Book review: Huebsch Gambit

Gambit Hΰbsch Antidote  or Leurre?

Eric Jego

Collection savoir faire

May 2012

ISBN 978-2-9536013-2-9

$17.12 Euros from http://thebookedition.com/gambit-hubsch-antidote-ou-leurre--eric-jego-p-79387.html

As far as I know, this is the first book devoted exclusively to this gambit (1.d4 d5 2.Nc Nf6 3.e4 Nxe4 4.Nxe4 dxe4). It is often considered a refuted line of the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit via 1.d4 d5 2.e4) but the author argues that it is fully playable This book is well-researched, with the author even providing titles, rating, and whether the game is classical, rapid or correspondence for each game

Anyone wanting to play the gambit will want to get a copy right away, but others will first want to know if the opening is indeed playable. I review the theory of the main line below and while I find Black gaining a small advantage in some lines, I would agree that it is usable in amaur games.s

There are over 100 complete intelligentl annotated games. I haven’t yet mentioned that the book is in French, but I had no problems following the commentary though most of what I know of the language comes from watching Monty Python sketches. The research is complete, the author even hosts a website devoted to the BDG (http://gambit-blackmardiemer.perso.sfr.fr)..

In my encyclopedic Gambit Chess Openings I claimed that Black looks a bit better thought the gambit is not refuted and I still hold that position. The analysis below shows why. However, I would not discourage anyone from having some fun with it and give high marks to the author for his excellent work.