Here is the publishers blurb from the rear cover :
“The Budapest Gambit (1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e5) is an aggressive, dynamic approach for meeting 1 d4 and is a great line for throwing opponents onto their own resources. It is certainly double-edged as Black moves the same piece twice early on and also sacrifices a pawn. This pawn is often quickly regained but one of the great advantages of the Budapest is that if White tries to hang on to the pawn (and many players do) Black can quickly whip up a ferocious attack.
A great number of materialistic but unprepared White players have found themselves swiftly demolished by Black’s tremendously active pieces. When White is more circumspect and allows Black to regain the pawn, play proceeds along more sedate strategic lines where Black enjoys free and easy development.
Experienced chess author and coach Andrew Martin examines all key variations of the Budapest. There is an emphasis on typical middlegame structures and the important plans and manoeuvres are demonstrated in numerous instructive games. * Includes complete repertoires for Black with both 3…Ng4 and 3…Ne4 * Comprehensive coverage featuring several new ideas * Take your opponents out of their comfort zone!”
About the author :
Andrew Martin is an English IM, a Senior FIDE Trainer, the Head of the ECF Chess Academy, a teacher in numerous schools and a coach to many promising and upcoming players. Andrew has authored in excess of thirty books and DVDs and produced huge numbers of engaging videos on his sadly defunct YouTube Channel.
We have reviewed titles from Andrew such as First Steps : King’s Indian Defence, also from Everyman Chess.
As with every recent Everyman Chess publication high quality paper is used and the printing is clear. Each diagram is clear as is the instructional text. Figurine algebraic notation is used throughout. The usual and reliable formatting from Brighton-based typesetter IM Byron Jacobs is employed.
The diagrams do not have a “to move” indicator or any kind of caption so you will need to work out for yourself how they relate to the text that they are embedded in. However, this is fairly obvious.
There is a helpful Index of Variations and an Index of the whopping 164 completed games the author provides ranging from 1896 until 2021.
For those who do not know the Budapest Gambit starts here:
[fen flip=true cal=Ge7e5]rnbqkb1r/pppp1ppp/5n2/4p3/2PP4/8/PP2PPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq – 0 1[/fen]
and it has some overlaps with ideas from the Albin Counter Gambit:
[fen flip=true cal=Ge7e5]rnbqkbnr/ppp2ppp/8/3pp3/2PP4/8/PP2PPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq – 0 1[/fen]
and even the choice of many juniors and beginners, the Englund Gambit:
[fen flip=true cal=Ge7e5]rnbqkbnr/pppp1ppp/8/4p3/3P4/8/PPP1PPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq – 0 1[/fen]
The book consists of fourteen chapters organised into two main parts:
The Budapest Gambit
- A Budapest Timeline
- Key Strategic Ideas after 3…Ng4
- The Rubinstein Variation after 4.Bf4
- Safe and Sound 4.Nf3
- The Aggressive 4.e4
- The Dark Horse 4.e3
- Budapest Oddities
- The Budapest Gambit Declined
The Fajarowicz Gambit
- Key Strategic Ideas after 3…Ne4
- The Natural 4.Nf3
- The Acid Test: 4.a3
- An Independent Line: 4.Nd2 Nc5
- Early White Queen Moves
- Other Fourth Moves
Before we continue it is worth taking a look at the pdf extract which includes the Contents, Preface and pages 166 – 184.
We were immediately struck by the author’s candour in the Preface:
This has been a tough book to write and I have agonised over the format for quite some time.
In the end I have settled for an approach by which I hope the reader will get to like the Budapest as an ingenious concept and then be willing to take the risks involved in playing the opening.
This statement is really rather refreshing. Most of us can recall the dubious days of highly ambitious (and some might say misleading) book titles such as “Winning with the Englund Gambit” or “Crushing Your Opponent with the Damiano“* or maybe something equally nonsensical but amusing. Chess publishing has mostly matured for the better in that respect and we can look forward to increasingly honest and objective tomes.
*These are fictionalised titles but hopefully the point is made clear.
