After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3, Black has two pawn-thrusts that aim to seize the initiative, even at the cost of a pawn.
The better-known is 3...f5!? - the Latvian Gambit, around which a lot of theory has grown up.
The other is 3...d5!? - the Elephant Gambit, which is less-often seen but, for what it is worth, is much more to the taste of the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10.
Both gambits have been tried by grandmasters, but only the Elephant has a GM for whom it is a major part of his repertoire (defined as a "frequent player" in ChessBase's Mega database).
Pavel Skatchkov has 28 Elephant Gambits in the 2020 edition of Mega, scoring +13=7-8.
That is impressive enough, but arguably he has done even better than those numbers suggest as his first four Elephant Gambits in the database were losses when he was still rated below 2300.
Here he is in action against Swiss grandmaster Florian Jenni.
Jenni (2519) - Skatchkov (2506)
Champions Challenge (online blitz) 2007
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5!?
Unlike the Latvian, where 2...f5!? weakens the black kingside and is a strictly non-developing move, the Elephant opens a diagonal for Black's light-square bishop and leaves the black f pawn on its starting square.
3.Nxe5!?
This has its high-level adherents, but is nowhere near as popular as 3.exd5.
3...Bd6
Howard Staunton preferred 3...Qe7, but twice lost with that move against John Cochrane.
4.d4 dxe4 5.Nc3!?
More popular is 5.Nc4, but then 5...Nf6 6.Nxd6+ Qxd6 7.Be2 0-0 8.0-0 Nc6 9.Be3 Nd5 10.Nd2?! (10.c4 seems better) f5 (the engines reckon Black is better after 10...Nxe3 11.fxe3 Qh6) 11.c4? (11.Bc4 is better) Nxe3 12.fxe3 Qxe3 gave Black a strong game in Nikolai Kobanov (2472) - Skatchkov (2486), World Blitz Championship (Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia) 2013 (0-1, 32 moves).
5...Bxe5 6.dxe5 Qad1+ 7.Kxd1 Bf5
Three years earlier, Skatchkov had played 7...Nc6, beating a much-lower rated opponent in a game played with a more-normal time-control.
8.Nd5 Na6 9.Bxa6!?
This looks so natural, especially at blitz, but the engines prefer 9.Bb5+ or 9.Bg5.
9...0-0-0 10.Ke2
The engines reckon White has a slight edge after 10.Bc4!? c6 11.Ke2 cxd5 12.Bb3.
10...Rxd5 11.Bc4 Rc5 12.Bb3 Ne7 13.Be3 Rxe5 14.Bd4
The engines marginally prefer this to winning the pawn back with 14.Bxf7, after which they give 14...Bg4+ 15.Ke1, when it is difficult for White to get coordinated, but the engines reckon White's bishop-pair gives equality.
14...Bg4+ 15.Ke3
By inserting Bd4, White has made it possible to keep his rooks connected, but nevertheless the engines prefer 15.Kf1!?, with equality thanks to the menacing white bishops.
15...Nd5+
This is the problem with advancing the king - Black gets a tempo to block the action of White's light-square bishop.
16.Kd2 Rg5 17.h3
The engines prefer 17.Rae1, but after 17...Be6 18.Rhg1 Rd8 the e pawn cannot be taken because of threats down the d file, so White is obliged to play 19.Kc1. Then 19...Nf4 20.Bxe6+ Nxe6 21.Bc3 Nc5 sees Black keep his extra pawn, although he has trouble with coordination.
17...Be6
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| How should White proceed? |
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18.Bxd5!?
Giving up the bishop-pair is rarely an easy decision, but Jenni is seeking salvation in opposite-coloured bishops. However, after …
18...Rxd5 19.Ke3 f6
… he did not restore material equality with 20.Kxe4!? because then the king's precarious position gives Black strong tactical chances, eg 20...Re8 21.c3 Rg5.
20.Bc3 Rhd8 21.g4
Good for Black is 21.Kxe4 Bf5+ followed by ...Bxc2.
21...Bf7 22.h4 h5 23.Rag1 hxg4 24.Rxg4 Rf5 25.Rh3 g6 26.Rxe4 Bd5
26...Bxa2!? looks possible as 27.b3? simply wastes a tempo: Black replies 27...Bb1 and picks up the c2 pawn. Also no good for White is 27.Ra4 Re8+ 28.Kd3 Bd5 29.Rxa7 Kb8 and 30...Rxf2.
27.Re7 Bxa2
Clearly Black has lost a tempo on 26...Bxa2. The engines reckon 27...Rf8 gives Black a tiny edge.
28.Rg3 g5 29.hxg5 fxg5 30.Re5?!
30.Be5 is a complete equaliser as 30...Rd7 is met by 31.Re8+
30...Rd5 31.Rxd5 Bxd5 32.b3 b6 33.f3 Bd5 34.Kd4 Kb7 35.Rxg5 c5+
Having battled back to an almost-certain draw, Jenni now produced a blitz howler.
36.Ke3?? Rxg5 0-1
Note that one of the peculiarities of this game is that, although the Elephant Gambit is a gambit by Black, it was Black who was a pawn up for much of the time.
