CHESS OPENINGS The essential concepts, strategies, tactics, and thinking

behind every gambit chess opening!

GAMBIT
GAMBIT

CHESS
OPENINGS
The Complete and Definitive Reference to Gambit Chess Openings
More than 2,000 Opening Gambit Strategies Inside!

The Standard
Reference for all
Gambit Openings
A Must-Have
Chess Book!

SCHILLER
Cardoza Publishing

ERIC SCHILLER
Readable Books
for Chess Players
 2,000 GAMBIT STRATEGIES!
More than 2,000 opening strategies, 250 annotated games, and 1,000 diagrams make this
the bible of gambit chess openings! You'll learn every common gambit opening and variation
ever played, plus rare, fascinating and shocking gambits. A must have for chess players!!!

Eric Schiller, author of more than 100

chess books, and the world's leading
writer on chess openings, is widely
considered one of the foremost
chess analysts, writers and teachers.

LEARN ALL THE GAMBITS NOW!

This is the definitive reference on gambit chess openings. Differing from books which rely
almost exclusively on bare notation, this easy-to-read guide features discussions and
analysis on the gambits so that you learn and understand the concepts behind the moves.

Covers More than 2,000

Opening Strategies
FEATURING...
• Explanations, Important Concepts and Thinking behind
Every Gambit Opening
Grandmaster and World • More than 250 Complete Annotated Games Illustrate
Champion Examples
How to Play Exciting Chess Using Chess Gambits
and How to Play Against Them!
More than 1,000 • The Best Openings for Aggressive and Exciting Play
Supporting Diagrams • Multiple Indexes • Full Table of Contents
• Clear, Easy-to-Use Layout
Three Comprehensive • Openings Include Move List, Sample Position, Over-
and Detailed Indexes view, Analysis, Variations and Illustrative Games

ISBN 1-58042-057-5
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52495 feature words (not hieroglyphics),
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BY THE WORLD'S LEADING WRITER ON CHESS OPENINGS!

 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS 1

GAMBIT
CHAMPION
OPENINGS
2 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eric Schiller, widely considered one of the world’s foremost chess analysts, writers,
and teachers, is internationally recognized for his definitive works on openings. He is the
author of over 100 chess books including definitive studies of many chess openings in-
cluding Cardoza Publishing’s definitive series on openings, Standard Chess Openings, Gambit
Chess Openings and Unorthodox Chess Openings — an exhaustive and complete opening
library of more than 2000 pages!
Schiller is also the author of multiple other chess titles for Cardoza Publishing includ-
ing World Champion Openings and the Encyclopedia of Chess Wisdom. (Go online to
www.cardozapub.com for a complete listing of titles).
Schiller is a National and Life Master, an International Arbiter, and the coach for
many of America’s top young players, including America’s best under-18 team at the
Chess World Championships. He has presided over world championship matches dating
back to 1983, was the arbiter at the 2000 World Championship, and runs prestigious
international tournaments. His games have been featured in all the leading journals and
newspapers including the venerable New York Times. Dr. Schiller holds a Ph.D. in Lin-
guistics from the University of Chicago.
His latest projects include new books for Cardoza Publishing as well as beng the
speecial chess advisor on Avery Cardoza’s Chess, a ground-breaking multimedia CD ROM
chess simulation game for the Windows platform featuring opponents who are not only
intelligent in the game of chess, but are human-like as well with their responses, mistakes,
animations and speech. The artificial intelligence adjusts to give competitive play for
players of all levels, from beginners (where beginning opponents make human-like mis-
takes) to grandmasters, where the opponents get tough and play top-level chess.

THE OPENING REFERENCE LIBRARY BY ERIC SCHILLER

STANDARD CHESS OPENINGS - The new standard on opening chess play in the 20th century, refer-
ences every important opening and variation played - more than 3,000 opening strategies! Includes more
than 250 annotated games (including a game representative of each major opening) and more than 1,500
diagrams! The standard reference book necessary for competitive play. A must have!!! 784 pgs, $24.95.

UNORTHODOX CHESS OPENINGS - The exciting guide to every major unorthodox opening contains
more than 1,500 weird, contentious, controversial, unconventional, arrogant and outright strange opening
strategies. Meet such openings as the Orangutang, Raptor Variation, Double Duck, Frankenstein-Dracula
Variation, and even the Drunken King! Great against unprepared opponents. Great Fun! 528 pgs, $24.95.

GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS (GCO) by Eric Schiller - GCO presents every important gambit opening and
variation ever played and currently in vogue – more than 2,000 opening strategies in all! Each gambit is
covered in detail with a diagram showing the standard position representative of the gambit, the move
orders taken to reach there, and an explanation of the thinking behind the moves. 784 pgs, $24.95.

Get online now to learn more about upcoming titles! www.cardozapub.com

 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS 3

GAMBIT
CHAMPION
OPENINGS
The Definitive Guide to Every Important Gambit Opening and
Variation Ever Played and Currently in Vogue

ERIC SCHILLER

CARDOZA PUBLISHING
4 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS

FREE ONLINE CHESS MAGAZINE

www.chesscity.com
Check out Cardoza Publishing’s free online chess magazine with
articles, columns, gossip, and more. The web’s most interesting and
informative chess magazine is free to you from Cardoza Publishing!
come visit us now! • www.chesscity.com

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Proofing and Feedback: Royce Reece, Lionel Larfranchise, Lev
Zilbermints, Clyde Nakamura
Copyright © 2002 by Eric Schiller
- All Rights Reserved -

FIRST EDITION

Library of Congress Catalog Card No: 2002101328

ISBN: 1-58042-057-5

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 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS 5

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Note: Page numbers and
INTRODUCTION 7
A quick tour of the book
subheads are not accurate as 8
What’s not in the book they have not yet been done. 10
How to use this book 11
What is a gambit? 12
Types of compensation 13
Development 13
Open Lines 13
Control of center 14
Bishop pair 14
Def lection14
Inability to castle 15
Types of Gambits 16
Accepting, Declining and Refusing Gambits 17
Gambiteers and Objectivity 18
Statistics: to count or not to count? 20
The “best” and “worst” gambits 21
The 20 most popular gambits 21
The 20 “best-looking” gambits 22
The high-risk gambits 23
Author’s Choice 24
In search of a Hero 24
Gambit Repertoires 26
Naming Gambits 27
The Gambits 28

KING PAWN GAMBITS 28

White gambits the e-pawn to Black’s d-pawn 28
Featured Gambit: Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Complex 28
More Gambits: In Brief 48
Other Diemer-Type Gambits 57
More Gambits: In Brief 64
Featured Gambit: Fingerslip Variation (French Defense) 67
Other e-pawn for d-pawn gambits 70
More Gambits: In Brief 85
White gives up the pawn at e5 93
White gives up the pawn at e3 94
White gambits the e-pawn to Black’s f-pawn 95
6 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS

More Gambits: In Brief 103

White gambits the pawn at e6 105
White gambits the e-pawn to a Black knight 106
Featured Gambit: Belgrade Gambit 106
Other Gambits 115
More Gambits: In Brief 125
White gambits the e-pawn to a Black bishop 133
More Gambits: In Brief 135
White gambits the e-pawn to Black’s queen 136
More Gambits: In Brief 138
Black gambits the e-pawn to White’s d-pawn 138
Featured Gambit: Englund Gambit Complex 138
Englund Gambits In Brief 141
Featured Gambit: Albin Countergambit 145
Albin Countergambits In Brief 151
Featured Gambit: Budapest Defense 152
Other Gambits 155
More Gambits: In Brief 171
Black gambits the e-pawn to White’s f-pawn 178
Featured Gambit: From Gambit Complex 178
From Gambits In Brief 180
Other Gambits 181
More Gambits: In Brief 186
Black gambits the e-pawn to a White knight 190
More Gambits: In Brief 204
Black gambits the e-pawn to a White bishop 208
Black gambits the e-pawn to the White queen 209

QUEEN PAWN GAMBITS 209

White gambits the d-pawn to the Black e-pawn 209
Featured Gambit: Scotch Gambit 209
Scotch Gambits In Brief 218
Featured Gambit: Goering Gambit 221
Goering Gambits In Brief 222
Other Gambits 223
More Gambits: In Brief 241
White gambits the pawn at d5 251
Featured Gambit: Polugayevsky Gambit 251
More Gambits: In Brief 263
White gambits the d-pawn to Black’s c-pawn 264
Featured Gambit: Smith Morra Gambit 264
Smith-Morra Gambits In Brief 270
Other Gambits 275
More Gambits: In Brief 282
 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS 7

White gambits the d-pawn to a Black bishop 284

White gambits the d-pawn to the Black queen 284
Black gambits the d-pawn to White’s e-pawn 288
Featured Gambit: Two Knights Defense: 4.Ng5 d5 288
Two Knights 4.Ng5 d5; In Brief 292
Featured Gambit: Elephant Gambit 296
Other Gambits 297
More Gambits: In Brief 317
Black gambits the d-pawn to White’s c-pawn 328
More Gambits: In Brief 328
Black gambits the d-pawn to a White knight 331
Black gambits the d-pawn to a White bishop 331
Black gambits the d-pawn to the White queen 332
Featured Gambit: Hennig-Schara Gambit Complex 332
More Gambits: In Brief 338

BISHOP PAWN GAMBITS 339

White gambits the c-pawn to Black’s d-pawn 339
Featured Gambit: Queen’s Gambit 339
Queen’s Gambit Accepteds In Brief 347
Other Gambits 357
Queen’s Gambit Declined Gambits in brief 386
More Gambits: In Brief 388
White gambits the c-pawn to Black’s b-pawn 392
White gambits the c-pawn to a Black knight 393
White gambits the c-pawn to a Black bishop 395
White gambits the f-pawn to Black’s e-pawn 395
Featured Gambit: King’s Gambit 395
King’s Gambits In Brief 429
Vienna Gambits 456
Vienna Gambits In Brief 458
Other Gambits 466
More Gambits: In Brief 469
White gambits the f-pawn to the Black queen 470
Black gambits the c-pawn to White’s d-pawn 471
Featured Gambit: Botvinnik-Carls Gambit 471
Other Gambits 473
More Gambits: In Brief 483
Black gambits the c-pawn to White’s b-pawn 488
More Gambits: In Brief 489
Black gambits the c-pawn to a Black knight 489
Black gambits the c-pawn to a White bishop 489
Black gambits the f-pawn to White’s e-pawn 490
Featured Gambit: Latvian Gambit 490
8 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS

Latvian Gambits In Brief 500

More Gambits: In Brief 501
Other Gambits 505
More Gambits: In Brief 510
Black gambits the f-pawn to White’s g-pawn 518
Black gambits the f-pawn to a White bishop 519

KNIGHT PAWN GAMBITS 519

White gambits the b-pawn to Black’s c-pawn 520
Featured Gambit: Sicilian Wing Gambit 520
Sicilian Wing Gambits In Brief 525
Other Gambits 526
More Gambits: In Brief 528
White gambits the b-pawn to Black’s a-pawn 531
White gambits the b-pawn to a Black knight 532
White gambits the b-pawn to a Black bishop 533
Featured Gambit: Evans Gambit 533
Evans Gambits In Brief 544
Other Gambits 549
More Gambits: In Brief 551
White gambits the b-pawn to the Black queen 554
More Gambits: In Brief 560
White gambits the g-pawn to Black’s f-pawn 561
Featured Gambits: Anti-Dutch Gambits 561
Other Anti-Dutch Gambits In Brief 568
More Gambits: In Brief 569
White gambits the g-pawn to Black’s h-pawn 569
White gambits the g-pawn to a Black knight 570
Featured Gambit: Gibbins-Wiedenhagen Gambit 570
Gibbins-Wiedenhagen Gambit In Brief 571
More Gambits: In Brief 572
White gambits the g-pawn to a Black bishop 574
More Gambits: In Brief 575
White gambits the g-pawn to the Black queen 577
Black gambits the b-pawn to White’s c-pawn 577
Featured Gambit: Benko Gambit 577
Benko Gambits In Brief 587
Other Gambits 590
More Gambits: In Brief 596
Black gambits the b-pawn to White’s a-pawn 601
Black gambits the b-pawn to a White knight 601
Black gambits the b-pawn to a White bishop 602
More Gambits: In Brief 603
Black gambits the g-pawn to White’s f-pawn 605
 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS 9

More Gambits: In Brief 606

Black gambits the g-pawn to White’s h-pawn 607
Black gambits the g-pawn to a White knight 607
Black gambits the g-pawn to a White bishop 608
Black gambits the g-pawn to the White’s queen 609
Featured Gambit: Fingerslip Gambit 609
Other Gambits 612
More Gambits: In Brief 613

ROOK PAWN GAMBITS 614

White gambits the a-pawn 614
White gambits the h-pawn 615
Black gambits the h-pawn 615
More Gambits: In Brief 616

KNIGHT GAMBITS 617

White gambits a knight at f3 617
White gambits a knight at f5 617
White gambits a knight at f7 617
Featured Gambit: Fried Liver Attack 617
Other Gambits 620
White gambits a knight at e5 626
More Gambits: In Brief 627
White gambits a knight at g5 629
White gambits a knight at d4 629
Black gambits a knight at c6 630
More Gambits: In Brief 632
Black gambits a knight at e5 633
Black gambits a knight at e4 634

BISHOP GAMBITS 634

White gambits a bishop at f7 634
Featured Gambit: Traxler Counterattack 634
Traxler Gambits In Brief 637
Other Gambits 638
More Gambits: In Brief 641
White gambits a bishop at h7 643
White gambits a bishop at b5 644
Black gambits a bishop at f2 645

EXCHANGE AND DOUBLE-MINOR SACRIFICES IN THE OPENING

646

ROOK GAMBITS 647

10 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS

White sacrifices a rook at h1 647

More Gambits: In Brief 649
Black sacrifices a rook at a8 649
Black sacrifices a rook at h8 651