The first chapter will be of interest both to both the chess historian and students of the Budapest as the author provides a welcome 64 page chronology of the gambit’s development from 1896 through 2020: interesting stuff! Indeed, this type of chapter would be a welcome addition to opening books in general and we should thank the author for being innovative in this respect.
Here is a sample game from Chapter One:
[pgn]
[Event “Berlin Four Masters”]
[Site “Berlin DEU”]
[Date “1918.04.22”]
[Round “3”]
[White “Akiba Rubinstein”]
[Black “Milan Vidmar”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “A52”]
[Annotator “IM Andrew Martin”]
[PlyCount “48”]
[EventDate “1918.04.20”]
[SourceVersionDate “2020.09.14”]
{[%evp 0,48,39,30,30,1,29,21,21,11,33,22,38,14,21,11,33,39,115,48,36,31,46,38,
36,55,49,-39,-71,-127,-94,-85,0,0,-85,-85,-85,-35,-60,-87,-87,-44,-87,-29991,
-29992,-29993,-29994,-29995,-29996,-29997,-29998]} {Shortly after, in 1917,
the first analysis of the Budapest was published by Carl Schlechter in the
Deutsche Schachzeitung. The genie was out of the bottle! Schlechter was so
impressed with the gambit, inspired by the coming game, that he would later
write a monograph on the subject. We move forward to the Berlin Masters
tournament of 1918 The story goes that Vidmar was completely at a loss as to
what to play with Black against Rubinstein. Defending the Queen’s Gambit
seemed very unattractive. Luckily, Stephan Abonyi happened to be a friend and
was able to demonstrate the possibilities of the Budapest Gambit to Vidmar
before the game. The decision was made to give it a try.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 {
Rubinstein had an almost impregnable record after 1 d4 and to mix it up
against him had to be the best chance…} 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. Bf4 {[#] Solid as a
rock. Even today this is considered the most critical test of the Budapest.}
Nc6 ({We will see later that the aggressive} 4… g5 $5 {is worth playing.}) 5.
Nf3 Bb4+ 6. Nc3 Qe7 ({Today, we know that} 6… Bxc3+ $1 7. bxc3 Qe7 {is most
accurate.}) 7. Qd5 (7. Qb3 $1 {is a good move.} {Black cannot then
straightforwardly regain his pawn:} Ngxe5 8. Nxe5 Nxe5 9. Bxe5 Qxe5 10. Qxb4
$18) 7… Bxc3+ {Better late than never.} ({Also good here is} 7… f6 $1 {
as long as Black intends to take on c3 sooner rather than later.} 8. exf6 Bxc3+
$1 9. bxc3 Nxf6 {[#] Black has sacrificed a pawn but has excellent
compensation. The White pawn structure is ragged and Black will be able to
develop all his pieces quickly. We go into more detail later.} 10. Qd3 d6 11.
e3 O-O 12. Be2 Ne4 13. Qc2 Nc5 14. Nd4 Ne5 15. O-O Bd7 16. f3 Rae8 {[#]
Schlechter has employed a typical development plan and stands well. White must
try to mobilise his central pawns, but this is a tricky task as the Black
pieces are so active. A standoff results.} 17. Bg3 Qf7 $1 {Attacking c4.} 18.
Bxe5 Rxe5 19. e4 a6 20. Rae1 Be6 21. Nxe6 Qxe6 22. Rf2 Re8 {White cannot force
through f3-f4.} 23. Bf1 Qd7 24. Rd2 Qc6 25. Rb1 Qd7 26. Rd5 Qf7 27. Qd2 b6 28.