**********
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5!?, White usually plays 3.exd5.
Black's choice mainly lies between the traditional 3...e4 (by far the most-popular move), the more-modern 3...Bd6 and the somewhat strange ...Qxd5.
Grandmaster Skatchkov only plays 3...e4, as far as I can discover, which is probably as good a recommendation as any other.
White's best reply is generally acknowledge to be 4.Qe2, but that does not mean everyone plays it.
Second in popularity is 4.Nd4, after which the main line runs 4...Qxd5 5.Nb3 Nf6 6.Nc3 Qe5 7.Be2, with advantage to Black, according to Stockfish10, but level according to Komodo10.
There are 48 games in Mega20 where 4.Bb5+?? was played, including by one player rated over 2300, but White is losing a piece after 4...c6 5.dxc6 bxc6.
Much more reasonable is 4.Ne5, when the main line runs 4...Qxd5 5.d4 exd4 6.Nxd3 Nf6 7.Nc3, with an equal position, according to the engines.
But there is no doubt 4.Qe2 is normal, which Black usually meets with 4...Nf6, after which there comes a major parting of the ways.
Pavel Ponkratov (2469) - Skatchkov (2506)
Champions Challenge (online blitz) 2007
5.Nc3
This was Kasparov's choice and is White's most-popular move, but 5.d3 has been recommended in two books that many players of the white pieces will have, so I will look at that in a separate game.
5...Be7 6.Nxe4 Nxd5!?
More popular is 6...0-0, but Skatchkov played the text in all six of his games that reached this point in Mega20. The engines agree with him - just.
7.d3
The main move, but plenty of other moves have been tried. It is probably fair to say most white players, let alone most white club players, will be long out of book by now.
7...0-0 8.Qd1!?
This is obviously retrograde, but the idea is to get the queen off the sensitive e file, develop the light-square bishop and castle short, while keeping White's extra pawn.
Note that 8.g3?, trying to speed kingside castling, runs into 8...f5 9.Nc3 Bb4 with ...Re8(+) to come, and if 9.Ned2, then the immediate 9...Re8 is strong.
White could also think about castling long. 8.Bd2 Re8 9.0-0-0 f5 10.Nc3?? Nxc3 11.Bxc3 Bg5+ was a disaster for White in Boris Smirnov (2187) - Ivan Frolov (2309), Cheliabinsk (Russia) IM tournament 2016 (0-1, 20 moves), but the engines' suggested novelty 12.h4!? is very unclear.
Another preparatory move for long castling is 8.Be3, but 8...f5 is a tricky move to face, eg the engines continue 9.Ned2 Re8 10.0-0-0 Nc6 when, if anything, they prefer Black.
8...c5!?
8...Nc6?! was played in Sergei Movsesian (2721) - Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2703), World Blitz Championship (Moscow) 2010, but White simply played Be2 and castled on the next move, after which it was difficult to see what compensation Black had for his pawn-minus (1-0, 65 moves).
More popular is 8...f5, but after 9.Ng3 Re8, then again Be2 followed by 0-0 seems good for White.
9.Be2 Nc6 10.0-0 Bf5
10...f5 was played in Petrov (-) - Skatchkov (2250), Moscow Open 1995. That game continued 11.Nc3 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Bf6 13.Bd2, when Black has good compensation for the pawn, according to the engines. Skatchkov played the very aggressive 13...g5, and after 14.Qc1?! (the engines reckon 14.d4 is better) would have had a good game if he had played the consistent 14...g4. Instead he tried 14...Qe8, and it was only after 15.Re1 that 15...g4 came. That was met with 16.d4 Kh8 (not 16...gxf3? 17.Bc4+ etc) 17.Bb5 with an excellent position for White (1-0, 28 moves).
11.Re1 Bg6!?
This may be a little slow. The engines want Black to get on with development with 11...Qc7 or 11...Re8, albeit slightly preferring White.
12.Bf1 Qd7 13.c3 h6 14.Qb3 Kh8?!
The engines prefer 14...Rad8, or even an immediate 14...f5!?
15.Bd2
The engines like levering open the centre with 15.d4!?
15...b6?
One of the ideas of ...Kh8 was, as is often the case, to play ...f5, and this should have come now, according to the engines, before White has time to strike in the centre.
16.Rad1 Rae8 17.Bc1
17.d4 is strong, according to the engines, eg 17...cxd4 18.Bb5.
17...Bd8 18.Ng3 Bc7?
Missing the danger on the d file. Much better is 18...Rxe1 to get White's queen's rook off the d file, and, if White keeps it there by playing 19.Nxe1, then 19...Na5 or 19...Bf6.
19.Rxe8 Rxe8 20.d4 cxd4
The engines prefer 20...Na5, albeit with a large advantage for White after 21.Qb5 Qxb5 22.Bxb5 Rd8 23.Ne5.
21.Nxd4 Rd8 22.Nb5 Bxg3 23.hxg3
Black is in trouble on the d file, and anyway has no compensation for his missing pawn (1-0, 67 moves).