MISCELLANEOUS GAMBITS 651

More Gambits: In Brief 657
Where to go from here 658
Indexes 659

INDEX BY OPENING 659

INDEX BY MOVES 679

INDEX BY GAMBIT NAME 698

 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS 11

INTRODUCTION
Gambits are among the most fun and exciting of the chess openings! We’ll take a
look at sacrifices of one pawn, two pawns, perhaps a knight or more in return for
game-winning momentum, attacking chances, or even a quick mate. You’ll learn how
to use these gambits to intimidate your opponents right from the opening bell or
even to get the quick kill at the chess board!
This book is an introduction to every major gambit opening in common use in
tournament and correspondence games, as well as a wide array of rare, interesting
and infrequently seen ones–more than 850 different gambits and 2,000 opening
strategies in all! There are also over 250 complete games showing the principles of
the gambit from the initial bold play all the way through to the conclusive ending!
Some are great gambits, where the attacker smashes down the enemy defenses
quickly. Other gambits are investments in the long term and won’t bring dividends
until the late middlegame or endgame. And, it must be admitted, some gambits are
not worth using, providing far too little in return. However, we’ll provide the whole
smorgasboard anyway, helping you pick and choose between the good and bad, the
risky and the riskier, and the aggressive and very aggressive, so that you can find the
gambits best suited for your style.
My emphasis is on understanding the gambits and how they might apply to the
games you’ll play. Each gambit includes a diagram of the standard position repre-
sentative of the moves, the typical move order, the international opening code
(ECO), commentary on the gambit, the popularity of the opening, and an indica-
tion of how a player might initially react to the gambit if caught by surprise.
The gambits are organized by the item sacrificed, the location of the sacrifice,
and the capturing piece, so you can easily find what you are looking for. In addition,
extensive indexes are presented in the back, including nicknames and aliases for the
gambits (according to the Caxton Named Opening Database from the Caxton project
at Chess City Magazine: www.chesscity.com). By the time you reach the end of the
book, you should have quite a number of gambits to add to your repertoire!
I expect that readers will bring along many different skill levels and perspectives,
and have tried to make the book useful for all levels of players. The material is laid
out so that those interested in general issues can avoid the detailed opening com-
mentary and just enjoy the gambits. At the same time, those looking for specific
analysis of critical positions can find what they are after in the supplements.
This book is full of fun and exciting gambits that can take your game to new
levels. Let’s move on and begin our exploration!
12 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS

OVERVIEW

WHAT IS A GAMBIT?
A gambit is an opening that involves a sacrifice of material, such as a pawn or
piece, in order to achieve concrete advantages in the position. A gambit is used to
establish greater control of the center, lead in development, weakness in the enemy
king protection or pawn structure, or to open lines which can be used for an attack.
A gambit is not used to win material, such a maneuver would be properly called a
pseudo-sacrifice.
The definition isn’t all that clear, actually. Sometimes a gambit is temporary,
with the pawn recovered by force. In other cases, the material cannot be accepted
without dire consequences. Then there are established gambits where the material is
not recovered immediately, but is normally regained after a few developing moves.
This is typical of the Queen’s Gambit Accepted (1.d4 d5; 2.c4 dxc4). The Queen’s
Gambit Declined (1.d4 d5; 2.c4 e6) is far more common than the Queen’s Gambit
Accepted precisely because White is likely to get the pawn back in any case unless
Black tries some very risky strategy to hold on to it.
So, I have tried to include the lines which could be reasonably called gambits,
even if they do not conform to someone’s technical definition or established proto-
type. If material is offered, it is a gambit. The opponent may decide not to accept it,
but then the consequences are still obviously of interest to anyone who intends to
play a gambit. There is a prejudice toward analyzing acceptance of the gambit through-
out the book, but many variations where the offer is declined are also examined.
After all, if you are going to play the gambit you have to be happy with both.
Measuring the sacrifice isn’t easy, either. Although material is often described in
terms of numbers (pawn = 1, rook = 5, etc.), it is much harder to place numeric values
on positional factors. There are computer programs that use numbers to evaluate
positions, but it is still an imprecise science. Chessplayers generally evaluate gambits
by putting together the positional advantages received in exchange for the sacrificed
materials, and judging whether there is “sufficient compensation” for the material.
Gambits used to involve sacrifices in the first few moves, back when opening
theory wasn’t well developed. As chess acquired the body of wisdom known as “open-
ing theory,” analysis has pushed deeper and deeper into the mysterious caves of the
opening stage of the game. Opening theory now plows more than 30 moves deep in
some variations. That’s more than the initial time control (30 moves in 90 minutes)
used in many amateur events! So it is reasonable to revise the notion of a gambit to
include sacrifices in the first ten moves, perhaps even later. In some openings, such
 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS 13

as the Closed Variations of the Spanish Game, ten moves go by without any pawns or
pieces being exchanged, so a gambit strategy may still be applied. In these cases,
once can consider the amount of development completed by the defending side.
If the opening development can be said to end, more or less, when a player’s
rooks can see each other (as good a definition as any!), then it is fair to consider any
material sacrifice which takes place before the gambiteer’s opponent has completed
development to be a gambit.
But when all is said and done, who cares? The gambiteer knows perfectly well
what sort of position suits the fighting spirit, and will aim for it. If it involves a
sacrifice, fine. If not, it is no different than a gambit declined. Gambiteers will find
plenty of openings in this collection that meet their own definitions of gambit play,
and can consider the others bonus openings that are also fun to play.

THE SURPRISE VALUE OF THE GAMBITS

I decided to use computer assistance to try to get a picture of how an opponent
might react if confronted by the gambit for the first time or at least, being inexperi-
enced in playing against it. I set the computer analysis on a fairly low level, forcing it
to choose a reply rather quickly. In other words, I sought the evaluation after a shal-
low search (a depth of 6 moves for each side) that might represent the level of an
average tournament player with about a 1400-1500 rating. Thus, it is possible for a
“refuted” gambit to seem quite promising when the refutation may not be known by
your opponent. This “impression” should not be confused with objective, thorough
analysis. It assumes the opponent is taken unawares. I believe that this information
may offer a picture of the surprise value of the opening, which is an important prac-
tical consideration.
When presenting the gambits, I provide a “computer impression” based on this
shallow search, instead of a precise evaluation. No attempt has been made to thor-
oughly evaluate and analyze each gambit in this book. Gambit territory is vast and, as
you’ll see, there remain many unexplored areas. My goal is to show you the map, and
you’ll have to evaluate each gambit yourself or trust the impressions of man or ma-
chine presented in this book. Remember, your mileage may vary!
The impressions of the gambit are, in the computer case, superficial, and in the
author’s case, subjective. They are merely opinions. If you play a gambit that both
the computer and I characterize as terrible, and you lose, don’t say you weren’t warned!
But if you try to use gambits that are considered marginal, you may find they bring
you success. And of course you, or others, may find analysis that supports a different
conclusion. This book is intended as a starting point. Chess theory is constantly pro-
gressing, and computer analysis has rehabilitated many forgotten ideas. It is my sin-
cere hope that evaluations of chess openings remain tentative, at least as long as I
continue to play chess. When they are eventually all analyzed to death, chess will
become more a matter of performance and less a matter of inspiration, as far as the
opening is concerned.
14 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS

Finally, and this is quite important, remember that chess is primarily a game
played between human beings. Computers are immune to psychology. It is all well
and good to dispassionately crank out mechanical analysis, but in a real game be-
tween real humans errors are inevitable, and it is easier to err on defense. On of-
fense if you overlook a possible win, you can try again. When defending, a slight
error is often fatal! So it really doesn’t matter what the books say. It is what is in your
opponent’s head that counts. Remember, no chess game has ever been won without
the opponent making a cooperative mistake. Mistakes will happen, and they will
happen more often when under defensive pressure. To scoff at “unsound” gambits is
easy, but to defend against them requires precision.
Many of the gambits in this book are, by any objective standard, unsound. Some
of them, however, are quite practical, especially as surprise weapons, in that the
opponent is unlikely to find the best defense at the board. Sure, the losers can go
home later and look up the refutation, but the gambiteer will then have moved on to
fresh pastures. If you play chess for fun, rather than as a profession, you can well
afford to experiment with gambit lines that are dubious. My suggestion to those bold
gambiteers is simply this: If you can’t refute an opening without looking at a book,
your opponent probably won’t either. Just be prepared for the worst case scenario in
case your opponent has anticipated your gambit and has studied ways of meeting it.

CHOOSING THE GAMBITS FOR THIS BOOK

It isn’t possible to provide deep analysis of all of the gambits in this book and
thus I’ve had to be quite selective about which gambits receive special attention. To
concentrate on the most popular gambits would run into the problem of too much
analysis, and to ignore the rare gambits would take a lot of fun and exploration out
of the project, thus, I decided to present a smorgasbord of gambits with some light
dishes, some main courses, and a few sweet gambits for dessert. Don’t forget to visit
www.chesscity.com where the publisher provides a great deal of additional analysis
and gambit resources.
Some might object that the inclusion of gambits which haven’t been played in a
while (or ever!) is a bad idea, but I believe that gambiteers will enjoy them. Anyone
with a chess playing computer program can dictate the opening, and play gambits
with such odd move orders as 1.b4 a5; 2.a3. In addition, the Internet provides won-
derful opportunities to explore unorthodox openings and rare gambits.
So, to make room for discussion, however brief, of over 850 gambits means that
few gambits can be described in any sort of definitive detail. I’ve included a number
of the most important gambit lines, that is, the lines which are most often seen in
professional competition, and made sure that these gambits are presented with enough
discussion to get a feel for the opening. On the other hand, mainstream openings
which happen to involve some gambit line are not typically covered in detail. A book
this size could easily be devoted to the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defense, and
several books have already been devoted to the Poisoned Pawn Variation, which is a
 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS 15

true gambit. Gambit players rarely head for the Najdorf Poisoned Pawn because it
would require them to study primarily non-gambit lines in the many Sicilian de-
fenses. The gambiteer is more likely to choose the Smith-Morra Gambit (1.e4 c5
2.d4) to handle all Sicilians. Thus, I’ve tried to give more space to openings that have
more appeal to gambit players than to mainstream players.
Certain gambits have been selected for special attention. For the most part, these
are the gambits with which I’m most familiar, and have played myself. They are usu-
ally the most typical gambits displaying the relevant theme. They are found at the
start of the section. Specific strategies in that gambit are then presented in brief. The
following section contains analysis of gambits that share the same theme with a con-
cluding section brief ly describing similar gambits. Please keep in mind that some of
the most “important” gambits may only be described in brief. The choice of featured
gambits is a purely subjective one, not a sign of inherent value. For example, the
Englund Gambit (1.d4 e5) is, in my opinion, one of the weakest of the queen pawn
capturing king pawn gambits, but it is the paragon of e-pawn for d-pawn gambits,
and in any case there were a number of things I wanted to comment on in that
opening.
In deciding whether to give a gambit a closer look, as opposed to a brief men-
tion, I was guided in many cases by the existence of a brilliant or instructive game. If
I wanted to include a particular game, the opening would have to be elevated to a
more prominent status. Again, please don’t assume that the gambits with games are
necessarily superior to gambits mentioned only in brief. Indeed, in many cases you
will find the analyzed gambits a bit out of the way, as far as your general opening
repertoire is concerned. However, to learn how to play gambits in general, playing
through the complete games is essential.
Over the years, some gambit inventors have corresponded with me about their
novel ideas. In many cases, the gambit ideas have been quite challenging to crack.
I’ve tried to include them, as most of the analysis was in correspondence and unpub-
lished. Of course there isn’t room to include all of the fascinating lines.
I haven’t tried to make definitive evaluations or try to pin down all of the pub-
lished analysis of each gambit. As discussed earlier, I’ve presented an “impression” of
the gambit, indicating an evaluation that an unprepared amateur opponent might
have. It is intended to help average players decide whether the opponent, taken by
surprise, might not react correctly.
This book is intended to introduce the reader to a huge variety of individual
gambits and provide a solid grounding in gambit strategy. Many games are not pre-
sented to the final move, but just up to the point where the result becomes inevi-
table. Exceptions are made for brilliant f inishes because they illustrate important
attacking ideas every gambiteer should be aware of.
Finally, readers cannot help but notice that game references in the book, except
in complete games, give only the names of the players and the year of the game. In
the past this would have been terrible because it would have been difficult to find the
source games in books and tournament bulletins. Since there are now search engines
16 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS

on the Internet which allow you to f ind games by position or player information, it is
now possible for anyone to look up the full game information, even if you don’t own
a huge chess database. By shortening the reference to the essentials, a lot of space
has been saved that I hope has been put to good use!

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

If you are a beginner or club level player, the most important lessons can be
learned by playing through the complete games. In order to maintain the f low of
each complete game, detailed analysis of alternative plans in the opening have been
placed in a supplement at the end of the game.
You can also browse the reference section, looking for interesting positions that
you might want to consider. In casual games, you can try out some gambits without
much preparation, and just see how it goes. Or you can develop a complete gambit
repertoire, using this book to choose the gambits and looking at individual books or
online sources on each of the openings. Remember, you only get a taste of each
gambit in this book; there is always a lot more to learn.
Tournament players may already have established gambits in their repertoires
and will want to examine the relevant annotated games and analytical essays. In the
most popular gambits, I’ve tried to include all of the best defenses and common ways
of declining the gambits so that you’ll be able to incorporate the opening analysis
into your repertoire.
More advanced players will be interested primarily in the analysis of individual
gambits. There are many examples of positions where I take a position opposed to
that of popular reference books and technical opening studies. I’ve offered up quite
a number of suggested improvements which are not available elsewhere. I think you
also can find some goodies by browsing the reference section, as you will find some
gambits you haven’t seen before.
When you find a gambit you’d like to play, you’ll want to search out additional
literature or the Internet for more comprehensive coverage. Many gambits have an
extensive literature and many games can be found in databases. In other cases, little
is known and you’ll have to rely on your own analysis and the few tips I’ve provided.
In this book you’ll be exposed to more gambits than have ever been collected in one
source. It is up to you to decide which ones deserve further investigation.

