Budapest Gambit (3 part series)

GM Boris Alterman explores the Budapest Gambit (1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e5). The Budapest is popular with club and internet chess players all over the world, and it is easy to see why. It has surprise value, its not hard to learn, and it leads to sharp and dynamic play from the very start of the game. It was first played by Hungarian great Geza Maroczy at Budapest, 1896, but it was his fellow countrymen Abonyi, Barasz and Breyer who developed and popularized the opening in the early part of the 20th-century. While it is rarely seen at top level (though Mamedyarov deployed it in 2008 at the Amber tournament to beat Kramnik! Game HERE), it is not only solid and reliable, but you can also catch unaware opponents out in one of the myriad of opening traps to pick up a free win!