O'Sullivan Gambit: The Trickiest Opening You've Never Heard Of

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In this video, I share some beautiful ideas and traps in the incredibly rare O'Sullivan Gambit of the Alekhine's Defense.
0:00 Introduction to the O'Sullivan Gambit
2:27 Thank you Skillshare for sponsoring this video
3:42 Basic Traps
8:58 O'Sullivan Gambit Declined
12:08 THE COOLEST OPENING TRAP EVER!?!?
20:00 COUNTER TRAP vs O'Sullivan Gambit
23:03 Leave your questions and opening suggestions in the comments!
Analyze the O'Sullivan Gambit here: lichess.org/study/EjrhlUIa
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#chess #ericrosen

[@eric-rosen]

Thanks to Skillshare for sponsoring this video! The first 1,000 people to use this link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare: skl.sh/ericrosen08211

[@bohanwithb1546]

how is this comment here before the video is out

[@leNnard_]

​@@bohanwithb1546 most videos are uploaded way before they are published. While the video is unlisted, you can comment, edit etc. the video before publishing it :)

[@catcat4697]

Could you cover the old Benoni defense? I like to play it but only know the first 2 moves

[@izzylandyt]

oh no my sponsor

[@izzylandyt]

There's a funny ad here

[@TheChessGiant]

Eric Rosen always coming in clutch with the openings nobody has ever seen in their life.

[@corv2731]

Aaaaaand commence EVERYONE learning this, using this, and then learning how to crush this opening over the next 24 hours on lichess lol

[@alrineusaldore6764]

​@@corv2731 And then people stop using it, forget how to counter it, and a guy who will watch the video in like 6 months will crush everyone with it

[@rkusuma6852]

Donau gambit Danube gambit/adorjan gambit it is an unknown and a good one for black it goes like this 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. bxa6 c6 6. dxc6. at depth 20 Stockfish gives this position as +0.4 for black

[@artsenor254]

@@rkusuma6852 Well, it seems very close to the Benko gambit, so I'm not sure how good the surprise factor would be. Nice idea, however, to trade white's d-pawn as an improvement over the Benko (though 3.d5 is a pretty rare line to face).

[@wasp7969]

love you

[@legoupil1819]

The man actually put chapters in this video including the sponsorship, so that it is easy to skip. Thanks Eric. Of course, no Eric fan would ever do that, because we are loyal fans and want to support the content.

[@erikbentley9005]

LOL

[@DracoVolantus]

i guess we live in the future

[@kugelblitzingularity304]

Shhhhh dont tell them

[@zzye2651]

I was just gonna say sumn. This man is a high quality streamer/youtuber.

[@ryangarvey8207]

TO CLARIFY TO ERICS SPONSOR WE ALL WATCH THE SPONSORSHIPS FULLY AND WE ALMOST ALWAYS BUY THE PRODUCT RIGHT AFTER WATCHING

[@kruksog]

Eric, I've said it before, but I absolutely LOVE these teaching videos from you. Please continue making them, they are always the highlight of my day when they drop. Thanks again, you rock.

[@indigopurrp]

Eric has a sponsor!! so happy for u man

[@mrlucasftw42]

When will you show us the Rosen Gambit? Surely you've invented one by now!

[@jwr1970]

That would involve gambiting at least Q, R and one minor piece 😆

[@stealthy3244]

@@jwr1970 and possibly king

[@stealthy3244]

@@jwr1970 but he’ll still find a way to win

[@jwr1970]

that's imrosen for you ㋛︎

[@arogyatiwari6066]

@@stealthy3244 or stalemate

[@FritziSchach]

1:21 I wondered how I played the top game on lichess against O'Sullivan gambit and never heard of it before. It turned out it was a hyperbullet game and after premoving 4. c4 i lost my Queen in 5 more moves, but somehow still was able to flag my opponent 😂

[@OmneAurumNon]

Cool opening. As an Alekhine player, I may have to give this a try. It's kind of a pity that white can just move order out of it completely by playing 2 c4 and just transpose back to the main line on move three

[@wakinguptothetruth.2566]

I have been playing this gambit for around 15 years mainly in bullet chess it's a great surprise weapon.

[@mrregularword4329]

Btw you ever heard of the banana bread opening, 1. E4 b5 where pretty much the only reason it could be considered playable if you don’t capture the pawn. Also the rule is you have to say banana bread to your opponent in chat When you play it to extra bamboozle them

[@lred1383]

Goddamnit, you actually got me to check. Wouldn't be the craziest/dumbest opening name

[@davidgustavsson4000]

I don't get it

[@juneguts]

More like the Trickiest Opening I'm ABOUT To Hear Of

[@troyajohnson26]

Love chess. Don’t play it, but love it. It amazes me how there are millions of possibilities, been played for hundreds of years, and there are still videos showing these rarely discovered moves.

