This is a quick guide to a video series:
This series, authored by PinkHamster and his many sound-effects, is one of our longest series. Why? Because the opening is so common for ChessKids. You offer a few pawns to get your pieces out quickly, then you have to know how to attack and find tactics. It is best for intermediate players, about 600-1000 (although we know of a few kids above 1000 who use this opening regularly!).
The videos are great for players wanting to learn an aggressive opening as White, since so many kid games begin 1. e4 e5.
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The Danish Gambit 1 - vs the Hippo!: introduces the basic theme of the opening - one side blindly captures material while the other side goes for quick development and an attack on f7. You'll also be introduced to the main characters of the series - Dangerous Danny and the Hungry Hippo!
The Danish Gambit 2 - The Hungry Hippo Eats Again!: here Black plays a little more restrained and even manages to castle, but White's bishops again rule the day.
Now Black begins to play a little bit better, but the Danish Gambit is still fearsome in the remaining videos (though it might take you longer to finish off Black).
The Danish Gambit 3 - Pawns Yummy, King Better!: by now Black realizes that developing the queen isn't going to work, but going after the e4 pawn doesn't work either. He has to rush to castle, but you'll see how to create weaknesses against the castle, then invade those very weaknesses!
The Danish Gambit 4 - The Hippo Hunkers Down: Black wisely doesn't repeat the mistake of Part 3. Instead he remains in the middle, but there's one problem - the e-file is open and the attack shifts there. A great video to learn how to attack on the open file!
The Danish Gambit 5 - The Ultimate Tag Team!: The Hippo (Black) finally gets some help! A defensive turtle comes along but it still doesn't help. This video will show you a lot of important checkmating patterns with queens and bishops.
The Danish Gambit 6 - All You Can Eat!: This is the Hippo's last chance to keep eating! You'll learn about a common queen sacrifice on f7, and the zwischenzug that stops it. But White still manages to break through by using every last piece. A classic example of using everything in your army!
From here on, the Turtle takes over, showing much better defense for Black. You'll learn that stopping tactics that occur to your own position is a fine art.
The Danish Gambit 7 - The Turtle Takes Over: Turtle finally convinces the Hippo to think much more about defense. You'll see how to spot your opponent's attacking plans and prevent them in advance. The job is so stressful that it's gonna take two videos to accomplish!
The Danish Gambit 7, Part 2 - Run, Turtle, Run!: the continuation of the previous video, and some new twists. White castles queenside, and the Black king is chased all over the board instead of being mated on the back rank. You'll also see one of the most beautiful checkmates that chess has to offer!
The Danish Gambit 8 - The Next Team Member is...!: finally Black, helped by Crocodile, realizes that capturing all of those pawns might not be best. Instead, he gets the initiative (it's about time!) and fights back.
The Danish Gambit 9 - Ninja Turtle vs Samurai Croc!: Black again declines the gambit and it is White's king who is caught in the center. Apparently two can play this game of attacking the uncastled king!
The Danish Gambit 10 - Crafty Croc vs Prof Rhino: this is hybird of the first nine videos - Black captures all the pawns, but then gives them all bad to reduce White's army. The "Schlecter Defense" is a great way to reach an even position and not get mated out of the opening! If you only watch one video on defending the Danish Gambit, it should be this one.
The Danish Gambit 11 - Eat When the Time is Right: another great example of White attacking with all of his army. What will win - the irreresistible force or the immovable object?
The Danish Gambit 12 - Danny vs Hippo Rematch!: now that the collection of animals are all wiser, they're ready to take on Dangerous Danny one more time! Black realizes that the best defense may actually be a good offense.
The Danish Gambit 13, Part 1 - Turtle Power!: Dangerous Danny got beat, so now he wants to rematch the Dream Team! This time Black offers his pawns in the same manner that White usually does. If there's one thing that this series values, it is active pieces over stagnant pawns.
The Danish Gambit 13, Part 2 - Endgame Struggle: our first and only endgame of the entire series! Yes, that's right, usually somebody gets mated in the opening, but not in this final video! Students will see the classic battle of bishop vs knight, where the better piece all depends on the exact position.
The later videos showed some great defensive technique, a skill rarely perfected by ChessKids. If your students had trouble in this series seeing tactics with active pieces, we suggest having them do tons of positions from our puzzles section. The final game is also a great lead-in to our series on How to Place Your Pieces in the Endgame.
Another good series to check out is The Fried Liver Attack, which explores a famous opening, "The Fried Liver" in which White attacks black's Weakest Square ferociously in the first few moves of the game.