TYPES OF COMPENSATION
The goal of a gambit is usually rapid development and some weakness in the
enemy position. This weakness can be exploited by using open lines, thorough con-
trol of the center, or by using powerfully placed minor pieces. An alternative strategy
is to give up a pawn (almost never more than that) to def lect an enemy piece from its
station so that another objective can be achieved. Finally, there is a brutal method of
simply demolishing the enemy defensive barrier regardless of the material cost. Each
of these forms of compensation is presented below.
 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS 17

Before moving on to those specifics, it is worth mentioning that almost all gam-
bits come with an added bonus: the initiative. The player with the initiative is on the
offensive, and the opponent is usually required to defend. Many players are uncom-
fortable defending, and would much prefer to attack. So there is a certain psychologi-
cal advantage in many gambits.

1. Development
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|0p0pdp0py
|wdndwdwdy
|dwdwdwdwy
|wdBdPdwdy
|dwdwdNdwy
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|$NdQIwdRy
Uzzzzzzzz\
Position from the Goering Gambit

In the diagram above, White has sacrificed two pawns to open up lines for the
bishops and, importantly, the queen, which can now move to b3. White has already
developed three pieces and is ready to castle. To complete development, White needs
to castle, move the queen, and develop the knight. That will take just three moves.
Black, on the other hand, has to move both knights, both bishops, the queen, and
must also castle. That will require seven moves. It is Black’s turn, so let’s reduce that
to six. For two pawns White has an advantage of three tempi. That is usually consid-
ered just enough compensation for one pawn. White had better achieve something
quickly or eventually Black will be able to develop and defend. Theory properly con-
siders this line suspect for White. In my book on the Goering, I considered this line
too ambitious, preferring to recapture the Black pawn when it gets to c3. You can
easily see why many players are afraid to play the Black side of this opening.

2. Open Lines
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|rdb1kdw4y
|0p0wgp0py
|wdwdphwdy
|dwdwdwGwy
|wdwhwdwdy
|dwHBdNdwy
|P)PdwdP)y
|$wdQdRdKy
Uzzzzzzzz\
Position from the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit
18 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS

White has sacrificed two pawns, but has many open lines. The e-file and f-file
can be used for attacks, and if Black castles, then the bishop at d3 aims directly at the
vulnerable h7-square. White can also arrange to put a rook on the d-file, controlling
that important line. The open lines allow White to dominate the board, making it
very difficult for Black to get the rest of the pieces into the game. If Black cannot
activate all of the pieces, including the rook at d8, then White will have more than
enough compensation.

3. Control of Center
^xxxxxxxxY
|rdb1kdn4y
|0p0wdp0py
|wdn0wdwdy
|gwdw0wdwy
|wdB)Pdwdy
|dw)wdNdwy
|Pdwdw)P)y
|$NGQdRIwy
Uzzzzzzzz\
Position from the Evans Gambit

White has control of the center, despite the presence of a Black pawn at e5.
White has more pawns (2 to 1) and minor pieces (2 to 1) covering central territory,
and White’s queen is also supporting d4. Black’s bishop will retreat from a5 to b6,
providing a bit more pressure. The central control is a large part of White’s compen-
sation, but it takes the additional lead in development and potential queen and bishop
battery on the a2-g8 diagonal to provide full compensation. This position is consid-
ered to hold roughly equal chances.

4. Bishop Pair
The Danish Gambit Accepted is a good example of a powerful pair of bishops,
even if White had to sacrifice two pawns to get them. 1.e4 e5; 2.d4 exd4; 3.c3 dxc3;
4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2.
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|rhb1kgn4y
|0p0pdp0py
|wdwdwdwdy
|dwdwdwdwy
|wdBdPdwdy
|dwdwdwdwy
|PGwdw)P)y
|$NdQIwHRy
Uzzzzzzzz\
Position from the Danish Gambit Accepted
 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS 19

White has a two-tempo lead in development, which is a bit short, as three are
usually required to confidently give up a pawn. Unlike the Goering Gambit, men-
tioned above, the Danish doesn’t have the knight developed from g1 so castling is
further off, and the weakness of the a5-e1 diagonal means that White must be care-
ful. However, the bishop pair on such beautiful squares should impress any player of
the Black side, unless well prepared. It may be all White has in return for the pawn,
but the bishop pair on an open board is a big asset and must not be underestimated.

5. Deflection
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|wdwdwdwdy
|dwdwdwdwy
|wdwdwdwdy
|dpdwdwdwy
|wdBdwdwdy
|dwdwdwdwy
|wdwdwdwdy
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Uzzzzzzzz\
Instructive position

Sometimes a pawn is offered simply to remove a piece from a dangerous attack-

ing position. For example, if White has a bishop at c4, Black can sacrifice a pawn at
b5 to def lect the bishop from its target at f7. This strategy is at the heart of the Fritz
Variation (1.e4 e5; 2.Nf3 Nc6; 3.Bc4 Nf6; 4.Ng5 d5; 5.exd5 b5). It also is at the heart
of the Norwald Variation of the King’s Gambit (1.e4 e5; 2.f4 Qf6) where Black is
willing to place the queen in a dangerous position at f4 in return for the pawn.

6. Inability to Castle
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|wdwdkdwdy
|dwdwdNdwy
|wdwdwdwdy
|dwdwdwdwy
|wdwdwdwdy
|dwdwdwdwy
|wdwdwdwdy
|dwdwdwdwy
Uzzzzzzzz\
Instructive position

There are a number of gambits which involve capturing Black’s pawn at f7, even
investing a knight or bishop to accomplish the task. The most spectacular example is
the Cochrane Gambit in the Russian Game. After 1.e4 e5; 2.Nf3 Nf6; 3.Nxe5 d6,
20 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS

which is Black’s normal move, White can play 4.Nxf7, leading to very exciting attack-
ing chess. Sometimes White sacrifices a bishop at f7, even in combination with an-
other sacrifice. The Muzio Gambit, for example, involves a knight sacrifice at f3
followed by a bishop sac at f7!

TYPES OF GAMBITS
The best way to classify gambits is to consider which piece is sacrificed, where
the sacrifice takes place, and what enemy piece is used to capture the gambit mate-
rial. If you are interested in exploring gambit possibilities, consider adopting some
gambits which have the same characteristics as ones you already enjoy. Many gambits
can be reached by a number of transpositional paths, so you can fit them into your
repertoire in a variety of ways.
There are a number of typical gambit ideas that turn up in a variety of openings.
The following list contains some of the most common types.

Diemer-Type Gambits A White offer of a pawn at e4 to an enemy pawn, followed by f3

Englund-Type Gambits A Black offer of a pawn at e5 to an enemy d-pawn
Danish-Type Gambits An offer of the d-pawn at d4 to an enemy e-pawn, followed by c3
Scotch-Type Gambits An offer of the d-pawn at d4 to an enemy e-pawn, followed by c3
Poisoned Pawn Gambits The offer of a knight pawn on its original square to an enemy queen.
Wing Gambits The offer of a knight pawn on the fourth rank.
Desperado Gambits The offer of a piece that was doomed in any case.

If you enjoy playing a particular gambit, you might want to take a look at related
gambits to see if there are similar approaches. For example, if you like the Scotch
Gambit, take a look at the Goering Gambit and Relfsson Gambit as well. You can
add a bit of variety to your repertoire this way.

ACCEPTING, DECLINING AND REFUSING GAMBITS

A gambit may be accepted, declined, or refused. In the first case, the defender
captures the offered material and accepts the challenge of staving off the attack,
after which the extra material should prove to be a significant advantage, perhaps a
decisive one. After accepting the gambit, it is often wise to return the extra material
in order to free the position or take care of an important defensive task. The result is
likely to be an even position with a very slight initiative for the gambiteer.
A gambit can be temporary or permanent. We can say that a gambit is finalized
when the gambiteer offers to exchange a pawn for the enemy pawn which has cap-
tured the gambit pawn. For example, in the Englund Gambit Complex (1.d4 e5;
2.dxe5) Black can finalize the gambit by playing 2…f6, 2…d6 or 2…d5. In each case
White can use the pawn at e5 to capture another Black pawn, and even when Black
recaptures, White still enjoys a one pawn advantage.
You can, of course, politely decline the offer. Instead of capturing material, it is
normally possible to simply continue with development. Then the gambiteer must
 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS 21

decide whether to leave the offer on the table or abandon the gambit strategy. This
game of “chicken” doesn’t usually last more than a move or two, after which the
game tends to move toward quiet play.
Suppose you don’t want to accept the gambit, yielding the initiative, or decline in
some wimpish fashion and settle for a boring game. You might want to take the
initiative yourself, by responding to the gambit with a confrontational move. Such a
move might be a countergambit, for example in the Queen’s Gambit, after 1.d4 d5;
2.c4, Black can adopt the Albin Countergambit with 2..e5, offering a pawn as Black.
Or, instead of declining with 2…e6 or 2…c6, the Chigorin Defense with 2…Nc6 takes
White far away from the territory of either the Queen’s Gambit Accepted or Queen’s
Gambit Declined!
When facing gambits for the first time, lacking any specific preparation, it is
often wise to decline. Even if “objectively” the gambit is rubbish, there may be dan-
ger in the position unless you understand just what the gambiteers is after in the way
of compensation. You might think an open f–file is no big deal, but your opponent
may have hundreds of games experience in taking advantage of this little positional
asset.
On the other hand, if you know what you are doing, then accepting a gambit is
just fine. Many players feel that as a matter of honor they must accept whatever is on
offer. That may seem silly, but it was actually an unwritten code of conduct at times
in the 19th century! Well, if you are obliged to accept a sacrifice, then quite a few
gambits would be more popular since it is often the declined variations which
gambiteers find boring and which eventually lead to abandonment of the gambit.
This is certainly the case in the Goering Gambit, where 4…d5 leads to sterile posi-
tions which can even be a bit uncomfortable for the first player.
Refusing gambits and offering countergambits is another good strategy. This is
often used by gambiteers when they find themselves of the receiving end of gambit
play. In general, you need to be well prepared to play such openings as the Chigorin
Queen’s Gambit or Budapest Defense. I’ve used a number of confrontational re-
plies for many years, including the Schara Gambit and various gambits in the Tarrasch
Defense.

GAMBITEERS AND OBJECTIVITY

Gambits have been part of the chess world for hundreds of years. The word
gambit was first applied to chess by Ruy Lopez, back in the 16th Century, to account
for the bold opening sacrifices which were coming into vogue thanks to the new
rules, which allowed pawns to advance two squares on their first move. At first, the
gambits almost all involved the Open Games (1.e4 e5) since that’s what all the strong
players used. Gambits f lourished as White tried to challenge the center immediately
with 2.f4 or 2.d4. Later, the gambiteers were not so rash, offering a pawn after a
piece or two had already been developed.
One of the most extreme gambit lovers was Emil Josef Diemer who had a lifelong
22 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS

devotion to gambits which involved Black capturing on e4 with a pawn at d5, which
would later be challenged by White’s advance of the f–pawn. He is immortalized as
one half of the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit team, and to be fair, Diemer probably de-
serves more of the credit, as he steadfastly promoted the approach for White. He was
much given to using exclamation marks in his writings, heaping tremendous praise
on gambit moves.
When it comes to the Internet, fans are hardly bashful about proclaiming the
superiority of their openings. There are even websites that sell “miracle cures,” guar-
anteed to get you a good position. At the same time, the conservative faction is happy
to throw cold water on any gambit, often offering up some rather silly computer
“analysis” where the defending side obtains some minor numerical advantage.
Okay, so gambit players and writers on the subject aren’t particularly objective.
What about computer programs? Until recently, the silicon monsters were quite
clueless when it came to gambits. They would calculate the material invested, which
is of great importance to their calculations, and look for some way to regain it. That’s
hardly the spirit of gambit play! In recent years, computer programs have become
strong enough to challenge the world’s best players, not only because computers
themselves have become more powerful but also because the programs have become
far more sophisticated in evaluating the intangible forms of compensation.
In any case, each gambit has many variations and subvariations to explore, and
that is a task best left to authors of books and articles on the individual openings.

STATISTICS: TO COUNT OR NOT TO COUNT?

With powerful computers and software available, and databases of millions of
chess games, you might think that statistics could enlighten us. Far from it! You’ll see
how easily players can be misled when they rely on statistical analysis of the openings
to determine which gambits are playable and which are rubbish. The correlation of
the opening play with the result of the game isn’t very high, and is usually based on
the relative skill of the players. It is all fine and well to say that a particular gambit
wins 90% of the time, but when a refutation is discovered, that becomes irrelevant.
However, I think that it is important to consider how often a gambit is seen in
relatively recent games. I used a database of a bit over 170,000 games from the years
2000 and 2001, primarily tournament games but including correspondence games,
amateur events and even a few fast games. In the summary line for each gambit, I
give a report card on the popularity of a gambit. The rarer a gambit is, the less likely
your opponent will be prepared for it, which is a good practical consideration. Those
marked “Awaiting a hero!” are ones most likely to catch people by surprise, but re-
member, they may be unpopular because they f lat out stink!
Don’t get carried away with the popularity contest! After all, a gambit that starts
1.a3 a5 is not likely to show up in as many games as one that starts 1.e4 e5. On the
other side of the coin, the most popular gambits aren’t always the best ones. Some
simply have a large fan base who actively pump games into databases. And not sur-
 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS 23

prisingly, many of those games just happen to be wins for the gambiteers! The chess
community should be indeed grateful for the preservation of these often entertain-
ing games, but again, databases are not a real-world sample of openings.
Many of the gambits included here don’t have a single example from the past
two years. There are many reasons for this. Often they are rare openings to begin
with and some are just so bad that no one in their right mind would play them. In the
chess world, however, there are plenty of gambit lovers, some of whose right mind,
or left mind, seem fundamentally lacking. There are plenty of fans of the Halloween
Gambit (1.e4 e4; 2.Nf3 Nc6; 3.Nc3 Nf6; 4.Nxe5), for example.
And why not? Chess is a game and it is supposed to be fun. If persistent use of an
unsound gambit leads to many losses with one or two brilliant wins, it may well bring
satisfaction to the artistically minded player. Statistics and cold logic are not part of
the human chess scene, except sometimes at the very highest levels. Even in the chess
stratosphere, you’ll find plenty of gambit play, including such chestnuts as the Evans
Gambit and King’s Gambit. Even the sacrifice of a knight in the supposedly dubious
Cochrane Gambit (1.e4 e5; 2.Nf3 Nf6; 3.Nxe5 d6; 4.Nxf7) turns up in super Grand-
master games in important competitions!

