King's Gambit

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

King's Gambit

Moves

1.e4 e5 2.f4

ECO

C30-C39

Origin

no later than 16th century

Parent

Open Game

Chessgames.com opening explorer

The King's Gambit is a chess opening that begins:

1. e4 e5

2. f4

White offers a pawn to divert the Black e-pawn and wants to build a stronger center with d2-d4. Theory has shown that in order for Black to maintain the one pawn advantage, moves must be made that seriously weaken the position of the Black pieces. King's Gambit is one of the oldest documented openings as it was examined by the 17th century Italian chess player Giulio Polerio.^[1] It is in an older book by Luis Ramirez de Lucena.^[2] The King's Gambit is now rarely seen at the master level. Black can obtain a reasonable position by relinquishing the extra pawn at a later time and consolidating defensively.

1 History
2 Variations
- 2.1 King's Gambit Declined
- 2.2 King's Gambit Accepted
3 Footnotes
4 Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
5 External links

[edit] History

The King's Gambit was one of the most popular openings for over 300 years, and has been played by many of the greatest players, and in many of the greatest brilliancies, including the Immortal Game. Nonetheless, players have held very divergent views on it. François-André Danican Philidor (1726-95), the greatest player and theorist of his day, wrote that the King's Gambit should end in a draw with best play by both sides, stating that "a gambit equally well attacked and defended is never a decisive [game], either on one side or the other.".^[3] Writing over 150 years later, Siegbert Tarrasch, one of the world's strongest players in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, pronounced the opening "a decisive mistake" and wrote that "it is almost madness to play the King's Gambit."^[4] Similarly, future World Champion Bobby Fischer, after losing to a King's Gambit played by another future World Champion, Boris Spassky, at Mar del Plata 1960, wrote a famous article, "A Bust to the King's Gambit!" in American Chess Quarterly, in which he stated, "In my opinion the King's Gambit is busted. It loses by force." ^[5] He claimed his Fischer Defense (3. ...d6) was a refutation, and concluded, "Of course white can always play differently in which case he merely loses differently." Despite this, Fischer played the King's Gambit himself in three subsequent tournament games, winning all of them.^[6] The King's Gambit has been rare in Grandmaster play since, although it is still used by players such as Joseph Gallagher, Alexander Morozevich and Alexei Fedorov.

[edit] Variations

Black must decide whether or not to accept the gambit. Since White cannot easily regain the pawn if Black accepts, the King's Gambit Accepted is more common than the King's Gambit Declined. There are several variations of each.

[edit] King's Gambit Declined

A common way to decline the gambit is with 2. ..Bc5, the "classical" KGD (King's Gambit Declined). The bishop prevents White from castling and is such a nuisance that White often expends two tempi to get rid of it, moving the queen's knight to c3 and then to a4 only to exchange it on c5, whereupon he may castle without worry. It also contains an opening trap for novices: if White continues with 3.fxe5?? Black continues 3...Qh4+, in which either the rook is lost (4.g3 Qxe4+, forking the rook and king) or White is mated (4.Ke2 Qxe4#). The opening is generally considered to give white too much space in the center after continuations like 1.e4 e5 2.f4 Bc5 3.Nf3 d6 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 or 5.fxe5, and so is no longer played frequently despite being very popular in the 19th century.

Other declined options are possible though unusual, such as the sharp countergambit 2...Nc6 3.Nf3 f5, advocated by Tony Miles; 2...d6, when after 3.Nf3, best is 3...exf4 transposing to the Fischer Defense (though 2...d6 invites white to play 3.d4 instead); and 2...Nf6 3.fxe5 Nxe4 4.Nf3 Ng5! 5.d4 Nxf3+ 6.Qxf3 Qh4+ 7.Qf2 Qxf2+ 8.Kxf2 with a small endgame advantage, as in a game between Bobby Fischer and Robert Wade. The greedy 2...Qf6 (known as the Norwalde Variation), intending 3...Qxf4, is known but considered very dubious. Also dubious is the Keene Defense: 2... Qh4+ 3. g3.

Black can go further and play 2...d5 (intending 3.exd5 e4!?, cramping White's position), the aggressive Falkbeer Countergambit, where Black disdains the pawn and instead makes an all-out attempt to take advantage of white's kingside weakness. A more modern interpretation of the Falkbeer is 2...d5 3 exd5 c6!?, as advocated by Aron Nimzowitsch. The Falkbeer is generally considered to slightly favor White, however, and only if white plays 3. fxe5? would it be a mistake. However, on this line, black can now play 3...Qh4+, followed by 4. Ke2 Qxe4+ 5. Kf2 Bc5+, securing a heavy positional advantage.

