Fuck the Englund

Since resolving to master the refutation of the Englund Gambit, I have faced 1...e4 as a reply to 1. d4 no less than eleven times: on 21 August, twice on 22 August (12:46, 14:20), twice on 24 August (15:30, 15:43), on 25 August, on 27 August, on 1 September, on 4 September, on 5 September, and most recently on 6 September. Of those encounters, I emerged the loser on six occasions.

Turning to YouTube for instructional videos on the Englund refutation, the first one I watched was promisingly titled "How to crush the Englund Gambit" (2021), by Chess Expert Aleksey. At under eight minutes, it was conveniently succinct, but it suffered on account of the narrator's spasmodic throat-clearing throughout the video. Then I watched "BREAKING THE BAD Chess Tricks!! | Destroy your Opponent when He plays Englund Gambit" (2018), by AshvinChaunhanchess. At close to twenty-one minutes, it was a more thorough examination of the gambit, and the narrator's Indian accent and enthusiasm enhanced its appeal.

Englund Gambit

The Englund is defined as the sequence of pawn moves 1. d4 e5. In the mainline continuation, White captures Black's e-pawn with 2. dxe5 and Black's reply is to attack White's forward e-pawn with 2...Nc6. White plays 3. Nf6 to defend his pawn, and Black escalates the attack with 3...Qe7. White reinforces his pawn's defense with 4. Bf4, whereupon Black abruptly shifts his attack to White's king with 4...Qb4+, in the process forking White's dark-squared bishop and the pawn on b2.

What I now know is that White must counterattack Black's queen by retreating his bishop to d2, allowing Black to capture the pawn on b2 but gaining a long-term advantange should Black actually do so. If Black senses that White is familiar with the Englund, he should at this point forgo the gambit, retreat his queen to c5 and shift his attack back to the pawn on e5. White will then deploy his queenside knight to c3, surrendering the e5 pawn to Black, and the game will continue with both players on roughly equal footing.

Englund Gambit: 5...Qxb2

Where things get tricky is when Black makes good on his queenside threat to capture White's pawn on b2, for this introduces a more serious threat: the capture of White's rook with 6...Qxa1. White, who now has doubled pawns on the e-file and an enemy queen deep in his territory, must answer Black's threat precisely lest he lose a piece and potentially the game. The single correct move for White is 6. Nc3.

The Englund Gambit's initial threats having been neutralized, Black needs to find a move 6 that continues to apply pressure on White's position. He might try double-attacking White's pawn on c2 with 6...Nb4, as analyzed in Chess Expert Aleksey's video. In that event, White's reply should be 7. Nd4, double-defending his c2 pawn. Black then attacks White's knight on d4 with 7...c5, to which White responds with 8. Rb1, effectively forcing Black's queen to the a3 square. White continues attacking Black's queen with 9. Ndb5. Not only does Black have to move his queen again, he also has to guard against 10. Nc7+, which he does with 9...Qa5. But after White plays 10. Nd5, Black is helpless to stop White's imminent invasion. If Black tries 10...Qxa2, threatening a devastating 11...Nc2+, White captures Black's only active knight with 11. Bxb4, and suddenly Black is staring down b- and d-files with a massive White army on the march.

Englund Gambit: 6...Bb4

What else can Black play on move 6 that White needs to be prepared for? An alternative to 6...Nb4 analyzed by AshvinChaunhanchess is 6...Bb4, double-attacking White's knight on c3. Whereas White's move 7 in the 6...Nb4 scenario above was purely defensive, here he defends his position by attacking Black's queen with 7. Rb1. As before, Black's queen flees to a3, but now White plays 8. Nd5, unleashing a triple attack on Black's bishop and, moreover, threatening 9. Nb7+, which would win Black's queenside rook.

Black can try 8...Ba5, ostensibly safetying the bishop and protecting the c7 square; but when White plays 9. Rb5 Black's best move is 9...Bb6, in which case White should capture Black's bishop with his rook. Whichever way Black recaptures, White proceeds with 11. Nc7+, wins back the rook, and enjoys a superior position. If Black tries 8...Bxd2, White should recapture with his Queen. Then if Black takes the pawn on a2, threatening 10...Qxb1, White should tuck his rook behind the queen with 10. Rd1. Because White needs to be careful of Black's passed a-pawn, he must play aggressively. If Black protects c2 with his king, White's best move is 11. Ng5, threatening 12. Nf7+ with a fork on Black's kingside rook.

Final thoughts

Considering how much misery the Englund Gambit causes 1. d4 players, it's surprising a Google search for "fuck the englund" yields only one result. Part of the impetus for starting this blog, in addition to tracking my progress over time, was to engage my cognitive faculties, e.g. memory and learning, more effectively. The intention behind this report in particular is effecting a change of attitude toward the Englund over time from "Fuck it" to "Bring it on."