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After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5 3.exd5 e4 4.Qe2 Nf6, the move 5.d3 is recommended by Larry Kaufman in The Chess Advantage In Black And White, and by Eric Schiller & John Watson in Survive & Beat Annoying Chess Openings.
Michail Kutumov (-) - Skatchkov (2370)
Krasnodar (Russia) 1997
5...Qxd5
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| How should White proceed? |
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6.Nbd2
This is the most-popular move in Mega20, but Kaufman and Schiller/Watson give an exclamation mark to 6.Nfd2, which is only fourth-most popular, but was Paul Keres's choice in a 1943 game. Skatchkov has faced 6.Nfd2 four times in Mega20, with each game continuing 6...Nc6 7.Nc3 Qa5.
Two of them then saw 8.Ndxe4, after which Skatchkov's 8...Be6!? gives near equality, according to the engines, despite Black being a pawn down. Black need not fear 9.Nxf6 as he will castle long, whereupon the half-open g file works in his favour.
More challenging for Black seems to be 8.Nb3, when both of Skatchkov's games, which were played in 2004, continued 8...Qb4 9.Bd2 Be6 10.Nxe4, when the engines believe White has the upper hand. Skatchkov drew both games, but they were against opponents rated more than 180 elo lower (admittedly one of the games was only drawn because Skatchkov fell for a stalemate trick).
A possible improvement for Black, or at least an interesting practical try, is 8...Qa6!? (the engines' suggestion of 8...Qe5 is well-met by 9.dxe4), which seems to be a novelty. My idea is that after 9.dxe4, which the engines reckon is best, Black plays 9...Qxe2+ 10.Bxe2 Be6.
Then Stockfish10 quite likes 11.0-0 for White, which can be met by 11...0-0-0. Stockfish10 comes to prefer 10.Be3, which is also Komodo10's choice, which can also be met by 11...0-0-0, when White is more-or-less obliged to castle kingside (or play f3 and Kf2).
Either way, we have a game of opposite-side castling, giving practical chances for both sides. There is no doubt the engines prefer White, which is usually the case in the early stages of an Elephant Gambit, but it is the type of position Skatchkov, for one, thrives in - a feel for playing on both sides of the board is crucial.
In any event, if White knows about (or finds at the board) 6.Nfd2, and later plays 8.Nb3, then 8...Qa6!? may be Black's best practical try.
6...Nc6 7.Nxe4 Be6 8.Nxf6+ gxf6 9.Be3
Black's kingside has been smashed, but his king will find safety on the queenside, and the half-open g file will prove useful if White castles kingside.
9...0-0-0
This is a tricky position for White. He is a pawn up and has the better pawn-structure, but Black has a sizeable lead in development (he has castled and has a queen, rook, bishop and knight developed; White has not castled and, although he has three pieces developed, he will need to spend a tempo opening a diagonal for the king's bishop).
10.g3?!
Stockfish10 gives 10.a3!? Kb8 11.d4 Bc5 11.c4!? Qd6 13.0-0-0, when White has got his king to relative safety, but at the cost of contracting a backward d pawn. Black has good compensation for his pawn-minus, according to both engines.
Komodo10 gives 10.c3 Rg8 11.d4!? h5!? 12.Qd2, claiming a slight edge for White, although Stockfish10 reckons the position is equal.
10...Ne5 11.Bg2 Bb4+ 12.c3
Forced, as a king move loses to 12...Bg4.
12...Nxd3+ 13.Kf1 Bc5 14.Nd4 Qc4 15.Nxe6?!
The engines' 16.Kg1 seems to give equal chances.
15...fxe6 16.Bxc5 Qxc5 17.Be4
Attacking the knight and freeing g2 for the white king.
17...Qc4 18.b3?
Not 18.Kg2?? as 18...Nf4+ wins the white queen.
Perhaps best is 18.Re1!?, and if 18...Nxb2, then 19.Bxb7+! Kxb7 20.Rb1 with good chances to equalise as 20...Qc3? runs into 21.Rxb2+ Ka8 (forced) 22.Qe4+. However, the engines reckon 18...Rhe8 19.Bxd3 Rxd3 20.Kg2 e5 is slightly better for Black.
18...Qxc3 19.Kg2?
The engines give 19.Rb1, albeit claiming Black has a winning advantage.
19...Nf4+! 0-1
If 20.gxf4, then 20...Rhg8+ 21.Kf1 Qxa1+ is curtains.
**********
CONCLUSIONS
The Elephant Gambit is a rare bird that has considerable surprise value.
White usually goes a pawn up - he almost has to if hoping for an advantage in the opening - at the cost of lagging in development, and therefore ceding the initiative.
Computers sometimes seem to revel in this type of play for White, but most humans, especially at club level, are better off with the initiative.
Many of the old masters played the Elephant Gambit, including Staunton, Bird, Paulsen, Anderssen and Lasker.
Even today it is occasionally ventured by grandmasters, and is a mainstay in the repertoire of Russian GM Pavel Skatchkov.
It would add spice to almost anyone's play against 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3.
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