Not all latvians get crazy, this one was a more calm, positional one since white declined the gambit. Perhaps whites best option is to accept it to play for a win.
So far, this gambit still works for me. I wonder at which rating level it will stop working..
When they play this
When they play this
Why 4.Ng1 and why not 5.Qh5...
Most games given by Latvian aficionados are worth nothing since white's play is terrible.
For example, the game given above by kaukasar doesnt make any sense, when normal 4.d4 or 4.Bc4 would have given a tremendous advantage for white.
What exactly is your game plan from here on out?
That's an excellent question! I struggle to find an answer to it in most of my games. The more i improve at chess the further into the game i have to ask myself that question. In that particular position i would aim to get my remaining pieces into the game and maybe castle long, but it depends on what my opponent does. Against perfect play, white will always win but at my level, anything can happen and the games are mostly decided by tactics and blunders. This is why i can have quite good success with gambits, although some of them are considered inferior at the highest level. Did i mention that i love crazy, tactical positions and having tons of fun playing gambit openings?
I think pretty much every beginner, and low rated player thinks themselves tactical and aggressive. I get it, I dont get it. I get it that its a fun way to play. I dont get it when those same players are dropping material thinking they are being tactical. But as i said, if its fun for you, and improvement is not a high priority for you, their is nothing wrong with it.
1. Kaukasar plays decent chess, I think he probably plays better than you do
2. You are not in any sort of position to call people beginners because you are one yourself!
I would like to play the Latvian but can't be bothered with it if it gets a bit too funky at the start. Been playing hypermodern openings at this time as black, Owen's defence essentially not like I know what I'm doing but atleast it's fun having a go at their centre and am probably doing a random version of it.
Maybe the Latvian is slightly too tactical for me, I like to build up a good attack without having to deal with too many headaches straight away.
I mean no-ones gonna advocate this for tournament play but come on! Most of us a) play the majority of our games online and b) don't have any aims to become titled. It's not about if the Latvian is sound (cause it's absolutely not), it's about are you having fun and are you happy with your results? I've got into equal positions vs players in the 95th percentile and that is a level I'm perfectly content with being if I can get away with these kind of silly openings I enjoy. I mean to get into an equal position like this after 6 moves is just what it's all about for me lol
I wonder what happens if white plays king’s gambit
i want to be titled lol
i want to be titled lol
Good luck with your goals. I'm not so ambitious, If I could one day hit 1900 on this website, I would be extremely happy. Is that possible whilst playing dubious gambits? I very much think so.
I like the Evans very much, it works wonders!
Nice game, but Fischer had a completely equal position after he played 10. ... Nbd7 
White got equality ?? wu-wut ??...u just complimented the latvian umpteenth !!
... there's also e4 e5 Nf3 Nc6 Bb5 f5, which is more advisable.
Do you play it regularly, and does it still work if white goes for italian instead of spanish?
I don't really play e5 that much, so no, I don't play it regularly. It only works against the ruy lopez, not the italian. I mostly play the caro-kann with a few sicilians thrown in there. I have a ton of model games on my YT channel if that interests you:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpRYz_ElTJC-FUq4unehOfg/