THE “BEST” AND “WORST” GAMBITS

I don’t know of any objective standards that can be used to decide whether or
not a gambit should be played. Much depends on the players and circumstances of
the game. What works in a 3-minute online game might lead to disaster in a classical
4-hour encounter and what might work against an amateur might be suicidal against
a top level player. Still, we can take a look at some factors which can help you decide
whether a gambit might be worth investigating for serious play.
We’ll start by looking at the most popular gambits. Although this is hardly a
guide to soundness, it is likely that a gambit which has attracted a big following has
something going for it. Then we’ll look at gambits which appeal to both man and
machine as offering excellent compensation for the sacrificed material. These gam-
bits are not likely to get you into trouble. The section that follows shows the opposite
side of the coin: high risk gambits. Play them if you dare!
The lists in this section are based on computer evaluations and I don’t always
agree. I have my own ideas about which gambits are best, or at least best for me. So
I present a section on the gambits I most enjoy playing. Those who wish to boldly go
where few have gone before will naturally look for openings that haven’t built much
of a fan base. A f inal section, “In search of a Hero,” presents these.

THE 20 MOST POPULAR GAMBITS

Some gambits are seen so frequently in serious competition that they are stan-
dard opening strategies, for which most tournament players are well-prepared. It is
reasonable to conclude that such gambits are eminently playable. The gambits in the
following list all appear at least once for every thousand games in the database.
Subvariations of gambits don’t count, but even if the Queen’s Gambit were limited
24 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS

to the Accepted lines it would still win hands down.

Gambit Popularity
1 Queen’s Gambit Extreme
2 Scandinavian Defense:Modern Variation Very High
3 Benko Gambit Very High
4 Sicilian Defense Alapin Variation:Smith-Morra Declined Very High
5 King’s Gambit High
6 Sicilian Defense Smith-Morra Gambit High
7 Slav Defense Czech Variation High
8 Scotch Gambit Dubois-Reti Defense Moderate
9 Budapest Defense Moderate
10 Italian Game Two Knights Defense Knight Attack with 4…d5 Moderate
11 Spanish Game Berlin Defense Rio Gambit Accepted Moderate
12 Spanish Game Schliemann Defense Moderate
13 Benko Gambit Accepted Pawn Return Variation Moderate
14 Semi-Slav Defense Noteboom Variation Moderate
16 Catalan Opening Open Defense Moderate
17 Vienna Game Vienna Gambit Moderate
18 Queen’s Gambit Declined Vienna Variation Moderate
19 Evans Gambit Moderate
20 French Defense Winawer Variation Alekhine-Maroczy Gambit Moderate

THE 20 “BEST-LOOKING” GAMBITS

The following lists show the 20 gambits which, according to the computer, de-
serve the highest confidence level. If you manage to get one of these positions, then
you should emerge from the opening with an advantage for White, or at least equal-
ity as Black according to computer analysis. Most of these are rare, for the obvious
reason that there are superior alternatives for the players before the position is reached.
Still, you’ll find such mainstream lines as the Poisoned Pawn line in the Winawer
Variation of the French, which is a highly respected line for Black but is still attrac-
tive to players of the White side.
Keep in mind that by “best-looking,” I don’t mean that the positions are, indeed,
as favorable as they seem to the computer programs. I sometimes disagree. I’m fully
prepared to defend the Black side of some of these, for example the Forcing Line of
the Lion Defense. I used the Smyslov Variation of the Queen’s Gambit Accepted to
defeat a Grandmaster in a simul when I was young (see page REF) and have been
tempted to use it recently.
You can study the gambits in these lists to see how computer programs evaluate
positions, submitting them to various chess engines for analysis. You’ll get many
different evaluations, depending on the program you choose, the computer hard-
ware, and above all the amount of time and resources the machine is allowed to
consume. With proper conditions and prodding, you can “rehabilitate” at least of
few of the “worst” gambits and may find that the “best” ones aren’t quite as good as
they seemed.
 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS 25

BEST-LOOKING GAMBITS FOR WHITE

Two Knights Defense Traxler Counterattack Knight Sac line
Vienna Game Vienna Gambit Wurzburger Trap
King’s Gambit Accepted Middleton Countergambit
Philidor Defense Lion Variation Forcing Line
King’s Gambit Declined Senechaud Countergambit
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense Traxler Counterattack Bishop Sac line
Italian Game Two Knights Defense Ponziani-Steinitz Gambit
King’s Gambit Accepted Salvio Gambit Viennese Variation
Sicilian Defense Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted Fianchetto Defense
Queen’s Gambit Accepted Furman Variation
Italian Game Rousseau Gambit
King Pawn Game La Bourdonnais Gambit
Polish Defense Spassky Gambit Accepted
Spanish Game Berlin Defense Rio Gambit Accepted
Queen’s Gambit Accepted Smyslov Variation
King Pawn Game Clam Variation Radisch Gambit
Dutch Defense Staunton Gambit Balogh Defense
French Defense Hoffmann Gambit
King’s Gambit Accepted Abbazia Defense Main Line
Sicilian Defense Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted Kan Formation

BEST-LOOKING GAMBITS FOR BLACK

King’s Gambit Accepted Kieseritsky Gambit Anderssen-Cordel Gambit
Spanish Game Spanish Countergambit Harding Countergambit
Grob Opening Grob Gambit Basman Gambit
Vienna Game Stanley Variation Bronstein Gambit
King’s Gambit Accepted Kieseritsky Gambit Paulsen Defense Deferred
Englund Gambit Complex Declined Diemer Counterattack
Queen’s Gambit Accepted Central Variation McDonnell Defense
King’s Gambit Accepted Bishop’s Gambit Bledow Countergambit
King’s Gambit Accepted Bishop’s Gambit: Bishop’s Countergambit
Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Kaulich Defense
Van Geet Opening Pfeiffer Gambit
French Defense Winawer Variation: Poisoned Pawn Variation: Paoli Variation
Nimzo-Indian Defense Spielmann Variation Gambit Accepted
King’s Gambit Falkbeer Countergambit Charousek Gambit Keres Variation
Bishop’s Opening Lewis Countergambit Walker Variation
Indian Game Gibbins-Wiedenhagen Gambit Oshima Defense
Four Knights Game Scotch Variation Krause Gambit
King’s Gambit Falkbeer Countergambit Charousek Gambit Morphy Defense
King’s Gambit Accepted Bishop’s Gambit Bryan Countergambit
Four Knights Game Scotch Variation Krause Gambit Leonhardt Defense

THE HIGH-RISK GAMBITS

The following gambits are considered terrible for the gambiteer, as far as com-
puter evaluations are concerned. One might think that they are entirely unsound but
it is not always so. Some of these are generally considered playable in the books,
others are acknowledged as refuted. In a few cases, the computer evaluation seems
26 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS

way off because experience has shown good results. The Frankenstein-Dracula Varia-
tion of the Vienna Game is one which is theoretically unclear and claims of refuta-
tion have never held up. On the other hand, there isn’t much dispute that the Rice
Gambit, an old favorite, is dead and buried, at least for the moment.

HIGH-RISK GAMBITS FOR WHITE

King’s Gambit Accepted Double Muzio Gambit
King’s Gambit Accepted Kotov Gambit
King’s Gambit Accepted Allgaier Gambit Thorold Attack
Italian Game Evans Gambit Mortimer-Evans Gambit
Vienna Game Vienna Gambit Hamppe Allgaier-Thorold Gambit
King Pawn Game Schulze-Muller Gambit
Italian Game Jerome Gambit
Italian Game Scotch Gambit Canal Variation
King’s Gambit Accepted Kieseritsky Gambit Rice Gambit
Four Knights Game Halloween Gambit
King’s Gambit Accepted Orsini Gambit
King’s Gambit Accepted Allgaier Gambit Urusov Attack
King’s Gambit Accepted Rosentreter Gambit Soerensen Gambit
Vienna Game Vienna Gambit Hamppe-Muzio Gambit
King’s Gambit Accepted Greco Gambit Calabrese Gambit
Four Knights Game Halloween Gambit Plasma Variation
King’s Gambit Accepted Muzio Gambit
Vienna Game Vienna Gambit Hamppe Allgaier Gambit
King’s Gambit Accepted Double Muzio Gambit Main Line
King’s Gambit Accepted Kieseritsky Gambit Cotter Gambit

HIGH-RISK GAMBITS FOR BLACK

Latvian Gambit Corkscrew Gambit
Latvian Gambit Fraser Defense
Vienna Game Stanley Variation Frankenstein-Dracula Variation
Latvian Gambit Polerio Variation
Italian Game Giuoco Pianissimo Lucchini Gambit
Italian Game Two Knights Defense Traxler Counterattack King March line
Kadas Opening Schneider Gambit
Bishop’s Opening Thorold Gambit
Sicilian Defense Double-Dutch Gambit
Modern Defense Fianchetto Gambit
King’s Gambit Falkbeer Countergambit Pickler Gambit
Modern Defense Masur Gambit
Borg Defense Langhorst Gambit
Four Knights Game Scotch Variation Oxford Gambit
Borg Defense Troon Gambit
Borg Defense Borg Gambit
Nimzowitsch Defense Scandinavian Variation Aachen Gambit
Philidor Defense Duke of Brunswick Gambit
English Defense Hartlaub Gambit Accepted
Bird Opening From Gambit Langheld Gambit
 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS 27

AUTHOR’S CHOICE
My personal view of the best and worst gambits can be found in this section,
together with lists of some of the ones I consider the most fun. I can’t possibly be
objective about my favorite openings, and don’t really try. You may find that what
works for me, works for you. You may find my preferences to be totally out of line
with reality and prefer to use gambits I treat rather dismissingly in this book. Either
way, find the gambits that suit you, and enjoy browsing the lists below! I’ve selected
some gambits as personal recommendations. The list below is not based on statisti-
cal results or my own record with them, but are simply the gambits I most enjoy
playing. I’ve organized it as a repertoire, so that you can see how they might work
together.
In the Open Games, I’ve used my favorite Relfsson Gambit in many encounters
with Grandmasters and International Masters, and it has served me well indeed. In
casual play, the Goering Gambit is a lot of fun. I use the 1.e4 e5; 2.d4 move order to
get to these, denying my opponents the opportunity to offer up a Latvian or El-
ephant Gambit. Against the French Defense, I’ve been a fan of the Fingerslip Gam-
bit for many years. It leads to very complicated positions, or to endgames that I find
comfortable. The Caro-Kann offers me an opportunity for the Hennig Gambit, though
I don’t use it against professionals. Against hypermodern openings such as the Pirc
or Modern, there are no gambits that really offer much appeal. When faced with the
Scandinavian, the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit often makes an appearance, especially
in rapid games.
I’m more of a 1.d4 player these days, and stick to 2.Nf3, as I don’t want to give my
opponents the opportunity to introduce gambit complications. However, I have played
2.c4 and successfully used the Florentine Gambit against the King’s Indian and
Benoni, as well as the Taimanov Gambit in the Queen’s Indian. In younger days I
played both sides of the Botvinnik Variation of the Semi-Slav. Against the Benko
Gambit, I have run up a huge score as White in the Sosonko Variation.
As Black, gambits are the mainstay of my repertoire, and have been for some
time. In the Tarrasch Defense, both the Schara, Hennig and Old Tarrasch Gambit
have all played a prominent role. I used to play the Albin Countergambit quite a lot.
In the Caro-Kann, I often offer a pawn in the Fianchetto Gambit of the Panov At-
tack. I played the Jaenisch Gambit for some time before switching to the Dilworth
Variation of the Open Spanish.

IN SEARCH OF A HERO
Many of the gambits in this book have not been played in recent years. Some
have never been “officially” played (that is, no games in databases of serious tourna-
ments). You can find all of the out-of-fashion gambits by consulting the index, but
I’ve selected some plausible gambits that I think would be a lot of fun to try. I have
left out any that require bizarre situations such as 1.h4 as a first move, and chosen
only gambits that can be reached without departing from standard opening play.
28 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS

Gambit
Alekhine Defense Hunt Variation Matsukevich Gambit
Bird Opening Hobbs-Zilbermints Gambit
Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Declined Lamb Defense
Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Von Popiel Gambit Zilbermints Variation
Gruenfeld Defense Zaitsev Gambit
King Pawn Game Gunderam Gambit
King’s Gambit: Accepted Bishop’s Gambit: Bishop’s Countergambit
King’s Gambit: Accepted Bishop’s Gambit MacDonnell Attack
King’s Gambit: Accepted Bishop’s Gambit Sec. Jaenisch Variation
King’s Gambit: Accepted Blachly Gambit
King’s Gambit: Accepted Double Muzio Gambit Young Gambit
King’s Gambit: Accepted Middleton Countergambit
King’s Gambit: Accepted Salvio Gambit Cochrane Gambit
King’s Gambit: Declined Classical Variation: Euwe Attack
Philidor Defense Bird Gambit
Pirc Defense Roscher Gambit
Queen’s Gambit Accepted Alekhine Defense Borisenko-Furman Variation
Queen’s Gambit Accepted Alekhine Defense Haberditz Variation
Queen’s Gambit Accepted Yefimov Gambit
Queen’s Gambit Accepted Korchnoi Gambit
Queen’s Gambit Refused Austrian Defense Haberditz Variation:
Sicilian Defense Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted Larsen Defense
Spanish Game Closed Defense Alekhine Gambit
Spanish Game Closed Variations Center Attack Basque Gambit
Van Geet Opening Klüver Gambit
Vienna Game Mieses Variation Erben Gambit
Vienna Game Paulsen Variation Polluck Gambit
Vienna Game Stanley Variation Eifel Gambit

GAMBIT REPERTOIRES
I have presented gambit repertoires for White and Black in my Gambit Opening
Repertoire books, and here I can just offer some general advice. The most important
thing to remember is that a gambit does you no good if you never get to play it! Many
gambits in this book are unlikely to arise except in thematic tournaments, which
require that a specific opening be used. These tend to be correspondence tourna-
ments, but now the Internet provides many special gambit opportunities. Inquire at
the Internet Chess Club or your preferred online playing site for opportunities to
play your favorite gambit openings!
If you are looking for gambits that you can add to your current repertoire, just
find the ones listed in the openings you already play and see how they fit in. Keep in
mind that there are many transpositional paths! You can also use the thematic index
to f ind gambits similar to those you already know about. For example, if as Black you
like to play 1.e4 e5; but offer up the f–pawn, you can look at the list of gambits
involving an early …f5 for Black.
As a trainer, I recommend gambits as a small part of a healthy chess diet. Most of
my students have a few in their repertoire, mostly to be used for special occasions,
 GAMBIT CHESS OPENINGS 29

especially in tournaments where multiple games per day don’t allow for preparation
time. However, keep in mind that there is a lot of advice available for those seeking to
play well against gambits. As I was working on this book, I was also collaborating
with John Watson on a book of advice for players who want to confront or avoid
sharp lines, including gambits. Though the two goals seem contradictory, in fact it is
all part of chess. Even top players use gambits as part of their repertoire, but rarely
with great regularity. You can try to build a repertoire consisting exclusively of lines
where you part with material and get the initiative and other compensation. If you
succeed, however, you abandon a great deal of interesting chess. It is fun to play
gambits, but it can be fund to defend them, to try to refute them and go home with
an easy victory thanks to the extra material.