[@Sockem1223]

So THIS is why I've been getting the Alekhine as white so much today. I usually play the 3 pawn attack but I might have to play into this for some fun

[@gambit633]

Many popular youtubers schtick is to rant and act wildly expressive, Rosen's style makes me laugh... when he said "I am very very excited!" still used that relaxed laid back style of his. He is the master of understatement.. casters: "Yes I am winning!", Rosen: "Hmm the position is becoming pleasant"

[@radosawkarwacki4386]

22:28 holy hell

[@mitcigamer4289]

new response just dropped

[@benjaminmorgan1562]

There is something uniquely mesmeric and satisfying about the way Eric pronounces “Rook”

[@ujemvi]

It doesn't matter the subject. When you find somebody with so much passion about something, the content is really enjoyable.

[@krot464]

Very good stuff, im glad some interesting gambits and ideas are still being discovered.

[@nelsonalva]

This is gold. I was trying to find an opening with black against e4 different from the classical Giuoco Piano or the Staford Gambit (everybody knows it already), and I think this is the one. Thanks Eric for going back to your roots :)

[@baldaquinn]

Eric is such a nice person that I didn’t skip the audible sponsor

[@guiatem]

Nice, but wrong sponsor

[@baldaquinn]

@@guiatem but me, I'm not necessarily a nice person ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@scott88876]

Since I am an avid Alekhine's player, I definitely want to try it. Thanks for the tip.

[@cousinx1976]

Hey Eric, I'm a great fan of your lessons, keep up the good work!

[@DrTrictac]

Thanks so much Eric, great content. I'd be sooooo thrilled if you made a Delayed Alapin Vid, unveiling mad trappy lines !

[@DrTrictac]

Some common themes with ponziani, and I'm sure you'd find cool gambits

[@schnoppf8617]

A video on the Alekhine defense where white doesn't play 2. e5 would be a nice complement to this. Great video Eric!!!

[@cyrussmith5242]

Well, I don't have a video for you, but I do have a trap! After 3. Nc3, Black can play 4. d5. If white pushes to e5, Black retreats with Nd7, offering to trade pawns. Usually White will here defend their own pawn with e4, at which point Black plays c5, baiting White to take the d5 pawn. If White falls for it and plays Nxd5, Black plays cxd4, White almost certainly recaptures with Qxd4, and Black plays Nb6! pinning the knight to the Queen and attacking the knight twice. If White tries to hang to the knight with c4, Black plays e6 and threatens the pinned knight with the pawn, completely winning. I have gotten this in blitz and rapid a few times, it was great

[@zanti4132]

​@@cyrussmith5242 In your line, which I'll repeat here to correct the notation, 1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. e5 Nd7 4. d4 c5 5. Nxd5 cxd4 6. Qxd4 Nb6!, White has a tricky reply with 7. Bb5+!?, when Black's only good move is 7...Nc6. Now after 8. c4 e6 9. Bg5!? Black still has to be careful, but 9...Qd7! works. Then if 10. Bxc6 bxc6, and Black finally gets to capture the knight next move.

[@kumargaurav6853]

Thanks for the great content as always Eric. Please make a video on Colarado Gambit.

[@bbkr2063]

I got sooo many of those positions by transpositions from Polish Defense (which is b5 on first move). I did not know sacrificing b pawn was even a named gambit. Thanks Eric for informative video!

[@andrealolli9105]

I'll definately give this opening a try! Thanks a lot for showing this to us ❤️

[@saeedhamdhan791]

Some one pls fin this man the link...

[@vibronik]

Eric always gives the best in-depth commentary on these gambit ideas :) I have played over 300 Alekhines on lichess and have scored 15 or 20 quick wins with this particular gambit. Here's a *bonus* tip in return! If white responds to your Alekhine defense with 2. Nc3, follow up with e5. White will most commonly respond with 3. Nf3, transposing to the three knights game. However, you can then quickly play Bc5 *as if* you did not see your e-pawn under attack. But if white takes it--there you have Nc6! Stafford gambit time ;)

[@Marcusjnmc]

xD O'Sullivan transposing into the Stafford is a gem, a questionable & probable counterfit gem, but still shiny

[@earlking6430]

Agadmator will love the last variation ...Whites refutation. Great quick overview and some exposure Alekhine's defence . Thanks Eric

[@martinhadleigh5890]

Wow…..that’s pretty awesome; thanks for sharing 👍🙂

[@Jj82op]

I remember I saw this in Hikaru's and Levy's gambits tier list. Have you heard of the gambits in the birds opening? There's the From's gambit and Sturm gambit.

