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Alien Gambit
Intermediatewhite repertoire·7 parts
The Alien Gambit (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Ng5 h6 6.Nxf7). White throws a knight onto f7 to drag Black's king into the open and hunt it down. It's a surprise weapon, not sound theory — a cool-headed defender keeps the extra piece. But that calm is hard to find over the board, and in real games the Alien Gambit scores extremely well. This lesson shows the traps that make it work, and how Black should defend.
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Start
Key Strategic Ideas
The whole idea in one place: leap the knight to g5, sacrifice it on f7, and chase the bare king with every piece. You're giving up a knight for a single pawn, so this is a surprise weapon for fast games, not a sound opening.