NAMING GAMBITS
The naming of chess openings is a complex matter, and I’ve dealt with that sub-
ject in the other books in this encyclopedic series, including Unorthodox Chess Open-
ings. The situation with gambits is even messier than usual, as gambits are often
discovered in various countries at various times. They acquire names that may or may
not be “accurate” (whatever that means!). In this book I have used the names gener-
ally found in the literature, and in the index, I cross-reference other names that have
come to my attention. Where a gambit has no established name, I have used the
same criteria I have adopted for 20 years. The first person to play and actively pro-
mote a gambit idea has the priority, either to determine the name of have the
innovator’s name attached. Simply being the first game found in a database some-
where is not conclusive evidence, but if there is nothing else to go by, the player
name, or in some cases the event name, is used. In all cases the name used is the one
applied in the Caxton Named Opening List.
The moves of each gambit are presented in whichever reasonable order they
happened to get in the Caxton list. Throughout the book significant transpositions
are noted, but no attempt has been made to trace each transpositional path.

SUMMARY
Some of the games included here were the most fun, and the most painful, for
the author. I include a sampling of my own games in gambit openings, both wins and
losses. Sometimes the main criteria for selection was an opening novelty, often it is a
combination or fierce attack. Many of the games involve Grandmasters and Interna-
tional Masters as opponents, and though I do get thrashed from time to time, I also
have quite a few upsets. And a bit of luck! By playing through the games you will truly
experience the life of a gambiteer (keep in mind, please, this is only one of my chess
personalities!) as seen in practical play. The risks, the opening traps, missed
middlegame opportunities and even demanding endgames will provide a good over-
all picture of the gambit experience.
With that said, let’s now move on to the gambits!
30 CARDOZA PUBLISHING • ERIC SCHILLER

KING PAWN GAMBITS

Sacrificing the e-pawn brings one immediate rewards in that the e-file is open for
business. If White castles quickly and brings a rook to e1, this can lead to a strong
attack. The queen can come to e2 even before castling and can wreak havoc on the
open file. Since the e-pawn has moved, a bishop can quickly be deployed to aim at
the enemy king. It is therefore unsurprising that many gambits involve this strategy.

WHITE GAMBITS THE E-PAWN TO BLACK’S D-PAWN

This is one of the most common themes in romantic gambits. Emil Diemer, of
Blackmar-Diemer fame, was one of the greatest exponents of this plan, and in his
honor it is only right that this theme be known as the Diemer Type. The classic
example of the f-pawn variety is the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Complex (1.d4 d5;
2.e4). After an eventual f3 and …exf3, White recaptures with a piece (knight or queen)
and the f-file is available for immediate use. This is the Diemer type, and it is seen
even in combination with the Queen’s Gambit move c4, as in the Diemer in the Slav.
It is also possible to give up the e-pawn at e3 or e5, as seen in the gambits at the
end of this section.

FEATURED GAMBIT: BLACKMAR-DIEMER GAMBIT COMPLEX

^xxxxxxxxY
|rhb1kgn4y
|0p0w0p0py
|wdwdwdwdy
|dwdpdwdwy 1.d4 d5
|wdw)Pdwdy 2.e4
|dwdwdwdwy
|P)Pdw)P)y
|$NGQIBHRy
Uzzzzzzzz\
The Blackmar-Diemer is the gateway to a variety of well-explored gambits. It is
one of the most fun openings at amateur levels, though almost never seen among
professionals. Black can accept or transpose to the French or Caro-Kann, but in any
case White can leave the pawn on offer after Nc3 and eventually play the thematic
move f3.
 KING PAWN GAMBITS 31

Although Blackmar did experiment with the opening, it is Diemer who promoted
it with evangelical fervor. Blackmar’s original gambits are rarely seen, but the Blackmar-
Diemer turns up in many amateur and correspondence games. It does not achieve
full compensation against best defense, but there is enough compensation to make it
a playable opening against opponents with inferior defensive technique.
The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Complex is one of the most beloved collections of
gambits, and the opening has a huge following all over the world. There aren’t any
strong players who use it, this is strictly amateur stuff. Black has a number of estab-
lished defenses, but in most cases White does obtain a strong initiative for the pawn.
The BGD is a complex of gambits because Black can steer the game into many differ-
ent channels. For example, the immediate 2…c6 or 2…e6 transpose directly into the
Caro-Kann and French Defenses. In these cases White often adopts the gambit strat-
egy by allowing the pawn to be captured at e4. For example, after 3.Nc3 (in either
case) 3…dxe4, White can play 4.f3, re-installing the Diemer gambit device. So the
Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Complex can be reached via many paths and has a great
deal of internal diversity.
We will begin with a brilliant gambit by Diemer himself, and then survey both
accepted and declined forms of the gambit. Special attention will be paid to the
Lemberg Countergambit because this defense (after 2…dxe4; 3.Nc3 e5) is often rec-
ommended. If White can find a way to get an attacking position against that line,
then the rest of the Blackmar-Diemer is sound enough for use in amateur contests.
Impression: Black looks a bit better. Popularity: Rare.

TARTAKOWER VARIATION [D00]

^xxxxxxxxY
|rhw1kgw4y
|0p0w0p0py
|wDwDwhwDy 1.d4 d5
2.e4 dxe4
|DwDwDbDwy
3.Nc3 Nf6
|wDw)wDwDy 4.f3 exf3
|DwHwDNDwy 5.Nxf3 Bf5
|P)PDwDP)y
|$wGQIBDRy
Uzzzzzzzz\
A very logical defense, taking aim at c2. Of course this is a gambit, and in some
cases White can let the c-pawn go, too. Although Black’s position is quite solid, White
almost always obtains more than enough compensation for the pawn by simply de-
veloping and then launching an attack.
Impression: Black looks a bit better. Popularity: Rare.
32 CARDOZA PUBLISHING • ERIC SCHILLER

DIEMER vs. WITTE

Postal, 1969
6.Ne5. White immediately shifts the knight into attacking position. This leads to some of
the most exciting positions in the gambit complex. 6.Nh4 is recommended by Andrew Martin
in a video, but hasn’t had sufficient tests. Moving the bishop to g4, or retreating it to d7,
leaves the knight looking rather silly at the edge of the board. 6...e6; 7.g4!?
^xxxxxxxxY
|rhw1kgw4y
|0p0wDp0py
|wDwDphwDy
|DwDwHbDwy
|wDw)wDPDy
|DwHwDwDwy
|P)PDwDw)y
|$wGQIBDRy
Uzzzzzzzz\
Normally White uses the bishop at c4 in the Blackmar-Diemer, but here it heads to g2,
taking advantage of the fact that b7 is undefended. 7...Bg6.
7...Be4 leads to truly crazy play, and is seen in our next game.
7…Ne4 is covered in the supplement.
8.Bg2. Moving the queen to f3 is more common now. 8.Qf3 Bb4. The pin on the knight
allows Black to hope for ...Be4. 9.Nxg6 hxg6; 10.Qxb7 Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 Nbd7; 12.Qf3. White
has the bishop pair and useful open lines, Gedult vs Soria, Paris 1972. As in the game, how-
ever, Black can seek equality with 8...c6, for example: 9.g5 Bh5; 10.Qf4 Nfd7; 11.Be2 Nxe5;
12.Bxh5 Ng6 gives Black a solid position, Diemer vs. Gunderam, 1972.) 8...c6; 9.h4.
The pawnstorm is directed against the bishop, not the enemy king. Still, it does discour-
age Black from castling on that side of the board. It is important to note that this position is
also reached via the Teichmann Variation with 4...Bg4, where White plays h3, kicking the
bishop back to h5, and later g4 and h4. 9...Bb4. The pin is needed to secure e4 for the bishop
in case White pushes the h-pawn. 10.0–0.
10.Bg5 is stronger, according to Blackmar-Diemer Gambit authority Alfred Friedl. 10...Qa5;
11.Bd2 and now instead of his capture on c3 in Sneiders vs. Fogel, 1965, I think that Black’s
queen should retreat and attack the pawn at d4. 11...Qb6; The position requires further analy-
sis and tests, especially in the double pawn sac line: 12.h5 Qxd4; 13.Nf3! Qxg4!; 14.hxg6
Qxg6! (14...Qxg2; 15.Rg1 Qh3 16.gxf7+ White has plenty for the pawns because the pawn at
f7 is taboo thanks to the fork at g5.) 15.Kf1 Nbd7; Black has four pawns for the bishop, and is
ready to castle. Still, I think that the chances are about even.
10...Bxc3. The capture is not Black’s only plan.
10...Nbd7; 11.Nxg6 hxg6; 12.g5 Nd5; 13.Qf3 provides excellent compensation, Cheru-
bim vs. Studier, 1973.
More interesting is 10...Bxc2!?; Black sacrifices the bishop, but will pick up the d-pawn if
White accepts. White can play Qd2, but that’s a bit awkward. A gambiteer is most likely to
head for f7. 11.Nxf7!? Kxf7; 12.Qxc2 Qxd4+ 13.Kh1 Bxc3; 14.Rf4! An important intermezzo.
White defends the g-pawn before recapturing at c3. 14...Qe5; 15.Qxc3 Qxc3; 16.bxc3 e5;
17.Rf1. White is down two pawns but has the bishop pair and many open lines, as well as an
annoying pin on the knight at f6. Black probably has an objective advantage, but as usual, the
 KING PAWN GAMBITS 33

gambit position requires precise defense, which is often more than the defender is capable of.
17...Ke8; This is all analysis by Rev. Sawyer. 18.Rb1 b6; 19.g5 Nfd7; 20.Ba3 g6; 21.Rbd1.
Saywer claims that White has sufficient compensation here, and I fully agree. Black is para-
lyzed. I think that 17…Ke8 is inaccurate. 17...h6 is good. 18.g5 hxg5 forces 19.Bxg5 since the
h-pawn is pinned. 19...Nbd7. White might have enough compensation for one pawn, but two?
11.bxc3 Nbd7; 12.Nxd7. 12.Nxg6 hxg6; 13.Qf3 Qe7; 14.g5 Nh5; 15.c4 gave White full
compensation in Cherubim vs. Studer, 1973. 12...Qxd7; 13.h5 Be4; 14.h6! The defender of f6
is at risk. 14...Bxg2; 15.hxg7! Rg8 16.Rxf6! Be4. 16...Qe7 is worth a try. 17.Rf2 is handled by
17…Bd5, and 17.g5 Rxg7 is no problem for Black. That leaves 17.Bg5!? where 17...Rxg7;
18.Qd2 (Or 18.Rg6 Qf8) 18...Bd5; 19.Qf4 remains unclear.
Material is even. Black hasn’t castled, but White’s castled position is history and many
pawns are weak. Bishops of opposite color add attacking chances for both sides. 17.Qe2 Bg6;
18.Bh6 Qd6 19.Qf2 0–0–0 20.Bf4! The prized pawn at g7 will go but the attack on Black’s
king will benefit from the dark square coverage. 20...Qd5 21.Re1 Rxg7; 22.Re5!? 22.Bg3
followed by Qf4 is another idea. 22...Qxa2; 23.Bg3 Qxc2; 24.Qf4. White has once again parted
with three pawns, and another is hanging. The battery on the b8-h2 diagonal gives Black a lot
to worry about. 24...Qxc3; .There is no reason not to take the fourth pawn. 25.Re3 Qa1+
26.Kh2 Qb2+; 27.Kh3. The king is now sheltered from checks. 27...Qb6; 28.Rb3! Qa5; 29.Qb8+
Kd7; 30.Qxb7+ Ke8.
The king seems to be getting away, but White unleashes a powerful sacrifice that keeps
him in his place until the remaining forces finish him off. 31.Rxe6+!! fxe6. Or 31...Kf8; 32.Qe7+
Kg8; 33.Qe8+. 32.Qxg7 e5. Black is lost in any case. 33.Rb7. Black resigned.