[edit] King's Gambit Accepted

The King's Knight Gambit

As stated above, Black best accepts with 2... exf4. White then has two main continuations: 3.Nf3, the King's Knight Gambit is the most common as it develops the knight and blocks 3... Qh4+, and 3.Bc4, the Bishop's Gambit, where White's development will rapidly increase after 3... Qh4+!? 4. Kf1 followed by 5. Nf3, driving the queen away and gaining a tempo, however, most modern players will not bring out the queen. However, there are many other 3rd moves, such as:

3. b3?!- the Orsini Gambit
3. Nc3- the Mason Gambit, the Keres Gambit, the Parnu Gambit, or the Requena Gambit
3. d4- the Willemson Gambit or Steinitz Gambit
3. Bb5- the Shurig Gambit
3. Be2- the Lesser Bishop's Gambit or Tartakower Gambit
3. Qe2- Basman's Gambit
3. Qf3- the Breyer Gambit, Hungarian Gambit, or Carrera Gambit
3. Qg4- the Dodo Gambit
3. Qh5?!- the Carrera Gambit
3. g3?!- the Gaga Gambit
3. Ne2- the Paris Gambit
3. h4- the Stamma Gambit or Leonardo Gambit
3. Nh3- the Eisenberg Gambit
3. Kf2?!- the Tumbleweed Gambit, Drunken King, or King's Own Gambit. This allows 3... Qh4+ 4. g3 fxg3 5. Kg2. It seems that White has given up 2 pawns for nothing, but Black must proceed cautiously, or White can use the many open lines with surprising effectiveness.

The Classical Variation arises after 3.Nf3 g5, when there are two main continuations, 4.h4 ( the Paris Attack),and 4.Bc4. After 4.h4 g4 White can choose between 5.Ng5 or 5.Ne5. 5.Ng5 is the Allgaier Gambit, intending 5...h6 6.Nxf7, but is considered dubious by modern theory. Stronger is 5.Ne5, , the Kieseritzky Gambit, which is relatively positional in nature. It was used very successfully by Wilhelm Steinitz, and was used by Boris Spassky to beat Bobby Fischer in a famous game at Mar del Plata 1960. This motivated Fischer into developing his own defense to the King's Gambit - see "Fischer Defense" below. Instead of 4.h4, the extremely sharp Muzio Gambit arises after 4.Bc4 g4 5.0-0!? gxf3 6.Qxf3, where White has gambitted a knight but has three pieces all bearing down on black's pawn on f7, his greatest weakness. Such wild play is rare in modern chess. Black can avoid the Muzio by meeting 4.Bc4 with 4...Bg7.

The Becker Defense 3...h6 has the idea of creating a pawn chain on h6, g5, f4 to defend the f4 pawn while avoiding the Kieseritzky Gambit. The rarely-seen Bonsch-Osmolovsky Defense 3...Ne7 was played by Mark Bluvshtein to defeat former World title finalist Nigel Short at Montreal 2007.

The Cunningham Defense 3...Be7 is black's most aggressive option; it can permanently prevent white from castling after 4.Bc4 Bh4+ 5.Kf1 (else the wild Bertin Gambit, or Three Pawns' Gambit 5.g3 fxg3 6.0-0 gxh2+ 7.Kh1.) However, nowadays it is more common for black to simply play 4. ..Nf6 5.e5 Ng4, the Modern Cunningham.

The odd 3...Qe7 (intending 4.Nc3 d5!) is an interesting surprise weapon, but doubtful if White knows what he's doing.

The Rook Sacrifice in the Schallopp Defense

The Schallopp Defense 3...Nf6 (intending 4.e5 Nh5, holding onto the pawn) is considered somewhat inferior^{[citation needed]} and is rarely played today. In one of the lines, white can usually obtain a crushing offense via a romantic rook sacrifice, ie 4.e5 Nh5 5.d4 g5 6.h4 g4 7.Ng5 Ng3 8.Bc4! Nxh1 9.Bxf7+ Ke7 10.Nc3 (looking for immediate mate at d5, or later via queen at f6) and black appears doomed.

The Bishop's Gambit

The Abbazia Defense (1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 d5) has much the same idea as the Falkbeer Counter-Gambit, and can in fact be reached by transposition from it, e.g. 2.f4 d5 3.exd5 exf4. Black's forward pawn is less well placed on f4 than on e4, but material is even.

The Fischer Defense (1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 d6 planning h6 and g5 but only rarely Bg4, a natural-looking but often weak move that beginners play too early) is complicated and subtle.

[edit] Footnotes

^ Ristoja, Thomas; Aulikki Ristoja (1995). Perusteet, Shakki (in Finnish). WSOY, 58. ISBN 951-0-20505-2.
^ Hooper, David & Kenneth Whyld (1992), The Oxford Companion to Chess (2 ed.), Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-866164-9
^ Philidor, François-André Danican (2005), Analysis of the Game of Chess (1777) (2 ed.), Harding Simple Ltd., p.67, ISBN 1-84382-161-3
^ Tarrasch, Siegbert (1938), The Game of Chess, David McKay, p.309
^ A Bust to the King's Gambit, American Chess Quarterly.
^ Fischer-Evans, U.S. Championship 1963-64, Fischer-Wade, Vinkovci 1968, and Fischer-Minic, Vinkovci 1968.