[@jeremythomas4744]

I believe its called the alekhine gambit

[@polychromaa]

And the Swiss gambit

[@ZenPossum]

I remember seeing this in that video too and trying it out afterwards with surprisingly many people just refuting it

[@doomkid360]

This is def not the best way to learn, but I 100% love these videos because I can be stubborn and have a hard time viewing my games, and learning different openings that have lots of traps and options make me so excited when I'm playing blitz. These videos are so lit lol.

[@timbailey7646]

These videos are *the only way to learn

[@sloefox4065]

Just in the last few weeks, I've started learning the Alekhine, as I want it to be my main weapon against e4, this could not have come at a better time, I don't think I ever would have stumbled on this gem of a gambit on my own. Thank you so much Eric!

[@tomaznascimentomorais2001]

Thanks for the amazing content, Eric! I'll be sure to try this opening. As 1700 player I realized that gambits are the way to go. As a suggestion I would ask you to make a video on the göering gambit, particularly the double pawn sacrifice. I've been playing that a lot and my win rate is somewhat around 70%, although sometimes I get to some positions where I can't seem to keep the iniative. Cheers!

[@cbplayz2374]

I assume you mean the göring gambit, the Scotch line? In the double pawn sacrifice variation I'd recommend learning the double pawn sacrifice Danish gambit theory, there's a lot of overlap thematically and while not every precise move applies there are still a lot of ideas that can be used. The Danish is much more popular so it's easier to find info. -Fellow new player of the göring gambit

[@moffatcam]

Love the Göering!! The scotch gambit has been my main weapon up to 1700 too, and I’ve got a >60% winrate with it... but I have had incredible games with the extended scotch gambits like the Göering 😁

[@MrBonified66]

@@moffatcam +1 on the Scotch Gambit, love playing it and it's my first choice with e4 e5

[@Aurix04]

Is. the goering gambit when you burn down the german parliament?

[@pouljin]

Great stuff every time you post of these i play it a few times and someone falls for the traps at 2k. Really good learning.

[@stoneskull]

hi eric.. loved that analysis. will try this soon. my suggestion for another video would be on the Reti Gambit. cheers :)

[@pomagier6277]

O'Sullivan Gambit: The gambit of snooker player

[@Roma-kg9ld]

For the past 2 days I've been getting snooker videos about O'Sullivan no less, and now Eric uploads this? What?

[@pomagier6277]

@@Roma-kg9ld Propably something important in the snooker world has happened recently, i dunno, not really into snooker

[@cyrussmith5242]

Coming back to this video to say that, after a year of trying, I have finally got the first queen sac position on the board. It was extremely satisfying. Thanks Eric!

[@enjoyers4781]

This opening was recently covered by another channel so ive heard of it but this video is still amazing :D

[@zappodracula8256]

Hi Eric, big fan of these kinds of videos. An opening I found a lot of success with is the Wing Gambit against the Sicilian with the Abrahams Variation, which is e4 c5 b4 cxb4 Bb2. There are a lot of mistakes that aren't too obvious black can do that lead to a tremendous lead in white's favor. Good work and have fun.

[@bohanwithb1546]

So informative! Ty for this really helped me expand my repertoire❤️❤️❤️

[@betzalelsacks7517]

Repertoire

[@bohanwithb1546]

@Dhruv Shah ty

[@bohanwithb1546]

@@betzalelsacks7517 ty

[@grim_blazer9120]

This is never gonna happen but the John Tracy gambit would be a cool opening to do a video on

[@the_bottomfragger]

Time to learn the lines against this. I remember how the Stafford gambit destroyed me after you had released the video on it so I learned the theory on it back then :) Thanks for the great content!

[@sollertia_]

21:14 there's Qxe5+ in that line, in between move that ensures black keeps the queen For future opening suggestions, it's another Alekhine line but I'd love some resources for the Cambridge Gambit in the Four Pawns Attack variation 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. c4 Nb6 5. f4 g5!?

[@davidnelson4960]

Continually proves he's the best chess teach we have. Love that his shares are 90 percent and 10 dry wit. Hope this man hits 1000000 viewers.

[@gerardduffy3406]

Great video, would love to see some gambits against 1.d4

[@Larghz]

love your gambit videos!!

[@shanastroskyphazer8172]

Thanks for teaching us new off beat openings Eric. Super interesting. How about the Kopec bishops opening or the Turtle opening for white. Nights Tango or other Alekhine gambits for Black or ...Ne4 Alekhine is fun in blitz or bullet. :)

[@antr3426]

Tried this opening and got the easiest win of my life, Thank you Eric!

