difference, no?

[@danomaly8943]

Qc3 and Bg4 come to mind. Black really isn’t in a good position to develop pieces without a cost. Bg4 takes away the opportunity to improve his bishop which really isn’t that good imo it’s blocked by his pawn that can’t move forward. My first thoughts were Ng4 to prepare to attack with my bishop but my Knight is pinning blacks Knight so since I couldn’t find a concrete move. I tried to improve a piece with purpose and I like to pressure my opponent. Hopefully that makes sense. I’m trying to participate and get the most out of this. Trying to understand the terminology as well

[@flinson3429]

I don't think that Bishop takes h7 is the best move, because after the King takes h7 there is no dark square bishop and our queen can't go to h6. since we castled to the kingside h4 is also not so effective cause there is no rook on the h file. I don't know if I am right

[@NMRobertRamirez]

If you are talking about the homework exercise, you are absolutely correct. It would still be difficult to defend though 😎

[@kaankahveci1153]

stockfish gives -4 something about anand-karpov game but I think a human probably wouldn't defend that position

[@NMRobertRamirez]

You are absolutely right! 💪

[@mehdila6144]

on the minute 24:05 this Qb1 surprise me even if i review the lesson heheh because i was thiniking everytime of sacrificing rood on d5 and blundred it xD hhehe im happy to review it again

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Yes, that kind of move is just so elegant and it feels good to do it in a game 😎

[@mehdila6144]

@@NMRobertRamirez yeah i love it ! i see this kind of move just in few games of elegents player like spassky capablanca anand etc . they show me that brutality doesnt work everytime but preparing the brutality is worst xD hehe for me their style is the most beautiful to watch and learn thank you so much for this lesson and those exemples :)

[@NMRobertRamirez]

@@mehdila6144 I could not agree more! Soon you will be pulling such moves as well 😎

[@mehdila6144]

@@NMRobertRamirez I hope with all my heart. I will work hard to make it happen. really thank you so much !! :)

[@flinson3429]

17:23 Bf4

[@NMRobertRamirez]

💪

[@danomaly8943]

I would take the pawn on g5 first to open the file for my rook then attack f7 with the bishop king moves to f8 I put my pawn on g6. If rook goes to e8 my queen comes to f3 and I’m ready to mate. If something like Qc8 then my queen comes to f5 to support my pawn and bishop. If Queen takes then I take their queen with bishop for discovered check followed by mate on Qf8

[@danomaly8943]

I meant h when I said “f” I’m need to get some sleep but I actually went over the moves so I’m getting better. I feel like I see the positions a lot in chess puzzles

[@ottoh.7340]

Great content. As you said, usually we already have the position ready and just execute the greek gift on exercises. But is always nice to know how we can create the ideal conditions to make this sacrifice possible! Tks, Rob! BlitzKriegBoy99 (BKB99)

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Thank you for your comment, Otto! I really appreciate it 👍

[@1968laugro]

I don't think that Bxh7+ leads to anything concrete but a bishop sacrifice in this particular case (and I spent quite a lot of time on it). Starting with Ng5 is also not good. If 1. Bxh7+ Kh8 2. Ng5 Qxd1 or 1. Bxh7+ Kxh7 2. Ng5+ Kg6 3. Qg4 f5 4. Qg4 maybe? But what next as we already sacrificed a bishop? If 1. Ng5 Nxd3 2. Qh5 h3 then what? That's why I think of playing Bc2 or Be2 in the next move (very passive, I know).

[@NMRobertRamirez]

You are right, Laurent! Probably Be2 or Bc2 is the way to go. Truth is that Bxh7+ is not so clear in this specific position since White has only a few pieces to carry out the attack. Anyways, Black has to be precise in order to defend effectively. In that case, White can get no more than a draw. In this game, Capablanca did 1.Bxh7+, Kxh7 (if they do not take, we won a free pawn and their king is exposed) 2.Ng5+, Kg6 (if 2..., Rg8 3. Qh5, Re8 4.Qxf7+) 3.Qg4, f5 4.Qg3, Kh6 5. Qh4+, Kg6 6.Qh7, Kf6 (6..., Kxg5 7. Qxg7+, Kh5 8. f4, Ng8 9. Rf3 and White wins) 7. e4 (to do e5+ next), Ng6 8. exf5, exf5 9. Rad1, Nd3 10. Qh3, Ndf4 (Ngf4 was the right move)

[@1968laugro]

​@@NMRobertRamirez So it all happened after Qg3 then Kh6. I thought that 4. Qg3 f4 giving the f5 square to blacks knight which looked dangerous for white so I dropped it. Too far for me:)

[@NMRobertRamirez]

hehehe don't even worry about it. That was just Capablanca trying to look cool

[@rainerausdemspring894]

By the way, there is no convincing explanation for the name. That it refers to the Trojan Horse is rather suspicious - we don't sacrifice a horse on h7. In German it has a rather dull name: "Läuferopfer auf h7 (h2)" which simply means bishop sacrifice on h7 (h2). In my over the board games (2 hours for 40 moves in the 70s) I only could win with it in a single game - as Black!

[@realest1929]

At time 12:43, what happens if Qh5?

[@etneide]

Please, this is the "Greco gift" because of "Gioacchino Greco" in his chess treatise “Trattato del gioco degli scacchi” (1619) analized it. Using "Greek gift" is an inaccuracy.

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Thank you!

[@etneide]

​@@NMRobertRamirez thanks to you, for your effort to condivide your chess experience with us.

[@TimJapan]

i don't see how the greek gift could work in the final puzzle. if king comes up to attack Ng5+ only white queen can support the Knight as Black queen targets our queen on d1 and has control of d3. this is what i see. I am sure I'm missing something.

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Hey Timothy! After 1.Bxh7+, Kxh7 2.Ng5+, Kg6 we can do 3.Qg4 and we get a strong attack, but it is true it's not as good as in the other examples. However, Black needs to be careful or they could lose the game. In other words, it is not accurate to go for the Greek gift, but it is not easy to defend as Black either 😎

[@TimJapan]

@@NMRobertRamirezI now see. I ran through the Analysis on Lichess. It isn't likely black would find a way out even though one exists. Very interesting. This is one of my favorite videos btw.

[@NMRobertRamirez]

@@TimJapan glad to hear that Timothy! It is a nice theme for sure.

[@vijyantmehrotra8119]

But I play safe Chess , afraid of sacrifices

[@vijyantmehrotra8119]

Love from INDIA

[@pliers5326]

Content good but the shape of the pieces you use is distracting. I suggest just standard pieces

[@since1876]

Hmm. I thought it would be a video about giving your opponent a Gyro.

[@NMRobertRamirez]

It is almost as good 😜

[@karanarora1468]

👍

[@elnuraliyev6603]

The videos are instructive, but if you could change the board pieces, that'd be great

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Thank you, Elnur! Will take that into consideration. I am always asking people about that. Again, thanks for your feedback 👍

[@elnuraliyev6603]

@@NMRobertRamirez Please keep making more videos!

[@NMRobertRamirez]

@@elnuraliyev6603 absolutely! We still have a long way to go!

[@obscurealm]

@@NMRobertRamirez pls don't change the board, it's perfect n easy on the eyes

[@NMRobertRamirez]

@@obscurealm 👍💪

[@nadimdawalibi464]

Hallo :)

[@danomaly8943]

Way wrong again…

[@NMRobertRamirez]

Keep it up! 💪👍