Rd1 h6 29. Qf2 Kh8 30. Qe3 Qf6 31. g3 {1/2-1/2 (31) Akiba Rubinstein-Carl
Schlechter Berlin DEU 1918}) 8. bxc3 Qa3 (8… f6 {will be the recommended
move later on.}) 9. Rc1 ({They were queueing up to play 2…e5 against
Rubinstein in Berlin. The once impregnable master seemed uncomfortable against
this new gambit.} 9. Qd3 $5 Qa5 10. Rc1 Ngxe5 11. Nxe5 Nxe5 12. Qg3 d6 13. Qxg7
Ng6 14. h4 {[#] This position has to be good for White, but his King is a
source of potential concern.} h5 15. e4 Be6 16. Bg5 Kd7 17. f4 ({If Rubinstein
had played} 17. Qd4 $1 b6 (17… Rae8 18. Be2 Kc8 19. O-O $16) 18. f4 {Black
would have been in trouble.}) 17… Rae8 18. Be2 $2 Qxa2 19. O-O Rhg8 20. Qd4
Qxe2 $19 21. f5 Bxc4 22. fxg6 Rxe4 (22… Rxg6 $1 23. Rce1 c5 $1 24. Rxf7+ Kc6
$1 {is an easy line to miss, but Black is winning at this point.}) 23. Qxa7
Rxg6 24. Rf2 Qd3 25. Qxb7 Re2 26. Rxe2 Qxe2 27. Ra1 (27. Qb1 Bd3) 27… Rg8 (
27… f6 28. Ra7 Qe1+ 29. Kh2 Qe5+ 30. Kh1 d5 $19) 28. Ra7 Qe1+ 29. Kh2 Qe5+
30. Kg1 Qc5+ 31. Kh1 Bd5 {0-1 Akiba Rubinstein-Jacques Mieses Berlin DEU 1918})
9… f6 10. exf6 (10. e6 {is superficially tricky.} {Black obtains a nice
position after} dxe6 11. Qh5+ g6 $1 12. Qxg4 e5 13. Qh4 exf4 14. Qxf4 O-O)
10… Nxf6 11. Qd2 d6 12. Nd4 O-O 13. e3 $2 {A demoralised Rubinstein makes
one natural move too many.} ({We will see later that} 13. f3 $1 {is better,
but even there Black can try.} Ne5 $1 14. e4 Qc5 15. Nb3 Qc6 {and his position
is playable.}) 13… Nxd4 14. cxd4 ({It is too late to find an improvement.}
14. exd4 Ne4 $1 {is simply good for Black:} 15. Qe3 Bd7 $1 16. Be2 Rae8 17. O-O
Nxc3 18. Qxc3 Qxc3 19. Rxc3 Rxe2 $17) 14… Ne4 {The attack now seems to run
on oiled wheels.} ({However} 14… g5 $1 {was much stronger, when White cannot
survive.} 15. Bg3 Ne4 16. Qc2 Qa5+ 17. Ke2 (17. Kd1 Rxf2) 17… Rxf2+ $1 {
[#] Crushing!} 18. Bxf2 Bg4+ 19. Kd3 Qa3+ 20. Qb3 Qxc1 21. c5+ Kh8 22. Kxe4
Re8+ 23. Kd3 Bf5+ 24. Ke2 Bc2 $19) 15. Qc2 Qa5+ 16. Ke2 Rxf4 $1 {[#]
Instinctive and brilliant. The White king will be hunted down, but it could be
that Rubinstein missed something.} 17. exf4 Bf5 18. Qb2 Re8 {So far, so good
for Black and Rubinstein collapses, which is convenient.} 19. Kf3 $2 ({
Apparently} 19. f3 $3 {[#] defends. something my computer friend has shown me.
Hard to believe, but it seems to be true:} Nc5+ (19… Ng3+ 20. Kf2 Nxh1+ 21.
Kg1) (19… Nc3+ 20. Kf2 Na4 21. Qb5 {transposing,}) 20. Kf2 Na4 21. Qb5 $1
Qd2+ 22. Kg3 Re6 23. Qxf5 Rg6+ 24. Kh3 Rh6+ 25. Kg3 Rg6+ $11) 19… Nd2+ 20.
Kg3 Ne4+ 21. Kh4 $2 ({He has to go back to f3:} 21. Kf3 {after which the
attack continues with} h5 $1 22. h3 h4 {but the position is not 100% clear.})
21… Re6 $1 {The rook lift leads to checkmate.} 22. Be2 Rh6+ 23. Bh5 Rxh5+ 24.