Supplement: 7…Ne4
7...Ne4; 8.gxf5!? White has to switch to defense, but a piece is a piece! 8...Qh4+; 9.Ke2
Qf2+; 10.Kd3 Nc5+.
^xxxxxxxxY
|rhwDkgw4y
|0p0wDp0py
|wDwDpDwDy
|DwhwHPDwy
|wDw)wDwDy
|DwHKDwDwy
|P)PDw1w)y
|$wGQDBDRy
Uzzzzzzzz\
11.dxc5 is rarely played, but offers White excellent chances of maintaining a significant
advantage.
11.Kc4 a6; 12.a4 b5+; 13.axb5 axb5+; 14.Nxb5 Rxa1; 15.Nxc7+ Kd8 16.Nb5 has been seen
in many games and White usually comes out on top. Objectively, however, the game seems
about even, whether Black moves the king to e8, implicitly offering a draw or captures the
pawn at f5 with the queen.
11...Qxf5+! Or 11...Na6; 12.Nxf7!! Qxf5+; 13.Kd2 Qf4+; 14.Ke2 Qxf7; 15.Ke1 is Hanison
vs. Stummer, 1991. 15...Bxc5! In the game, Black captured with the knight and went down to
defeat, but taking the pawn with the bishop is much more logical, attacking f2 and preparing
to castle. Black has two pawns for the piece, but enough of an attack to claim decent compen-
34 CARDOZA PUBLISHING • ERIC SCHILLER

sation.
12.Kc4 Qxe5; 13.Qd4 Qxd4+; 14.Kxd4. With the queens off the board, the White king
has less to worry about. Black does not have enough compensation for the missing bishop.

O’KELLY VARIATION [D00]

^xxxxxxxxY
|rhb1kgw4y
|0pDw0p0py
|wDpDwhwDy 1.d4 d5
|DwDwDwDwy 2.e4 dxe4
|wDw)pDwDy 3.Nc3 Nf6
|DwHwDPDwy 4.f3 c6
|P)PDwDP)y
|$wGQIBHRy
Uzzzzzzzz\
The O’Kelly Defense, which can also be used in the Caro-Kann against 1.e4 c6;
2.d4 d5; 3.Nc3 fxe4; 4.f3 and then 4...Nf6. White has tried at least half a dozen plans,
but none of them bring any advantage. The situation is far more dangerous for Black
if the pawn on f3 is captured, as …c6 is not a very helpful defensive move. By declin-
ing the gambit, Black should be able to avoid fierce attacks.
Impression: Black looks a bit better. Popularity: Rare.

Analysis:
5.Nxe4. The McGrew Variation. It is the main line in Tim Sawyer’s authoritative Blackmar-
Diemer Gambit Keybook II. Alternatives are presented in the supplement. 5...Nxe4. Black ex-
changes knights, leaving White with a weak kingside, which may be exploited after Black plays
…e5.
^xxxxxxxxY
|rhb1kgw4y
|0pDw0p0py
|wDpDwDwDy
|DwDwDwDwy
|wDw)nDwDy
|DwDwDPDwy
|P)PDwDP)y
|$wGQIBHRy
Uzzzzzzzz\
6.fxe4 e5 forces 7.Nf3 to stop ...Qh4+. 7...exd4; 8.Bc4. 8.Qxd4 Qxd4; 9.Nxd4 Bc5 was
evaluated in the Big Book of Busts as better for Black on the basis of a much superior pawn
structure. This is not like an isolated d–pawn. The pawn on the e–file is much harder to
support. This is also hardly the kind of position that gambiteers aspire to as White!
A practical example: 10.Be3 0–0; 11.0–0–0 Bg4; 12.Re1 Nd7; 13.c3 Rfe8; 14.Bf4 Nf6;
 KING PAWN GAMBITS 35

15.e5 Nd5; 16.Bg3 Rad8; 17.h3 Bh5; 18.Bh4 (18.e6 fxe6; 19.Rxe6 Rxe6 20.Nxe6 Be3+!; 21.Kc2
Re8and Black is clearly better) 18...Rd7; 19.Bf2 Bg6; 20.Bc4 b5; 21.Bxd5 Rxd5; 22.Re2 b4;
23.Nxc6 bxc3; 24.Rd1 cxb2+? (24...Rxd1+!; 25.Kxd1 Bd3! should give Black a winning endgame.)
25.Rxb2 R xd1+; 26.Kxd1 Bxf2; 27.Rxf2 was agreed drawn in Anuruddha vs. Maung, 1995.
8...Qa5+. This may be a very strong reply.
9.Kf2. What else? 9...Bc5; 10.Nxd4. 10.Ne5 Qc7!; 11.Qh5 0–0; 12.Ng6 hxg6; 13.Qxc5
Qb6 with a terrible game for White, but 10...0–0; 11.Bxf7+ Rxf7+; 12.Nxf7 Kxf7; 13.Qh5+
Kf8!; 14.Rf1 Be6; 15.Kg1+ Ke7; 16.Qg5+ Kd7; 17.Qxg7+ Kc8 is certainly no worse for White.
10...Qd8 was suggested by the computer program Crafty. 11.c3 Qh4+; 12.Kf1. 12.g3 allows
12…Qh3! 12...Be6!! A beautiful move. exploiting the pin on the knight against the mate at f2.
Black castles next and the defense is complete. There is nothing to worry about after 13.Bxe6
fxe6 which threatens...e5. 14.Qe1 0–0+; 15.Nf3 Qg4! Keeps queens on and White cannot
develop while taking care of the king.
White can also consider four bishop moves and a capture. 5.Bc4 (A), 5.Bg5 (B), 5.fxe4
(C), 5.Be3 (D) and 5.Bf4 (E).
A) 5.Bc4. This logical move is the main line, but 5...Qa5! is a key move, not mentioned by
Lane or in BDG Keybook II! The pin on the knight at e3 is excruciating, and White is not even
ahead in development! The knight at g1 does not have much of a future for White. Black can
open up the center with. e5 if desired. All things considered, a great value for Black! 6.fxe4
Nxe4; 7.Qf3 Nd6. The knight defends f7 and attacks the unguarded bishop at c4. 8.Bb3 Bf5!
It also supports the f5-square! 9.Nge2 e6; 10.Bf4 Nd7; 11.0–0 h6; 12.Rad1 0–0–0; 13.Ng3 Nf6.
This is analysis by Howell. Black is a pawn up with no weaknesses.
B) 5.Bg5. 5...Nbd7! Transposes to a Veresov Attack, into a good line for Black.
C) 5.fxe4. 5...e5 6.Nf3 exd4; 7.Qxd4 Qxd4; 8.Nxd4 Bb4 is awkward for White, for ex-
ample:
a) 9.e5 Ne4; 10.Bd2 Nxd2; 11.Kxd2 0–0 with a superior endgame for Black who has the
bishop pair and an isolated pawn target at e5.
b) 9.Bc4 Bxc3+; 10.bxc3 Nxe4; 11.0–0 0–0; 12.Ba3 c5; 13.Rae1 Nd6!; 14.Bd5 gets White
some compensation. Black should look to 9...0–0! for example: 10.0–0 Bc5! 11.Rd1 Rd8;
12.Be3 Ng4; 13.Nf5 Bxe3+; 14.Nxe3 Re8.
c) 9.Bd3 allows 9...Bxc3+; 10.bxc3 0–0; 11.0–0 Re8; 12.Re1 Nbd7. The bishop pair doesn’t
really make up for the lousy pawns.
D) 5.Be3. I used to think that this is best met by capturing at f3. On reconsideration,
Black should delay the capture and create a little mischief with 5...Qb6.
6.Qd2 exf3; 7.Nxf3 Qxb2; 8.Rb1 Qa3; 9.Bc4 may seem impressive, but Black has two
extra pawns and no weaknesses. Vigorous reaction is possible while the only potential attack-
ers are the knight at f3 and bishop at c4. 9...b5; 10.Bb3 Bf5; 11.0–0 e6 12.Nh4 Bg6 and Black
can complete development.
6.Rb1 should be handled by 6...Bf5; 7.Qd2 and only now 7...exf3; 8.Nxf3 when 8...Nd5;
9.Nxd5 cxd5 just leaves White a pawn down.
E) 5.Bf4. 5...Qa5 6.Bc4 Nbd7 keeps the pawn and a good game.
36 CARDOZA PUBLISHING • ERIC SCHILLER

EUWE DEFENSE [D00]

^xxxxxxxxY
|rhb1kgw4y
|0p0wDp0py
|wDwDphwDy 1.d4 d5
|DwDwDwDwy 2.e4 dxe4
3.Nc3 Nf6
|wDw)wDwDy 4.f3 exf3
|DwHwDNDwy 5.Nxf3 e6
|P)PDwDP)y
|$wGQIBDRy
Uzzzzzzzz\
The Euwe Defense at least grabs a pawn before shutting in the light square bishop
with …e6. I’ve always thought that this solid defense is a theoretically sound approach
for Black, but as a practical matter White often manages to build an attack. Gambiteers
tend to enjoy the White side, even if full compensation for the pawn is wishful think-
ing. In some ways it may be the best defense, but I’d never play it as Black.
The Euwe Defense is one of the most solid replies to the BDG. Black simply
develops. Note that this position can also be reached from the French Defense, via
1.e4 e6; 2.d4 d5; 3.Nc3 dxe4; 4.f3 exf3; 5.Nxf3 Nf6.
Impression: Black looks a bit better. Popularity: Rare.

BUIS vs. DIEMER

Postal, 1955
6.Bg5 Be7; 7.Bd3. 7.Qd2 should be met by 7...h6!; 8.Bxf6!? (8.Bf4 is a promising alterna-
tive.) 8...Bxf6; 9.Ne4 Nd7; 10.0–0–0 Nb6; 11.Nxf6+ Qxf6; 12.Be2 Bd7; 13.Rhf1 Rf8!; 14.Kb1
Qe7; 15.c4 0–0–0; 16.Qa5 Kb8; 17.c5 Nc8; 18.Ne5 c6 (18...Be8 is safer than it looks. 19.c6 is
the obvious reply, when 19...Bxc6; 20.Nxc6+ bxc6; 21.Rd3 runs into 21...Qg5!; 22.Qb4+ Nb6;
23.Rg3 Qd5; 24.Qe7 Qe4+; 25.Bd3 Qxd4 with three extra pawns and White has no attack.)
19.Rf3 Be8; 20.Ng6 fxg6; 21.Rxf8 White went on to win in Marktwardt vs. Lagland, 1968.
7...Nc6!?
^xxxxxxxxY
|rDb1kDw4y
|0p0wgp0py
|wDnDphwDy
|DwDwDwGwy
|wDw)wDwDy
|DwHBDNDwy
|P)PDwDP)y
|$wDQIwDRy
Uzzzzzzzz\
The key defensive idea in these positions is to delay castling. Concentrate on the center,
 KING PAWN GAMBITS 37

that’s where the action is. 8.a3. The move recommended by Sawyer and Lane, though there
are fans of the Zilbermints Gambit where White simply castles. 8. O-O is Zilbermints vs.
Kopiecki as in the next game. 8...h6; 9.Bf4 g5. Aggression is justified. The weak square at f7
is inaccessible, and the rook can come to f8 if it has to. 10.Be5.
10.Bg3 is a reasonable alternative, though White fails to get much for the pawn if Black
plays carefully. 10...a6; 11.h3 Rg8; 12.Qd2 h5; 13.0–0–0 g4; 14.hxg4 hxg4; 15.Ne5 is countered
by 15...Nxe5! (15...Qxd4?; 16.Qe1! was good for White in Purser vs. Suit, 1991.) 16.dxe5 Nd5;
17.Kb1 Bg5 gives Black good counterplay.
10.Be3 Ng4; 11.Bg1 a6; 12.Qe2 Bd7 (12...Rg8!?); 13.0–0–0 Nf6; 14.Rf1 is Bozicevic vs.
Sawyer, 1997, but there Black retreated the bishop to c8. Instead, queenside play may be
better with an early ...a5. 14...a5; 15.Ne5 Nxe5; 16.dxe5 Nd5; 17.Nxd5 exd5; 18.Qh5 Be6 looks
solid enough for Black. 10...g4.
11.Nh4?! 11.Nd2! is better, and offers White reasonable compensation for the pawn.
11...Rg8; 12.Bb5 Bd7; 13.Bxc6 (Stronger is 13.Qe2!) 13...Bxc6; 14.0–0 Nd5; 15.Nxd5 Qxd5;
16.Qe2 let Black break with 16...f6!; 17.Bxf6! g3!; 18.Kh1!? gxh2; 19.Rf3 Bxf6; 20.Rxf6 Ke7
and Black was clearly better in Eddlemon vs. Lane, 1997. 11...Rg8; 12.g3 Nxe5; 13.dxe5 Nd5.
The White position is bankrupt, for example 14.Ng6?! fxg6; 15.Qxg4 Bg5; 16.Rd1 Qe7; 17.h4
Ne3; 18.Bxg6+ Rxg6; 19.Qh5 Qf7; 20.hxg5 Rxg5; 21.Rd8+ Ke7; 22.Qxh6 Qf2+; 23.Kxf2
Ng4+; 24.Kf3 Nxh6; 25.Rxc8 Rxc8; 26.Rxh6 Rf8+. Black resigned.

ZILBERMINTS vs. KOPIECKI

Marshall Chess Club Blitz, 1993
1.d4 d5; 2.e4 dxe4; 3.Nc3 Nf6; 4.f3 exf3; 5.Nxf3 e6; 6.Bg5 Be7 7.Bd3 Nc6.
^xxxxxxxxY
|rDb1kDw4y
|0p0wgp0py
|wDnDphwDy
|DwDwDwGwy
|wDw)wDwDy
|DwHBDNDwy
|P)PDwDP)y
|$wDQIwDRy
Uzzzzzzzz\
8.0–0 Nxd4. 8...h6; 9.Be3 Nb4; 10.Bc4 Nbd5 of Weitthoff vs. Chakis, 1988, is a viable
alternative. 9.Kh1. 9.Nxd4 Qxd4+; 10.Kh1 Qe5; 11.Bxf6 gxf6; 12.Qf3 is Richard vs. Sparka,
1985, where 12...f5 would have given Black a great game.
9.Ne5 Qd6!; 10.Nc4 Qc6; 11.Bxf6 Bxf6; 12.Ne4 b5; 13.Nxf6+ gxf6. White does not have
enough compensation for the pawns. 9...c6!?
10.Bxf6 Bxf6; 11.Ne4 Be7; 12.Ne5 Nf5; 13.g4 Qd5. 13...Nh6! is simple and strong. 14.Nxf7
Kxf7; 15.gxf5 exf5; 16.Qf3 Rf8?! 16...g6 and Black is much better. 17.b3 Kg8? Black has to
play 17...Ke8!; 18.Bc4 fxe4? 18...Be6; 19.Bxd5 Bxd5; 20.Kg1 Bxe4 is equal 19.Bxd5+ cxd5
and White went on to win.
38 CARDOZA PUBLISHING • ERIC SCHILLER

BOGOLJUBOW DEFENSE [D00]

^xxxxxxxxY
|rhb1kgw4y
|0p0w0pDpy
|wDwDwhpDy 1.d4 d5
|DwDwDwDwy 2.e4 dxe4
3.Nc3 Nf6
|wDw)wDwDy 4.f3 exf3
|DwHwDNDwy 5.Nxf3 g6
|P)PDwDP)y
|$wGQIBDRy
Uzzzzzzzz\
The Bogoljubow Variation is one of the most popular defenses to the Blackmar-
Diemer Gambit. Black fianchettoes and castles into a secure position which is no
easier to attack than in non-gambit lines, except that the f-file is open. This sets up
exchange sacrif ices at f6 after White castles kingside. An important strategy for White
is the plan Qe1-h4.
The fianchetto plan appeals to some defenders because it is simple to play. Black
will castle and rely on the surrounding pieces to provide protection.
Impression: Black looks a bit better. Popularity: Rare.

