Sunday, March 11, 2007

The Joy of Playing Gambits

One of the joys of being a player who likes to attack as early as possible, is the option of playing gambits. Now, I'm aware that some genuis once said that "a gambit is when you sacrifice a pawn for the sake of getting a lost game." If you're just a lucky D-player like I am, then you're probably going to lose anyway - unless, of course, you're lucky! And doesn't luck reward the bold?

A good way to get into the spirit of gambiteering is to buy a repertoire book that advocates playing gambits. I bought, and have immensely enjoyed, "A Gambit Opening Repertoire for White" by Eric Schiller (Cardoza Publishing).

Against 1 e4, Schiller recommends the Goring Gambit (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 ed 4 c3 dc 4 Nc3). White sacs a pawn for a nice lead in development with tremendous flexibility as to where to deploy the bishops. Unfortunately, Schiller doesn't tell the reader what to do if Black plays the popular Petroff Defense (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6). You'll have to fill that gap on your own.

Against the dynamic Sicilian, Schiller recommends the extremely rare Halasz Gambit (1 e4 c5 2 d4 cd 3 f4). White combines the Smith-Morra Gambit (1 e4 c5 2 d4 cd 3 c3) with the Closed Variation (1 e4 c5 2 Nc3 d6 3 f4). This configuration should confuse most Sicilian fans, so it's at least good for a few seconds on the clock.

Against the stolid Caro-Kann, Schiller has the reader playing the Ulysses' Gambit ( 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nf3 de 4 Ng5). If Black plays the natural 4...Nf6 (knights before bishops, you know!), White takes a whole nanosecond to play 5 Bc4, forcing Black to hem in his bishop with 5...e6.

Against the solid French, the reader is urged to play the Alapin Gambit (1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Be3 de 4 Nd2). Basically, White is playing a Blackmar-Diemer Gambit ( 1 d4 d5 2 e4 de 3 f3). The Alapin seems to be an improvement on the usual move-order because Black has hemmed in his bishop with his first move!

The book leaves a lot of Black's options to the research skills of the reader, but all-in-all it is a wonderul book.

Happy gambiteering, readers!

1 comment:

BRF Fågelsången said...

Interesting! I had to choose between that one and "Gambiteer I: A hard-hitting chess opening repertoire for White (Everyman Chess) (Paperback)"

I think I like Davies book and I am considering getting the repertoire book for Black.