Kxh5 Bg6+ {The Berlin trilogy catapulted the Budapest Gambit from relative
obscurity to the very forefront of chess theory. Nobody had defeated
Rubinstein in such a devastating way. Could this be the active answer that
Black was looking for to fight against 1 d4?} 0-1
[/pgn]
The meat and potatoes theory chapters adopt a methodology of selecting a large number (135) of practical games which are each annotated with succinct explanations rather than tedious reams of variations and engine dumps. The author’s coaching pedigree is evident throughout which will enhance the ambitious students understanding of this interesting gambit.
Not ever having played the Budapest and not allowing it with white (in the BCN office we are all extremely dull players and chose 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3) it would not be appropriate for us to comment on the merits of various lines and variations. However the author can hardly be accused of selecting only games where Black does well. In fact, the chapter (Two) outlining the Key Strategic Ideas after 3…Ng4 contains ten wins for White out of 18 games! So, again, applause for an objective approach.
So, how does Black fare in the recommended line?
[fen flip=true cal=Gf6g4]rnbqkb1r/pppp1ppp/8/4P3/2P3n1/8/PP2PPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq – 0 1[/fen]
Well, this is covered in Chapter Four: Safe and Sound: 4.Nf3 and game 72 is instructive:
[pgn]
[Event “London4”]
[Site “London”]
[Date “1994.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Whiteley, Andrew Jonathan”]
[Black “Anagnostopoulos, Dimitrios”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “A52”]
[WhiteElo “2305”]
[BlackElo “2425”]
[Annotator “IM Andrew Martin”]
[PlyCount “44”]
[EventDate “1994.??.??”]
[EventType “tourn”]
[EventRounds “14”]
[EventCountry “ENG”]
[SourceTitle “EXT 1999”]
[Source “ChessBase”]
[SourceDate “1998.11.16”]
[SourceVersion “1”]
[SourceVersionDate “1998.11.16”]
[SourceQuality “1”]
{[%evp 0,44,22,22,28,5,20,20,26,26,33,33,33,-1,23,28,35,12,8,3,29,14,40,17,53,
59,74,85,104,90,90,102,102,102,82,73,29,0,0,0,0,0,0,-1662,-1645,-1645,-1645]} {
It is encouraging to see the rook lift variation working well. This is what can
happen to White if he is imprecise.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. Nf3 Bc5
5. e3 Nc6 6. Be2 O-O 7. O-O Ncxe5 $5 {[#] An interesting early moment. By
capturing with the knight on c6, Black takes the sting out of lines with Nd4.}
8. Nxe5 ({Black will meet} 8. Nd4 {with} Nf6 $1 9. Nc3 d6 10. b3 Bg4 {which
looks rather level. Importantly, the Black knights have not got into a tangle.}
) 8… Nxe5 9. Nc3 Re8 10. b3 a5 11. Bb2 Ra6 12. Ne4 Ba7 {Following our rule
that with the bishop on b2, Black should retreat to a7 wherever possible,
keeping an eye on e3 and f2 beyond.} 13. Qd5 Rae6 $5 ({We have seen} 13… Rh6
$1 14. Bxe5 c6 15. Bf6 gxf6 {lead to nothing for White.}) 14. Qxa5 {Whiteley
always did like grabbing pawns.} ({The real question is what happens after} 14.
c5 $1 {[#] I am not sure about Black’s chances with the bishop on a7 shut
down.} Qh4 $1 {seems best then and we are once again in unchartered waters,
somewhat surprisingly. Black still has chances:} 15. Rac1 Ng4 16. Bxg4 Qxg4 17.
