GM Hikaru x Hippo Defense DANCE PARTY!!!!!!!!!

[@Ebobster]

Thanks Solomon for analyzing these hippo games from Hikaru. Hikaru’s games are really enjoyable as his games always have interesting and often stunning middle & endgame tactical maneuvers that we can all learn from. Admittedly Hikaru is a master of defense too & sometimes will allow himself to suffer in one part of the board to get what he wants elsewhere. In this game it seems like black allowed white’s a pawn to pressure his queenside so Hikaru could make inroads in the center. IMHO less taxing would have to play a5 to stop white’s march down the a-file. Then again if Hikaru hadn’t allowed the a-file pressure, he might have not gained ground in the center. Chess is a difficult game!!!

[@TheChessGiant]

Great thoughts! Thanks for sharing these!!

[@sweaterkev]

You're spoiling us Solomon!!! 4 Hippo vids in 5 days. Can't wait to see what we're going to get for Xmas!

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks! Glad you enjoying the content!

[@efthorpe]

Thanks for the video. It is a good reminder. If your finachettod bishop is blocked, look for a open diagonal to put it on.

[@TheChessGiant]

You got it! And thanks!!

[@walterbrownstone8017]

Finally a video showing how to beat the hippo! Niemann vs Hikaru on Niemann's channel! Like I said, threaten one fianchetto with the pawn, the other fianchetto with the bishop battery! Yay!

[@TheChessGiant]

I'll have to go take a look! I watched a few minutes of it when I read this comment earlier today but I'll have to go look at the game and see what exactly happened. My guess is that Hikaru simply got outplayed.

[@StudioVRM]

The thumbnails. Oh my stars, the thumbnails.

[@TheChessGiant]

Hahaha thanks, my editor constantly impresses me with how crazy they can be 😂🦛🙏🏽

[@walterbrownstone8017]

In most openings you can move the rook's pawn to the center without costing you much eval. I think this might be a GM level trick because it can definitely confuse the opponent. I always keep that in mind when someone allows me to play the French Chigorin, which in my limited experience, I consider a Hypermodern opening. I don't think anyone else thinks the French is a Hypermodern but I'm convinced.

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks for these thoughts Walter! And ya I don't usually think of the French as Hypermodern.... but the more I think about it.... you might be on to something.

[@walterbrownstone8017]

@@TheChessGiant The French Chigorin is absolutely insane and everyone is caught completely off guard. Empirically you've got 55% chances by move 5 after a ton of different variations!

[@babyface_3271]

Goofiest title but thank you for hippo, hippo man.

[@TheChessGiant]

Agreed lol. But ya idk, I didn't know what else to call it as I asked my editor to show Hikaru dancing with a Hippo 😂🙏🏽🦛

[@bigslick75093]

Now I'm really confused.In your "Hikaru Nakamura WINS FAST with the Hippopotamus Defense!" video a few days ago, you said Hikaru blundered when he played e5. But in todays video, it was a great move! I know the setups aren't identical but they're still pretty close. Can you please explain why e5 was a good move in this video but a Blunder in the previous video? Thx.

[@TheChessGiant]

Hey! Ya so as I mentioned in the other video, usually e5 is a great move. But as I also mentioned in the other video, e5 was a mistake because it allowed a Bxb5+ tactic winning white material. In that one, white couldv'e one material, so e5 was not the right choice. However, it usually is, and in this game there was no tactic for white that couldv'e given them an advantage. Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions, Thanks Solomon

[@madzilla14]

The "thick-skin" Hippo (a6) ... !

[@TheChessGiant]

Yessirrrrr!

[@DominickODierno]

What did Hikaru do wrong in his Hippo match against Hans? Was it mainly move order out of the gate? Or did Hans see the Hippo coming and preemptively stop it?

[@TheChessGiant]

I will have to go take a look! Thanks for the question brotha!

[@FranciscoTirado-v5v]

I usually beat my Opponents on this type of environmental like lock positions

[@TheChessGiant]

Sounds like you are good in these type of middlegame positions!

[@FranciscoTirado-v5v]

@@TheChessGiant especially when evething is lock i tend to win and when they castle that way they did in the game I beat my opponents in agresive way haha

[@sergiuszbanasz3194]

HAJkaru 😂 Hippo is always gooood 🦸

[@TheChessGiant]

LOL! Apparently I've been saying his name wrong all this time... I filmed a bunch of these back-to-back but for future videos I'll have to check my pronunciation lol. And ya the Hippo is OP!

[@lionelbowhunter468]

Hi Solomon, just a question: after the exchange Bishop for our knight. OK Hikaru has got the bishop pair for his knight but i always tought Knights are better in closed games where there is not much scope for the bishop, knights can "hop" everywhere...and this is a closed game:) Thx for your videos perfectly explained!! Greetings from France 😊

[@FloatingSunfish]

It's not that closed since the bishops can get very active elsewhere on the board. Truly closed games aren't just where the center is locked, but where bishops don't have that much to do because they're so restricted.

[@TheChessGiant]

Great question Lionel! @FloatingSunfish gave a pretty good answer, but I'll build off of what he said. A truly closed position is a position in which the pawn structure is locked and the bishops have no hope. However, in the current setup, things may seem quiet/closed now... but the long-term direction of the game is still very undecided. Even after move 1 technically pawns haven't been traded off, and same with the Hippo setup, oftentimes a closed position helps - but even then the bishops in the hippo often have a lot of flexibility. They're both on a great square, and if things do get locked up, the bishop on b7 can look at a6 or c8, and the bishop on g7 could look at h6 or f8. Hope this helps! Greetings from California, Solomon 🦛🦛🦛🦛

[@lionelbowhunter468]

@@TheChessGiant Thx a lot Solomon, always a great pleasure to read and see You :))

[@abdelhamidmeriouma8248]

please if you can analyze games with pawn Strom attk

[@TheChessGiant]

By this do you mean the d4/e4/f4 pawn storm from white? If so, I have a video on this coming soon where a GM played that against me online!

[@FloatingSunfish]

Many thanks for the continued upload of instructive Hippo videos, Solomon! 🦛👑 It's a good time to be a Hippo player!

[@TheChessGiant]

Thanks! Appreciate your support of the videos, they're super fun to make! 🦛🙏🏽