DIEMER vs. DOPPERT

Worms, 1958
1.d4 d5; 2.e4 dxe4; 3.Nc3 Nf6; 4.f3 exf3; 5.Nxf3 g6.
cuuuuuuuuC
{rhb1kgw4}
{0p0w0pDp}
{wDwDwhpD}
{DwDwDwDw}
{wDw)wDwD}
{DwHwDNDw}
{P)PDwDP)}
{$wGQIBDR}
vllllllllV
This is known as the Bogljubow Defense, even though Bogoljubow was seen more fre-
quently on the White side. It is a popular defense to the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, though it
requires precise handling by Black. 6.Bc4. 6.Bd3 makes less sense as the bishop is biting on
granite. 6...Bg7; 7.0–0 0–0; 8.Bg5 Bg4 is awkward for White. 6...Bg7; 7.0–0.
7.h4 is known as the Mad Dog Attack. 7...0–0; 8.h5 Nxh5; 9.Rxh5. This is the only way to
justify White’s play, but it falls way short of the goal. 9...gxh5; 10.Qd3 Qd6!; 11.Ng5 Qg6.
White has nothing to show for the material and is busted, Kuiper vs. Lagemaat, 1995. 7.Ne5
0–0; 8.Bg5 Nbd7; 9.0–0 c6; 10.Bb3 Nxe5; 11.dxe5 Nd7!; 12.Rxf7! Rxf7; 13.e6 Qb6+; 14.Kh1
Ne5; 15.exf7+ Nxf7 gave Black equality in Clauser vs. Pimm, 1996. This branch is one of
 KING PAWN GAMBITS 39

White’s more promising lines.

7...0–0; 8.Qe1. The normal strategy, bringing the queen to h4 where it can support a
kingside attack. 8...Nc6 9.Qh4 Bg4.
White is not without compensation for the pawn, but has no advantage. Black’s solid
position is hard to crack. 10.Be3 Bxf3. 10...Nb4; 11.Bb3 (11.Rac1 Bf5!?) Bf5 is an interesting
alternative. 12.Rad1 Bxc2; 13.Bxc2 Nxc2; 14.Bh6 Qd7; 15.h3 Nh5; 16.Bxg7 Kxg7 is better for
Black. The game Sawyer vs. Hucks, Postal 1996, is not mentioned in Sawyer’s book. 11.Rxf3.
Now Black has to choose a plan. 11...e5. The consistent move, pressuring d4. 12.d5.
12.Rd1 is best, according to Sawyer. 12...Nxd4; 13.Rf2 Ne8; 14.Bg5 Qd7; 15.Nd5 Nd6;
16.Ne7+ Kh8; 17.Bf6 Ne8! gave Black a good game in Sawyer vs. Purser, Postal 1995. 12...Nd4.
12...Nxd5; 13.Bg5 Qd7; 14.Nxd5 Qxd5; 15.Bxd5 caused Black to resign in Sawyer vs. Sorsak,
Postal 1985. 13.Rf2. 13.Bxd4 exd4; 14.Qxd4 Nd7 was even in Sawyer vs. Strumidlowski, Postal
1990. 13.Raf1?! Nxf3+; 14.Rxf3 c6; 15.Rh3 h5 and White was just down a piece in Rasmussen
vs.Orlov, President’s Congress 1992. 13...Nf5.
13...Nd7; 14.Qxd8 Raxd8 was better for Black in Sneiders vs. Caliguire, Postal 1984.
14.Rxf5! A strong exchange sac. 14...gxf5; 15.Bg5. White’s powerful bishops provide adequate
compensation for the exchange. 15...Qd6; 16.Rf1.
Now Black fell prey to material temptation, but this position may in fact be better for
Black. 16...Qb6+. 16...h6 is a move which definitely deserves consideration. What follows is
my own analysis. 17.Bxh6 Bxh6; 18.Qxh6 Qb6+!; 19.Kh1 Ng4 and White has to do something
about the hanging queen. 17.Kh1 Qxb2; 18.Bxf6 Bxf6; 19.Qxf6 Qxc2; 20.Rxf5 Qc1+; 21.Bf1.
Black’s attack has run our of steam, and now it is time to hand the initiative over to White.
21...Rfe8; 22.Qxf7+. 22.Rg5+ Qxg5; 23.Qxg5+ Kf8; 24.Qf6 was simpler. 22...Kh8; 23.Qf6+
Kg8; 24.Rg5+ Qxg5; 25.Qxg5+ Kh8; 26.Qf6+ Kg8; 27.d6. Black resigned.

ZELLER DEFENSE: SOLLER ATTACK [D00]

^xxxxxxxxY
|rhw1kgw4y
|0p0w0p0py
|wDwDwhwDy 1.e4 d5
|DwDwDbDwy 2.d4 dxe4
|wDB)pDwDy 3.Nc3 Bf5
4.Bc4 Nf6
|DwHwDPDwy 5.f3
|P)PDwDP)y
|$wGQIwHRy
Uzzzzzzzz\
Black’s defense is logical. The pawn at e4 is defended, the bishop is developed
outside and a barrier can be erected at e6. All that is true, but White nevertheless can
keep the pressure on, and can expect plenty of compensation whether the Black
pawn remains at e4 or later captures at f3. Transposition to the Gunderam or Vienna
Defenses are possible.
Impression: Black looks a bit better. Popularity: Rare.
40 CARDOZA PUBLISHING • ERIC SCHILLER

Analysis:
5...e6; For alternatives, see the supplement. 6.Bg5.
6.fxe4 Nxe4; 7.Nf3 transposes to the Gunderam Defense. On 6.g4, Black can sacrifice at
g4 or simply retreat. 6...Nxg4; 7.fxg4 Qh4+; 8.Kf1 Bxg4; 9.Qd2 Nc6; 10.Qf2? 10...Qxf2+; 11.Kxf2
Nxd4 was better for Black in Bellin vs. Boehm, 1977. White should play 10.Nxe4 Bh3+; 11.Nxh3
Qxe4; 12.Rg1 Qxd4; 13.Qxd4 Nxd4; 14.Bd3 and the piece is worth more than the pawns. A
safer path is 6…Bg6; 7.g5 Nd5; 8.Nxe4 h6; 9.h4 hxg5; 10.Nxg5 (Or 10.Bxg5 Be7; 11.Qd2)
10...Bd6; 11.Ne2 c6; 12.Bd3 Bxd3; 13.Qxd3 Nd7 was equal in Portisch vs. Jankovits, 1959. An
improvement is 12...Bxc5!; 13.dxc5 Nd7 and Black is better.
6...Bb4. 6...exf3; 7.Nxf3 again transposes to the Gunderam, as in Bryan vs. Owen, 1988.
6...c6?; 7.fxe4 Bg6; 8.e5 Nbd7?? (Black should play 8...Qa5!; 9.Bd2 Nfd7; 10.Nf3 gives White a
slight advantage.) 9.exf6 Nxf6; 10.Nf3 earned Black’s resignation in Wall vs. Geer, 1992.
7.a3. 7.fxe4 Bxc3+ (7...Bxe4; 8.Nf3 is yet another way to transpose to the Gunderam
Defense); 8.bxc3 Bxe4; 9.Qe2 Nbd7; 10.Nh3 (10.Nf3 is more natural.) 10...h6; 11.Bh4 Bf5
(11...g5!; 12.Bg3 Bf5; 13.Nf2 c5); 12.Nf2 0–0; 13.0–0, Kulig vs. Mitchell, 1990. 13...c5! (7.Nge2
is examined in the next game.) 7...Bxc3+; 8.bxc3.
^xxxxxxxxY
|rhw1kDw4y
|0p0wDp0py
|wDwDphwDy
|DwDwDbGwy
|wDB)pDwDy
|)w)wDPDwy
|wDPDwDP)y
|$wDQIwHRy
Uzzzzzzzz\
8…c6. A new move. Previously, Black had castled. 8...0–0; 9.Qe2 e3 (9...exf3; 10.Nxf3 c5;
11.0–0 Nc6 should be fine for Black); 10.f4? (10.g4! Bg6; 11.Rb1! b6; 12.h4 h6; 13.Bxe3 Nd5!;
14.Bd2 is still unclear, as 14...Bxc2; 15.Rc1 Bh7; 16.g5 h5; 17.Nh3 Qd6; 18.f4 Qxa3; 19.Qxh5
with a potential kingside attack.) 10...c5; 11.Nf3 b5; 12.Bxb5 Qa5; 13.0–0 Qxc3; 14.Bxf6 gxf6;
15.dxc5 Qxc5; 16.Nh4 (16.Rfe1 Rd8; 17.Bd3 Bxd3; 18.cxd3 Qf5; 19.Rac1! Qxf4; 20.Qxe3
Qxe3+; 21.R xe3 with a much better game for Black.) 16...Be4; 17.Bd3 Bxd3; 18.cxd3 Nc6?
(18...Rd8!; 19.Rfe1 Qc3!); 19.Rf3 (19.Rac1! Qd6; 20.Qxe3 Rac8; 21.f5! e5; 22.Rc4 is unclear);
19...Nd4; 20.Rg3+. Amazingly, a draw was agreed in Lipecki vs. Mathur, 1996. Well, it was a
Christmas tournament, Black was in a generous mood. 20...Kh8; 21.Qxe3 allows 21...Ne2+!
9.Rb1 Qa5!; 10.Qd2 b5!; 11.Bxf6 gxf6; 12.Bb3 Qxa3; 13.Ne2. 13.g4 Bg6 (13...exf3; 14.gxf5
exf5 would give Black four pawns for the piece, and the bishop at b3 is immobile. But the
pawns are quadrupled and one falls immediately.) 14.Qf4 a5; 15.Qxf6 Rg8; 16.h4 exf3!; 17.Qxf3
h5 (17...a4; 18.h5 axb3; 19.hxg6 hxg6; 20.cxb3 is far from clear); 18.gxh5 Bf5 and Black has
consolidated with ...a4 inevitably in the future. 13...exf3; 14.gxf3 Nd7.
15.Qf4. 15.Rg1 Bg6; 16.Qf4 a5; 17.Kf2 might have been a better plan, as here 17...a4;
18.Ra1 Qe7; 19.Ba2 at least saves the bishop. 19...Bxc2; 20.Qc7 Nb8; 21.Qc8+ Qd8; 22.Qb7
Ra6; 23.Rg7 Bg6; 24.Nf4 puts a lot of pressure on Black, though 24...Rb6; 25.Qa7 gives Black
a choice between repeating or trying 25...Nd7; 26.Bxe6 Kf8; 27.R xg6 hxg6; 28.Bxd7 Rxh2+;
29.Kg1 Rh8 which is hard to evaluate. Black has three pawns and a rook for the two minors,
but White has plenty of compensation. No better is 26...fxe6; 27.Nxe6 Qc8; 28.Nc5! Bf7;
 KING PAWN GAMBITS 41

