Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nf6/3. Nxe5/3...d5

Russian game C42 Russian game → 3. Nxe5 Elephant gambit 3...d5? Rather than try to recover the e-pawn directly, Black offers their d-pawn to White as well in return for active play. This gambit is considered unsound. 4. exd5 accepts the free pawn, then the line continues 4...Qxd5 (threatening knight) 5. d4 Nc6. After 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. Be2 O-O-O 8. c3++, while Black has active pieces and a development lead, engine evaluation finds they do not have compensation for the pawn. Alternatively, 6. Nxc6 Qxc6 7. Qe2+ Be7 8. Qb5 O-O 9. Qxc6 bxc6+ cuts White's lead but steers into the endgame, stamping the life out of the position for Black. History Georgian grandmaster Baadur Jobava (1983–) is the highest rated player to frequently employ this gambit, including at the 2016 World RapidBok v Jobava 2016 - Chessgames.com and Blitz Championships.Karkajin v Jobava, 2016 - Chessgames.comBosiocic v Jobava, 2016 - Chessgames.comDominguez Perez v Jobava, 2016 - Chessgames.com Theory table References See also YouTube: Jobava Invents CRAZY NEW GAMBIT, Jonathan Schrantz. Analysis of Gemy Jose Daniel vs Jobava Baduur, 2022.