Ng3 d6 18. Rc4 Qg6 {[#] I slightly prefer White, but it is game on.}) 14… Bb6
15. Qc3 Qh4 16. f4 Rh6 17. h3 d5 {[#] A sacrifice on h3 seems inevitable.} 18.
Ng5 $2 (18. c5 $1 {is a test of Black’s resources:} dxe4 $1 (18… Bxh3 19. Qe1
$3 $16 Ng6 20. Qxh4 Nxh4 21. gxh3) 19. fxe5 Rg6 (19… Bxh3 20. Qe1 $1) 20. Rf2
Ba7 21. Qa5 Bb8 22. Bc4 $16 {These are complicated lines. not easy to see with
the clock ticking.}) 18… Qg3 19. c5 (19. Qe1 Qxe3+) 19… Bxh3 {The timing
is right.} 20. Nxh3 Rxh3 21. Qe1 {There is nothing to be done.} Qh2+ 22. Kf2
Bxc5 0-1
[/pgn]
It would certainly appear that the recommendation of 7…Ncxe5!? is a good one since out of 62 games in this line in MegaBase 2020 White scores a rather poor 44.3% whereas the more popular (411 games) 7…Re8 scores a little better for White at 47.1% and, as Andrew writes it is pleasing to see the Ra6 rook lift working well: a nice game!
Possibly the most angst is evident in the treatment of the Fajarowicz Gambit:
[fen flip=true cal=Gf6e4]rnbqkb1r/pppp1ppp/8/4P3/2P1n3/8/PP2PPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq – 0 1[/fen]
Andrew writes:
I think the Fajarowicz is an excellent surprise weapon, but perhaps not 100% sound.
So, again, how does Black fare in the recommended line? We turn to Chapter Ten to find out…
4.Nf3 is, by far, the most popular (but not necessarily most testing) choice and leads to the following game with the interesting idea of 7…Bf8!:
[pgn]
[Event “Kobanya op”]
[Site “Kobanya”]
[Date “1996.??.??”]
[Round “8”]
[White “Molnar, Laszlo”]
[Black “Bodrogi, Mihaly”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “A51”]
[WhiteElo “2235”]
[BlackElo “2155”]
[Annotator “IM Andrew Martin”]
[PlyCount “106”]
[EventDate “1996.??.??”]
[EventType “swiss”]
[EventRounds “9”]
[EventCountry “HUN”]
[SourceTitle “EXT 2004”]
[Source “ChessBase”]
[SourceDate “2003.11.25”]
[SourceVersion “1”]
[SourceVersionDate “2003.11.25”]
[SourceQuality “1”]
{[%evp 0,106,19,31,14,-14,23,5,55,56,61,64,67,67,77,56,95,62,53,30,20,17,37,13,
23,18,18,-1,-1,-24,1,20,0,-6,3,0,6,-7,14,-17,-26,-27,-11,-19,68,19,2,2,6,4,-1,
-1,-7,-2,-11,-7,-14,-59,-39,-63,-75,-74,-78,-70,-52,-109,-29,-165,-154,-162,
-85,-67,-104,-106,-106,-105,-20,-24,-29,-53,-49,-40,-30,-215,-243,-271,-269,
-385,-269,-275,-294,-328,-272,-300,-328,-334,-347,-347,-366,-432,-360,-352,
-559,-659,-774,-774,-1022,-1150,-1030]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ne4 4. Nf3
Bb4+ $1 {[#] An accurate check.} 5. Bd2 {White must block and we start with
him putting the bishop in the way. There is no need to cede the bishop pair so
early, but this move is surprisingly common.} ({It is worth mentioning that} 5.
Nfd2 {is ineffective and can be met by} Nc6 6. a3 Qh4 $1 7. g3 Nxd2 $1 {
[#] after which Black has a fine position:} 8. axb4 (8. Nxd2 Bxd2+ 9. Bxd2 Qe4
10. f3 Qxc4 11. Rc1 Qe6) (8. Bxd2 Qe4 9. f3 Bxd2+ 10. Qxd2 Qxe5 11. Nc3 O-O)
8… Qe4 {Very few will play 5 Nfd2, but I guess you need to be ready when
they do.}) 5… Nxd2 {Capturing immediately is the correct way.} 6. Nbxd2 (6.