[@dyesqueeze9814]

pumping this in the gym rn thank you imericrosen

[@phidybee3334]

So I've stated playing this &I ❤️it,think I'm about 6wins v 2 defeats, which is calm cos it's against players of a similar rating,& I've done hardly any research apart from stockfish analysis on the games I've played, but things get real sharp real quick &in bullet it's perfect cos your taking your opponent to a crazy wilderness, only play it against 1 d4 though as like a polish defence transposition because in alekhines if white plays 2c4 instead of 2 d4 the whole thing goes to toffee, you also get a good white square bishop if they decide to play the London, definitely 1 to explore, thanks for the upload brudda 👍

[@janikg6779]

23:52 of pure joy, thanks Eric ☺️

[@supasoul20]

Awesome content Eric!

[@wesselknobbe7307]

Please more content from this gambit!!

[@huyschesscorner1327]

You invented a gambit, a countergambit is delivered, Eric :)

[@unmatchisntaword]

Eric I really struggle to fall asleep at night because of my anxiety. Your voice helps me sleep.

[@HebiSnake]

One of my favorite chess KZbinrs. Love the chill vibes.

[@BlackMeRiver]

Can you do a video on the Gibbins-Weidenhagen gambit? It has a similar idea with the white pieces. love your videos!

[@oli_onion]

I remember watching you talk about Englund gambit versions and seeing ICBM potential but can't seem to find the video again.

[@troycongdon]

Most amusing, thank you sir!

[@douvilleg]

Now we want games featuring this gambit!!

[@KF1]

18:20 true to style, man. This is cool.

[@daves9492]

Cool video! Not a single suggestion, but have you seen Jonathan Tait's "Disreputable Opening Repertoire" book that Everyman are publishing, with a full repertoire of suspicious but tricky e4 e5 lines for black? Things like the Two Knights Ulvestad Variation, the Calabrese Countergambit and the Lopez-Gianutio Countergambit...

[@LordSoviet]

Cool video Eric! The only issue I have with trying to learn and play stuff like this is vast majority of the time I won't be able to get it. It's the same reason I stopped attempting to get a stafford gambit when I face e4, because most of the time they won't accept it (or if they do, because it is so rarely accepted the lines are not fresh in my mind) and I end up having to play some petrov position when I would much prefer to play sicilian or caro-kann

[@UMMACKAY]

you must be unlucky! i would say i get the stafford more than 50% of the time that i play it.

[@frankberger8243]

as a player that recently discovered Alekhines defense this video comes so in handy!

[@oneeternity4329]

I have a trap idea for white in 20:54 after black play Qa5+ we play 7. pawn to c3 to block the check(or Nc3 to invite black to take on c3) dxc3 8.Bxf7+ Kf7( the king must take our bishop) 9.Qh5+ g6 10.And our final blow out punch e6+ Kxe6 11.Qxa5.

[@Ysspiano]

An analysis of the Milner-Barry gambit would be cool !

[@s4m3r]

21:12 I was analyzing this position with an engine and instead of immediately promoting on a1 on move 9 to get a draw, you can first take Qe5 and have a completely winning position. Not sure why Eric recommended taking the rook first but that's actually a losing move

[@maiageia1240]

Not losing it means a human move. We're playing humans here not computer or engines.

[@s4m3r]

@@maiageia1240 I mean, it kinda makes sense, take with check first and get out of the way of attack before promoting the other queen. It’s what lead me to put the position on an engine because I felt like something has to be wrong

[@maiageia1240]

@@s4m3r Forget about that maybe you'll understand once you read this. Do you know why Gambits exist? It's because to make use of Human's weakness to take advantage of it. Humans can't play perfect moves like computers so why are you assuming that humans can play perfectly and expected to lose? Unlike Computers or engines, Gambits are useless because they can play perfectly but against Humans I don't think so. I'm saying just because the computer says the other player is at a disadvantage doesn't mean he won't get a chance to win again and should just resign or whatever.

[@Marcusjnmc]

@@maiageia1240 because a human can remember this one thing, it was useful information & it's nice that it was shared

[@alexdotdash7731]

I play alekhine’s defense all the time and can’t wait to use this gambit!

[@MrBonified66]

That Queen walk is about the sickest thing I've ever seen :)

[@krzaq666]

I was sure this one would include a cue shooting pieces into other pieces and off the board.

[@pedrodionisio2733]

Awesome video! for sure i'm using this on board :D but what should black do after c5 Bc4?

