Best Surprise Defense For Black...

...for blitz games...The Latvian Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5!?).

Surprisingly, it can even take a world champion by surprise, more than once! Considered a dubious opening, if Capablanca can lose to it, then certainly my opponents in 10 minute games can lose as well, provided I study the lines and traps.

What is your favorite surprise defense for blitz games?  Do you play the Latvian Gambit? If so, please post a game. Thank you.

A few old games.

I can't ever remember things like this.

The trick is to learn a few short lines, of any opening, and work out the bugs in blitz games. Also, it's important to know the key points to any opening, to make it of most ust. With the Latvian Gambit, Black wants an open f-file, and then throw everything and the kitchen sink at f2. The same as what White aims for in the King's Gambit, to get an open f-file and then attack f7 with everything.

If White gets to castle in the Latvian Gambit, or if Black gets to castle in the King's Gambit, then the gambiteer is doing something wrong.

I just wish I could get over whatever this crap is, I've got. I can't think straight at all right now.

Re the capablanca v corzo games up top: Why doesn't that black rook on e4 ever get

snatched up by the white queen or pawn early on in the game? It doesn't seem like it's being defended... I must be missing something, right?

Hi gregle4.

If the rook on e4 gets snatched up then black will win whites queen.

Fischer also lost to the Latvian.

Latvian is really dubious and i would call it a bad opening...

It is not even surprising since, it is well known white has easy play after Nxe5 followed by d4 or Nc4 (on Qf6).

Sometimes black wins, and so what?

White's score is crushing statistically speaking.

Just so you know, Capablanca was barely 13 when these games were played in 1901 and only became World champion 20 years later.

So at best, it "surprised" a talented young boy.

Why not 16. Ke1? 

Well, besides the fact that is very improbable to get to this position .. but i don't get it .. Ke1 seems way better than Qxe2 for this particular setup.

Actually, according to chessgames.com's database, of 355 games that reached 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 f5, White won 47.9% of the time, draws were 13.5%, and Black won 38.6%, and that is the HIGHEST winning percentage for Black of any reply to 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3.

After the most typical move, 2...Nc6 (80,447 games), White won 37.3% of the time, draws were 35.3%, and Black won 27.3%.  Awarding 1 point for a win and 1/2 point for a draw, Black scores an avg. 0.44 points in the Latvian and 0.45 points with 2...Nc6.

If you excel at tactics, the Latvian Gambit looks promising, and it tends to cause a very high rate of exchanges, which is very desirable in blitz games!

Modification to my original post:  One BAD thing for the gambit is it does have a relatively awful record against 3 Nxe5 where White won 55.3% and drew 12.2%, but Black's 32.5% wins is not bad.  Black has a very good record in the 66 of the 355 games where White, who may worry about 3...fxe4 forcing a N move, plays 3 exf5.  In that case White won only 34.5% of the time, draws were 17.2%, and Black won 48.3%,

Yakov Estrin, in his small book, Gambits,, recommends "3 Nxe5!" and points out "This may be considered a form of King's Gambit played by Black, who is thus a tempo down; in view of this, Black is unlikely to achieve equal play.

Nevertheless, Estrin was world correspondence champion and there's a big difference in having 3 days to move and playing a live blitz game!

Damiano Defense lol

St George Defense?

very good