Nfxd2 Nc6 7. a3 Bxd2+ 8. Qxd2 Nxe5 {leads to an equal position.}) 6… Nc6 {
We come to a parting of the ways. White normally attacks the Black bishop.} 7.
a3 Bf8 $1 {[#] Taking on d2 is most frequent, but I see nothing wrong with
this retreat, retaining the dark-squared bishop. Black’s plan is …g6 and …
Bg7, followed by taking the pawn on e5. White must try to interrupt this plan
somehow.} 8. Qc2 $5 {Natural enough, but nothing special.} g6 9. h4 $5 {
We are already in almost unchartered territory. Nothing convinces me that
White can get any sort of advantage at all, thanks to Black’s powerful
dark-squared bishop:} (9. e3 Bg7 10. Qc3 (10. Be2 Nxe5) 10… Qe7) (9. c5 Bg7
10. Rd1 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 Bxe5 12. g3 O-O 13. Bg2 Bg7 14. O-O Qe7 15. Rfe1 Rd8)
9… Bg7 10. h5 Qe7 11. hxg6 hxg6 12. Rxh8+ Bxh8 13. e3 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Qxe5 15.
O-O-O d6 16. Nf3 Qf6 17. Nd4 a6 $1 {[#] Black is slightly better. Can he make
something of his dark-squared control? We shall see.} 18. Rd2 Qe5 19. Bd3 Bd7
20. Be4 Rb8 (20… O-O-O {looks good to me :} 21. Bd5 Qe7) 21. f4 Qc5 (21…
Qe7) 22. g4 ({It seems as though White has missed his chance, but not so:} 22.
Bxb7 Rxb7 23. Qe4+ Kf8 24. Qxb7 Qxc4+ 25. Nc2 {[#] Even here, the Black
bishops are very powerful:} (25. Kb1 Bxd4 $1 26. Rxd4 (26. exd4 Bf5+ 27. Ka1
Qc1+ 28. Ka2 Qxd2) 26… Qf1+ 27. Ka2 Be6+ 28. b3 Qf2+ 29. Ka1 Qxe3) 25… Bg4
$1 26. Qa8+ Kg7 {and the threat of …Qf1+ is hard to parry.}) 22… b5 23.
cxb5 axb5 24. g5 Qxc2+ 25. Rxc2 c5 26. Rh2 Bg7 27. Nc2 Be6 28. Rd2 Ke7 29. Bg2
Bb3 30. Bd5 Bxd5 31. Rxd5 Ke6 32. e4 Rh8 33. Ne3 $2 (33. b4) 33… Rh1+ 34. Rd1
Rxd1+ 35. Nxd1 d5 $1 {The winning move. Black’s king enters the action.} 36.
exd5+ Kxd5 37. Kc2 b4 $2 (37… Ke4) 38. axb4 cxb4 39. Kb3 Bf8 40. Nf2 Bd6 41.
Ng4 $2 Bxf4 42. Nh6 Ke6 43. Kxb4 Bxg5 44. Ng4 f5 45. Nh2 Kd5 46. Kc3 Bf6+ 47.
Kc2 g5 48. b3 Ke4 49. Kd2 g4 50. Ke2 Be5 51. Nf1 Bf4 52. Kf2 Kd4 53. b4 Kc4 {
An erratic game, but when we focus on the opening, we find that Black had no
problems whatsoever.} 0-1
[/pgn]
So, why the lack of enthusiasm for the Fajarowicz? The title of Chapter Eleven is the spoiler: The Acid Test: 4.a3
To find out more about this line and all the others you will need to buy the book which is published on May 24th 2021.
In summary, play the Budapest Gambit is a comprehensive look at the main line and the Fajarowicz Gambit in a refreshingly objective way. The wealth of annotated games is a joy in itself and these are combined with the author’s ideas in keeping this enterprising gambit afloat within the unfriendly world of examination by engines. One of the author’s best works.
John Upham, Cove, Hampshire, 22nd May, 2021
Book Details :
- Paperback : 383 pages
- Publisher: Everyman Chess (24th May 2021)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10:1781945888
- ISBN-13:978-1781945889
- Product Dimensions: 17.3 x 1.7 x 23.8 cm
Official web site of Everyman Chess