29.Nxd7! Rb7; 30.Re1+ Kd8; 31.Qa5+ Qc7 with another form of repetition available, though
White would no doubt prefer 32.Nc5! Ra7; 33.Ne6+! Bxe6; 34.Qxa7! Qxa7; 35.Rxa7 Bd7;
36.Rg1 with doubled rooks on the seventh rank coming and all the Black pawns contained.
15...Rg8?! 15...a5!; 16.d5 (16.0–0 a4; 17.Ra1 Qe7; 18.Qc7 Qd8; 19.Qxc6 Rb8!) 16...a4;
17.dxc6 Nb6; 18.Bxe6 fxe6; 19.Rxb5 Qa1+; 20.Kf2 Qxh1; 21.Rxb6 0–0. Black wins. 16.d5.
16.Ng3!? 16...Qc5; 17.dxc6 Qxc6; 18.c4 Ne5!; 19.Nd4 Qc5!; Threatening ...Qxd4 and ...Nxf3+.
20.Rd1 Rd8. Renewing the threats and d4. White is lost. 21.Ne2 Rxd1+; 22.Kxd1 Qf2?!
22...Qd6+ was simplest, as queens must come off. 23.Qd4 (23.Nd4 allows 23…Rg4!! Black
meets 23.Kc1 with 23…Rg2!) 23...Nxc4!; 24.Bxc4 Qxd4+; 25.Nxd4 bxc4; 26.Nxf5 exf5 and
Black wins. 23.cxb5.
^xxxxxxxxY
|wDwDkDrDy
|0wDwDpDpy
|wDwDp0wDy
|DPDwhbDwy
|wDwDw!wDy
|DBDwDPDwy
|wDPDN1w)y
|DwDKDwDRy
Uzzzzzzzz\
23...Rg2! 23...Qxf3; 24.Rf1 Qxf4; 25.Rxf4 Rg2 takes longer. 24.Bc4 Nxc4. 24...Bxc2+;
25.Kxc2 Nxc4; 26.Qxc4 Qxe2+; 27.Qxe2 R xe2+; 28.Kc3 Re3+; 29.Kc4 Rxf3; 30.Ra1 isn’t all
that simple. 25.Qxc4 Qxf3? 25...Kf8! leaves White with no counterplay. 26.Re1 Qxf3; 27.Qc5+
Kg7 where 28.Qxa7 loses to 28...Qe4; 29.Qc5 Bg4. 26.Qc8+ Ke7; 27.Qc5+ Kd8; 28.Kc1! Sud-
denly the Black king is in danger, and there is a trick if Black takes the knight. 28...Be4. There
were a number of alternatives that had to be taken into account.
28...Qxe2; 29.Rd1+ forces 29...Qxd1+; 30.Kxd1 Rxc2; 31.Qxa7 Rc7; 32.Qa8+ Rc8; 33.Qa7
etc. 28...Bxc2; 29.Qxc2 Qa3+; 30.Kb1 Qb4+ draws. 28...e5; 29.Qf8+ Kc7; 30.Qe7+ Bd7; 31.Rd1
Qf5; 32.Qd6+ Kd8; 33.Qf8+ with a draw.
29.Qf8+ Kd7; 30.Qxf7+ Kd6; 31.Qf8+ Ke5; 32.Qc5+? 32.Qb8+! wins on the spot. 32...Bd5;
33.Qc7+ Ke4; 34.Ng3+ Rxg3; 35.Re1+ Kd4. 35...Kf5; 36.hxg3 Qa3+; 37.Kd2 Qb4+; 38.c3 Qb2+;
39.Ke3 Kg6! is still unclear. 36.hxg3 Qa3+; 37.Kd2 Bc4; 38.Qd7+. A fingerslip. 38...Bd5;
39.Qc7 Bc4; 40.Qd8+! Bd5; 41.Qxf6+ Kc4; 42.Re3?!
42.Qh4+ is best, but I missed 42...Kxb5; 43.c4+! since 43...Bxc4; 44.Rb1+ Kc5; 45.Qe7+
picks up the queen. 42...Qb4+; 43.Qc3+ Kxb5; 44.Re1 a5; 45.Qxb4+ Kxb4; 46.Rb1+ Kc4;
47.c3 Be4; 48.Ra1 Kb5. The king must retreat to defend the pawn, so my king gets to d4.
49.Ke3 Bc2; 50.Kd4 a4; 51.Rc1 Bb3; 52.c4+ Kc6. 52...Kb4; 53.c5 a3; 54.c6 Ba4; 55.c7 Bd7;
56.c8Q Bxc8; 57.Rxc8 a2; 58.Ra8 Kb3; 59.Ke5. 53.Rh1! Bc2. 53...a3; 54.Ra1 a2; 55.Kc3. 54.Kc3
Bg6; 55.Ra1. Black resigned since the a–pawn falls.

Supplement: Options for Black at move 5

Black can also try 5…Nc6 (A), 5…c6 (B), accepting the gambit at f3 (C), 5…Nbd7 (D) or
the rather pathetic 5…e3 (E).
A) 5...Nc6. 6.Bb5 (6.Be3 e5!; 7.Nge2 exf3; 8.gxf3 Nxd4; 9.Nxd4 exd4; 10.Bxd4 Be7; 11.Rg1
Bxc2!; 12.Qxc2 Qxd4; 13.Ne2 Qh4+; 14.Ng3 0–0; 15.0–0–0 Qf4+; 16.Kb1 Rad8 looks clearly
better for Black.) 6...exf3; 7.Nxf3 Ne4 (7...e6; 8.Ne5 Qd6; 9.Qf3 gives White enough compen-
42 CARDOZA PUBLISHING • ERIC SCHILLER

sation.) 8.Nxe4 Bxe4; 9.c4 e6; 10.0–0 Be7; 11.Re1 Bxf3; 12.Qxf3 Qxd4+?! (12...0–0; 13.Bxc6
bxc6; 14.Be3 Rb8 is far from clear); 13.Be3 Qd8; 14.Bxc6+ bxc6; 15.Qxc6+ Kf8; 16.Rad1 Qc8
was played in Simler vs. Novag, Fremont 1992. 17.Rd7 is good for White.
B) 5...c6. 6.g4 Bg6; 7.g5 b5!; 8.gxf6 bxc4; 9.fxe4 gxf6; 10.h4 h5; 11.Nge2 Qa5 looks better
for Black, not so much due to the extra pawn since the pawn structure is a mess, but because
White’s king is exposed. 6.fxe4 Nxe4; 7.Qf3 Qxd4. Greedy. (7...Nd6; 8.Bb3 e6 is clearly better
for Black.) White cannot win with 8.Bxf7+! (Dietrichs vs. Fogel, 1961 saw the inferior 8.Qxf5.)
8…Kxf7; 9.Qxf5+ Nf6; 10.Nf3 Qd8; 11.Ne5+ Ke8; 12.Qe6 Qc7 looks forced; now 13.Bf4 wins.
C) 5...exf3 6.Qxf3 (6.Nxf3 transposes to the Gunderam Defense.) 6...Qc8; 7.Bg5 (7.Nd5
Bxc2; 8.Bf4 Nxd5; 9.Bxd5 c6; 10.Bxf7+! Kxf7; 11.Bxb8+ Qf5; 12.Qxf5+ Bxf5; 13.Be5 e6; 14.Ne2
is worse for White, but the endgame is not hopeless.) 7...Bxc2; 8.Rc1 Bg6; 9.Bxf6 exf6 (9...gxf6!
and White lacks compensation.) 10.Qe3+ Be7 (10...Kd8 seems necessary.) 11.Nd5! Nc6; 12.Bb5
Qd7 (12...0–0 is correct.13.Bxc6 Bd6!; 14.Ba4 to stop ...Re8. 14...Qf5!; 15.Ne7+ Bxe7; 16.Qxe7
Qa5+!) 13.Rxc6 bxc6; 14.Bxc6 and Black resigned in Gedult vs. Schabaschoff, 1970.
D) 5...Nbd7. 6.g4 Bg6; 7.g5 Nb6!; 8.Bb5+ c6; 9.Bxc6+ bxc6; 10.gxf6 exf6; 11.Nxe4 re-
mains a bit obscure, but in the long run Black should be able to use the bishop pair.
E) 5...e3 is a cowardly move. 6.Bxe3 e6; 7.Bd3 Bxd3; 8.Qxd3 c6; 9.Nge2 Nbd7; 10.0–0–0
Qa5; 11.g4 Be7; 12.h4 0–0; 13.Kb1 h5; 14.g5 Ne8; 15.Bd2 Qc7; 16.Bf4 Bd6; 17.Qe3 Bxf4;
18.Nxf4 g6 was drawn in Kopp vs. Boeringer, 1994, but why? 19.Ne4 Nd6; 20.Nxd6 Qxd6;
21.Rhe1 followed by Nd3 vs. e5 looks strong for White.

DE FREITAS vs. WEITHOFF

Postal, 1954.
1.e4 d5; 2.d4 dxe4; 3.Nc3 Bf5; 4.f3 Nf6; 5.Bc4 e6; 6.Bg5 Bb4 7.Nge2 exf3; 8.gxf3.
^xxxxxxxxY
|rhw1kDw4y
|0p0wDp0py
|wDwDphwDy
|DwDwDbGwy
|wgB)wDwDy
|DwHwDPDwy
|P)PDNDw)y
|$wDQIwDRy
Uzzzzzzzz\
This is a strange approach as White has messed up the kingside pawn structure. 8…Nc6;
9.Qd2 h6; 10.Bh4 0–0; 11.0–0–0 Be7; 12.Rhg1 Kh8; 13.Rg2 Nh5. Black might consider 13...g5!?
14.Bxe7 Qxe7; 15.Rdg1 Rg8; 16.Ng3 Nxg3; 17.hxg3 Qb4!; 18.g4 Bh7. Black missed a shot.
18...Bxc2!; 19.Bxe6 fxe6; 20.Qxc2 Nxd4; 21.Qe4 Rgf8; 22.g5 Rxf3; 23.Qg6 Rxc3+!; 24.bxc3
Qxc3+; 25.Kb1 Nb5; 26.a4 Qb4+. Threatening 26...Nc3; 27.Kc1 Qa3+; 28.Kc2 Qxa4+; 29.Kc1
Qa1+; 30.Kc2 Nd4+; 31.Kd3 Qa6+ is a nice line from the computer program Junior. 19.b3
Rad8; 20.g5 Nxd4; 21.Qe3 b5? Black has an easy win. 21...Nf5!; 22.Qe5 Qd6; 23.Qxd6 cxd6;
24.gxh6 gxh6 is hopeless for White. 22.gxh6 bxc4; 23.hxg7+ R xg7; 24.Qe5. Here the score
indicates White won. Did Black resign in a winning position?
24...Bg6; 25.Rh2+ Kg8; 26.Ne4 Nc6; 27.Rgh1 Rh7; 28.Nf6+ Kf8! is a key defense. 29.Nxh7+
Bxh7; 30.Qh8+ Bg8; 31.Rg1 Ne7 is defensible, for example 32.Qg7+ Ke8; 33.Rh8 Qd2+; 34.Kb2
Kd7; 35.Rg4 Kc8; 36.Rxc4 Qd6. Black has two pieces for the rook, though they aren’t active.
 KING PAWN GAMBITS 43

ZIEGLER DEFENSE [D00/B15]

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|rhb1kgw4y
|0pDw0p0py
|wDpDwhwDy 1.d4 d5
|DwDwDwDwy 2.e4 dxe4
|wDw)wDwDy 3.Nc3 Nf6
4.f3 exf3
|DwHwDNDwy 5.Nxf3 c6
|P)PDwDP)y
|$wGQIBDRy
Uzzzzzzzz\
This is an important, if not particularly reliable defense because it can be reached
via the Caro-Kann move order as seen in our example game. White can use either
the Von Hennig Gambit or Rasa-Studier Gambit to transpose into these lines.
Impression: Black looks a bit better. Popularity: Rare.

SCHILLER vs. NATH

U.S. Open, 1996
1.e4 c6; 2.d4 d5; 3.Nc3 dxe4; 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.f3 exf3; 6.Nxf3 Bf5; 7.0–0 Bg6 8.Bg5 Nbd7; 9.Kh1.
^xxxxxxxxY
|rDw1kgw4y
|0pDn0p0py
|wDpDwhbDy
|DwDwDwGwy
|wDB)wDwDy
|DwHwDNDwy
|P)PDwDP)y
|$wDQDRDKy
Uzzzzzzzz\
A useful move in Diemer gambits since the d–pawn can later be sacrificed without worry-
ing about a nasty check. 9...e6; 10.Qe2 Be7; 11.Rae1 0–0; 12.Bxf6 Bxf6; 13.Ne4 Bxe4; 14.Qxe4.
Black has reduced the fighting force through exchanges. However, White’s superior develop-
ment and control of space provide sufficient compensation. 14...Qe7; 15.Ne5!? White is fully
developed, so must take some concrete action.
15...Nxe5. 15...Bxe5; 16.dxe5 Qb4 seems strong but in the long run the f–file provides
White with enough counterplay, for example 17.b3 Nc5; 18.Qe3 Rad8; 19.c3 Qa3; 20.b4 Nd7;
21.Rd1 with strong pressure. 16.dxe5 Bg5; 17.Rf3! The rook lift is available in gambits where
the f–pawn is gone. 17...Rad8; 18.h4 Bxh4? Black should have settled for 18...Bh6; 19.Bd3 g6;
20.Qg4 Bg7; 21.h5 after which careful defense might hold the game. 19.Rh3 Rd4.
20.Qxd4 Bxe1; 21.Qe4! Black had missed this move, which attacks the bishop and threat-
ens mate at h7. 21...g6; 22.Qxe1 Qg5; 23.Qe3 Qxe3; 24.Rxe3. White eventually won.
44 CARDOZA PUBLISHING • ERIC SCHILLER

WOOD vs. SCHILLER

Berkeley Class Struggle, 1994
1.e4 c6; 2.d4 d5; 3.Nc3 dxe4; 4.f3 Nf6; 5.Bc4 Bf5; 6.g4?!
^xxxxxxxxY
|rhw1kgw4y
|0pDw0p0py
|wDpDwhwDy
|DwDwDbDwy
|wDB)pDPDy
|DwHwDPDwy
|P)PDwDw)y
|$wGQIwHRy
Uzzzzzzzz\
The g–pawn harasses the Black pieces but each advance creates new weaknesses in White’s
position. 6...Bg6; 7.g5 Nd5; 8.Nxe4 e6; 9.Ne2 Be7; 10.Rg1 Nd7; 11.Bd2 e5; 12.Bxd5 cxd5;
13.N4c3 exd4; 14.Nxd5 Ne5!; 15.Nxe7 Qxe7. Also good is 15...Nxf3+; 16.Kf2 Nxg1; 17.Kxg1
Qxe7; 18.Nxd4 Qe4. 16.Rg3? Or 16.Kf2 d3!; 17.cxd3 Nxd3+; 18.Kf1 0–0! White’s position is a
mess. 16...Rc8; 17.Rc1 d3!; 18.cxd3 Nxd3+; 19.Kf1 Nxc1; 20.Bxc1 0–0. Black has castled to
safety, so White resigned.

LEMBERG COUNTERGAMBIT [D00]

^xxxxxxxxY
|rhb1kgn4y
|0p0wDp0py
|wDwDwDwDy
|DwDw0wDwy 1.d4 d5
|wDw)pDwDy 2.e4 dxe4
|DwHwDwDwy 3.Nc3 e5
|P)PDw)P)y
|$wGQIBHRy
Uzzzzzzzz\
The Lemberg Countergambit is one of the most reliable defenses to the Blackmar-
Diemer Gambit. Many lines lead to early endgames which must be frustrating to a
devotee of the wild middlegames of the BDG Accepted. Objectively, White can cap-
ture at e5 and allow the exchange of queens, but this is rarely seen. Instead, most
gambiteers pin their hopes on the developing move 4.Nge2 or the attacking 4.Qh5.
Impression: Black looks a bit better. Popularity: Rare.