[@Egornnn]

Thanks for the amazing gambit! How do you even decide to check b5? It seems like a very rare option in database

[@hernanruiz756]

Can't wait to get this opening as black once in 10000 games! Just kdding, great video as always

[@parsamoohebat5668]

Cool Gambit Please post more videos about Gambits Tnx :) ❤

[@fr02enph0enixplays7]

An interesting off beat opening that my friend found(I didn't ask how) was 1. e4 e5 2. Ne2 Nf6 3. f4 exf4 4. Nxf4 Nxe4?? 5. Qe2 Qe7 and there are many ways for black to keep getting worse in engine eval and some cool computer lines. Eg. 6. Nd5 Qe5 7. Nbc3 and black has to give up the knight. Example of maybe typical position when black plays natural moves and white's position is solid: 3. Nxe4 4. d3 Nc5 5.fxe5 Nc6(not best but probably common) 6. g3 d6 7. d4 Nd7 8. exd6 Bxd6 9. Bg2 O-O 10. O-O and white has a nice position. There is a lot of deviations but a lot end up with black potentially being slightly better but white on his/her side having an open f file and an offbeat position. I can't analyze everything but this opening hasn't been explored much and has new tactics that have not been seen very often.

[@AdamBittner]

Day 7 of translating Eric's titles to Groot: "I am Groot. I am Groot."

[@samx6557]

Seems like NNN is driving some people crazy...

[@AdamBittner]

@@samx6557 I am Groot. I am Groot.

[@thelegendaryphoenix6860]

You should also try the Cambridge gambit in the Alekhine

[@marioparramurciano4363]

Could you please make a video on the Ulvestad? It's similar to this one and trappy as well

[@rmantf2]

Reminds me of a line in the alekhine where after e4 nf6 bc4 you can play b5! trying to distract the bishop so after nxe4 there’s no Bf7 and Qh5+. If Bb3 there’s c5 threatening to trap the bishop with complex play.

[@mariogiannattasio3062]

i love this kind of videos.

[@SilentTM]

Is there a bishop's opening study? Would love to see it :D

[@deloford]

I got this and won immediately!🏆 They blocked with the queen and the bishop skewer worked well

[@SomeRandomDevOpsGuy]

Crazy. Just saw someone do this on one of Levy's "guess the elo" episodes. There was some line where black can get white's queen for the cost of some development and a few prawns. p.s. look at you with all the sponsors! Love your work, keep it up :)

[@OmneAurumNon]

I'd never give up prawns to win a queen. They're too delicious :p

[@pukipwner]

Which episode?

[@Kiwimarra]

@@pukipwner I'd too love to know lemme know if you find it

[@scuderia7683]

Which episode? Please share the link

[@franciscomelo5626]

The Paris Gambit is a very agressive one and with a great lichess win rate! You could get wild with this one

[@rafaex913]

I really love the chess content. I would like to have more videos like that in the future

[@1.4142]

This was on the gambit tier list! I couldn't remember what it was until this video.

[@funwayomafuleka7382]

I am a 1500 play in bullet and I played the O'Sullivan gambit and won against a 2000 player in a tournament. I always enjoy your instruction videos. London has been my main repertoire. Stafford has too many counterplays so I have not had much success with it. The next lesson is Lopez or Kann openings for me.

[@francoispitre6292]

In Québec we know this as the Beregovoy gambit ,played by Alexander Beregovoy in the 90`s

[@xenoalvis7866]

Great video! But my fav gambit will always be Lucchini ;)

[@patricksteil1614]

It is funny to hear your voice without any donation-sounds followed by the text-to-speech voice :D

[@mikhailgavrilov8980]

Insane lines dude

[@utkarshsrivastava3023]

Thanks

[@antonpirulero9343]

Eric, can you play agressively with the black pieces in the exchange slave defense?

[@mbrusyda9437]

I think slave exchange has been banned for quite a while

[@ingogoldbeck2886]

as a stafford fan i can confirm this is fun. Never saw that before. My first opponents just resigned after Qa5+ 😂

[@loishik5404]

Now that is a good thumbnail

[@blablabla7796]

Friendship with Stafford ended, Sullivan is my best friend now.

[@ReggieJ007]

lmao you have me playing all these gambits every game lol thanks for the new trap

[@YtubeUserr]

Queen: Kneel down Eric... I hereby knight you Sir Eric Gambitsen.

[@gyro_rella]

I've always played the Alekhine but never knew this opening

[@wakinguptothetruth.2566]

I have been playing the Alekhine defence for over 30 years, and have been playing this gambit for around 15 years, mainly just bullet chess though. It's a great surprise weapon.

[@jinjurbreadman]

6:03 black is getting the last... (everyone expects 'laugh') 'bite'