Gambit Buster: A Full Black Repertoire Built Around the Gambits

Çitak introduces himself as a FIDE Master from Turkey, “a player, author, trainer,” and says this is his second Chessable course after one on the b3 Sicilian. The idea came from his own 1…e5 career: he “suffered a lot” against White’s sharp tries and wanted a way to defuse them. When he pitched a gambit course, Chessable suggested making it a complete repertoire — so Gambit Buster covers every second move White can play after 1.e4 e5, with the gambits as the centre of attention.

The philosophy is practical rather than greedy. Against the King’s Gambit he says: “We are not in business of accepting the sacrifice and giving the initiative to White.” Elsewhere he grabs material when the engine and human judgement agree, and often offers two branches — a combative one and a calmer one — so you can choose by style. Chapter titles count the trainable lines, about 387 variations in total, and the course PGN holds them all. Find more opening courses in our chess courses list.

How the Gambit Buster Handles White’s Sharpest Tries

King’s Gambit: strike back with the Falkbeer

Instead of holding the f4-pawn and defending for twenty moves, Çitak answers 2.f4 with 2…d5. Two chapters (about 1h 26m) cover 3.exd5 exf4 4.Nf3 Nf6 with the main 5.Bb5+ and the alternatives 5.c4, 5.Nc3, 5.Be2 and 5.Bc4, plus the tricks that punish 3.fxe5. His reason is simple: engine-approved material is worth little if the position is “extremely tough” to play in practice.

Evans and Göring: take the sting out

The introduction shows the approach at its clearest. After 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 he recommends 5…Be7 rather than the main 5…Ba5, followed by …Na5 to chase the c4-bishop off the a2–g8 diagonal; Black returns the pawn and reaches a calm position where White’s c3-pawn is isolated. “I bet most Evans Gambit players just hate this move,” he says. Against the Göring Gambit you get a solid …d5 option and a main line that accepts with …dxc3 and keeps just one extra pawn. If you want to see the Evans from White’s chair, ABC of the Evans Gambit is the matching study.

The romantic sidelines: Danish, Vienna, Center Game, Ponziani

For the Danish he gives two equal-value paths and tells you which suits whom: …dxc3 for confident defenders who like material, …d5 for players who prefer to strike back. The Vienna Gambit (26 variations, the biggest chapter) is met by 2…Nf6 and 3…d5, and the Bishop’s Opening chapter includes the wild “Frankenstein–Dracula” line, with a safer …Be7 bail-out given later. In the Ponziani he follows the modern trend after 3…Nf6 4.d4 Nxe4 5.d5: the …Bc5 piece sacrifice that takes the initiative from move six.

Main lines: Four Knights, Scotch, Italian, Spanish

The “serious” openings get just as much attention. Against the Four Knights the choice is Rubinstein’s 4…Nd4; against the Scotch, the less-analysed 4…Qf6, chosen to “leave the theory battle aside”; in the Italian, 3…Bc5 with chapters on the Center Attack, the Dubov Gambit and the modern 5.d3, where he treats 6.a4 as the most serious try. The “final boss” Spanish is met by the 3…g6 fianchetto (Smyslov / Barnes), and Çitak admits openly that it is not objectively the best move and that 4.c3 is where he “did not manage to fully equalize everywhere.”

The 3-hour model-games session ties it together with nine top-level games, among them Carlsen–Caruana in the Bishop’s Opening, Liang–Aronian from the 2022 US Championship and Dubov’s famous Dubov Gambit game against Karjakin from the 2020 Russian Championship.

Gambit Buster: Course Index

Who Should Get Gambit Buster

• 1…e5 players who lose rating points to gambits — exactly the problem Çitak built the course around.
• Players who want one complete repertoire rather than separate courses for every sideline and main line.
• Practical players who prefer easy-to-play positions and psychological pressure to defending a raw extra pawn.
• Coaches and juniors who enjoy the history behind the openings — names, origins and the romantic-era stories are part of each chapter.

It is less suitable if you want the Ruy Lopez main lines with …a6 or the Berlin, or a 3…Nf6 Two Knights setup. For a more compact repertoire built on …Nf6, see GM Friedel’s 1.e4 e5 Repertoire Part 1 and its Part 2.

Gambit Buster FAQ

Is it only about gambits?

No. Gambits are the focus, but the course is a complete 1…e5 repertoire with answers to the Four Knights, Scotch, Italian and Spanish too.

Where should I start?

Watch the two quickstarters first (about two hours together) for the key recommendation in each opening, then go chapter by chapter in the openings you meet most often.

Which files are included, and how is it delivered?

27 MKV videos (5.21 GB) and the full Gambit Buster course PGN. Digital files. Crypto payment only. Fast delivery is handled manually after payment confirmation. Download links remain available for 7 days; save your files locally.