How to CRUSH with the ALIEN GAMBIT!
What is it?
The Alien Gambit is a relatively new and highly unconventional opening, created and popularized by Candidate Master and streamer Volen Dyulgerov, better known as Witty_Alien. In a game where almost every opening has been analyzed to exhaustion, the emergence of a fresh idea like this is rare. Yet somehow, it has seen immense success, particularly in blitz and bullet.
What began as an experimental weapon on his stream has been picked up and discussed by thousands of players. It has even drawn attention from some of the biggest names in chess, including GothamChess and Hikaru Nakamura. Witty Alien has used it to beat a long list of titled players, including grandmasters like Leon Luke Mendonca and Avital Boruchovsky.
Is the gambit theoretically sound? Probably not by classical standards, but that misses the point. In fast-paced formats like bullet and blitz, where the first moves should be automatic, pushing an opponent into unfamiliar territory early can give you a huge advantage. In speed chess you can utilize this gambit to put immense pressure on your opponent, both on the clock and on the board.
Theory
The Alien Gambit is a tricky line that can only be played with the white pieces and only against the Caro-Kann Defense. You start with e4, your opponent plays c6, then you play d4 and they respond with d5. At this point, you can play either Nc3 or Nd2—it doesn’t really matter which, because your opponent will almost always capture on e4. If they don’t, and instead play a move like Nf6, you can simply push e5 and enjoy a nice space advantage. After they capture, you recapture with the knight, and now they’ll likely play Nf6, offering a trade. You decline and instead jump your knight to g5. When they try to kick you out with h6, you sacrifice the knight and take on f7. It’s important to note that this only works with these exact moves against the Caro-Kann.
Crush your opponents with it
After you take on f7 your opponent is essentially forced to take your knight, because it is forking their rook and queen. After they take, you will play Nf3. The idea of this move is to set up possible knight jumps in the future to squares like g5, and especially e5, targeting the weak black king on f7. You may be tempted to immediately play Bc4+, but we want to save this move for later, and the bishop will sometimes go to d3, whereas the knight almost always go to f3.
After Nf3, if black plays Bf5 or Bg4 you will play Ne5+. If black played Bg4 (which is actually the most common move) you will simply take the bishop after they move their king and you are already much better. If they played Bf5, you will then play g4 forcing their bishop to move again.
After their bishop moves you will begin to launch a massive attack by playing moves like Qf3, maybe Bc4 or Bd3, castling your king, moving your rook to e1, etc. You especially want to exploit Black’s very weak light squares when you launch your attack. If instead of Kf8, your opponent plays Kd8, the plans are mostly the same. You will try to keep the king in the center and launch a big attack, playing moves like Bc4 threatening various checkmates and attacks.
If after you play Nf3, your opponent doesn't develop their bishop and instead plays something solid like e6, I recommend playing Bd3. This is why you play Nf3 first—because, as mentioned earlier, the bishop won’t always go to c4, and this is one of those cases. A lot of players will continue with e6, Nbd7, and Bd6. You’ll respond with moves like O-O, Re1, and eventually Ne5+, which many players will capture, leading to a position that could look something like this.
When you play Ne5+ your opponent has 3 options: take with the knight, take with the bishop, or to simply not take the knight and play a move like Kf8.
If your opponent takes with the knight you will recapture with the pawn and fork your opponents bishop and knight, cleanly winning material.
If your opponent takes with the bishop you will also recapture with the pawn forcing the knight on f6 to move, perhaps to d5. Once the knight moves you will now be able to play Qh5+, since the knight no longer defends the f5 square, and this leads to an absolutely devastating attack. If the king goes to f8, you will play Bh6, sacrificing your bishop, but if your opponent takes, you will play Qg6, and then Qh7 checkmate. If instead of going to f8 after Qh5+ the king goes e7, you will play Bg6, completely restricting the black position and setting up Qh4 ideas.
If your opponent does not take your knight after Ne5+, and instead plays a move like Kg8 you will continue the attack on the king with moves like Qf3 and Ng6, really dominating the black king on the light squares.
The Antidote
If you play the Caro-Kann and you face the Alien Gambit, here are a few things you can do to counter it. First and foremost, you do not need to play into what they know and want. Since they are trying to get you out of your prep, you should try to get them out of theirs.
One of the best ways to shut it down is to just not play Nf6. After 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 all you have to do is play Bf5.
If white continues and plays Ng5 anyways you can simply play bishop back to g6, this way you defend your pawn on f7 with your bishop, so if black sacrifices their knight, you would take back with the bishop and maintain the ability to castle.
Another way to respond to the Alien Gambit is by accepting it and then playing c5 after your opponent develops with Nf3. I would not recommend this line for players rated below 2000 in blitz or bullet, as it’s very easy to blunder and lose quickly. The position remains extremely sharp, so you’ll need to study the lines carefully AND make sure you can keep up your speed. That said, I’ll go over some basic ideas to give a foundation for stronger players who may want to experiment with this approach.
The idea of the move c5 is to attack the white pawn on d4, while also providing space for the black knight to now go to the c6 square. If your opponent were to ever take this pawn on c5, you would trade queens and Black’s attack would fizzle out, leaving you with a much better position. Regardless of whether or not your opponent takes this pawn, you should be constantly trying to trade queens, as it will leave white with no attack. After c5 if white plays Ne5+ or Bc4+ your plan is to run your king to g8, block with pawn e6, and if white plays Ng6, you should ignore the threat on your rook and continue developing and looking for an opportunity to trade queens.
All in all, the Alien Gambit can be a very tricky opening, especially in blitz and bullet. It’s a useful weapon to have in your arsenal, whether you're playing it yourself or going up against it. Knowing the ideas and plans that each side has can give you a real edge. I hope you found this post helpful and maybe even feel inspired to give it a try!
