Gambit

Information about Gambit

This article is about the chess tactic. For alternate meanings see Gambit (disambiguation).
This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.


A gambit is a chess opening in which material (usually but not always a single pawn), is sacrificed in order to achieve an advantage. A gambit used as a defence to a gambit is called a countergambit (e.g., Albin Countergambit).

There are three general methods in which a gambit can help a player's position. For a gambit to be sound it will typically have some degree of at least two of the following:
  • Gain of Time: the player accepting the gambit must take time to procure the sacrificed material and possibly must use more time to reorganize his pieces after the material is taken.
  • Generation of differential activity: Often a player accepting a gambit will decentralize his pieces or pawns and his poorly placed pieces will allow the gambiteer to place his own pieces and pawns on squares that may otherwise have been inaccessible. In addition, bishops and rooks can become more active simply because the loss of pawns often gives rise to open files and diagonals. Former world champion Mikhail Tal, one of the most extraordinary attacking players of the 20th century, once said that he had sacrificed a pawn just because "it was in his way."
  • Generation of positional weaknesses: Finally, accepting a gambit may lead to a compromised pawn structure, holes or other positional deficiencies.
In modern chess, the typical response to a moderately sound gambit is to accept the material and give the material back at an advantageous time. For gambits that are less sound, the accepting player is more likely to try to hold onto his extra material. A rule of thumb often found in various primers on chess suggests that a player should get 3 moves of development for a sacrificed pawn, but it is unclear how useful this general maxim is since the "free moves" part of the compensation is almost never the entirety of what the gambiteer gains. Of course, a player is not obliged to accept a gambit. Often, a gambit can be declined without disadvantage.

A good example is the Danish Gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 (3...d5 would be a way of refusing the gambit) 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2. White has sacrificed two pawns, but his bishops are very well developed, looking to the opponent's kingside. A very dubious gambit is the so-called Halloween Gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nxe5?! Nxe5 5.d4. Here the investment is too big for the moderate advantage of having a strong center.

The word "gambit" was originally applied to chess openings in 1561 by Spanish priest Rúy López de Segura, from the Italian expression dare il gambetto (to put a leg forward, i. e., to trip someone). Lopez studied this maneuver, and so the Italian word gained the Spanish form gambito that led to French gambit, which has influenced the English spelling of the word. The broader sense of "opening move meant to gain advantage" was first recorded in English in 1855.

Some gambits

Main article: List of chess gambits
This is the most played "gambit", but it is technically not a gambit since white can guarantee the recovery of his pawn (most simply 2. ..dxc4 3. Qa4+, but usually more subtle lines).
This is not a true gambit by Black, since after 4.Nxe5!? Qg5! Black wins material. White can (and from this position should) play a gambit himself with 5.Bxf7+! Ke7 6.0-0! Qxe5 7.Bxg8 Rxg8 8.c3 Nc6 9.d4, when White's two pawns and rolling pawn center, combined with Black's misplaced king, give White strong compensation for the sacrificed bishop.

External links

Gambit may also refer to:

In fiction:
  • Gambit (comics), a fictional comic book superhero and member of the X-Men in the Marvel Universe
  • Mike Gambit, a character in The New Avengers TV series.

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Algebraic chess notation is used to record and describe the moves in a game of chess. It is now standard among all chess organizations and most books, magazines, and newspapers.
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chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game (the opening moves). Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black.
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pawn (♙♟) is the weakest and most numerous piece in the game of chess, representing infantry, or more particularly armed peasants or pikemen.
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Albin Countergambit


[[Image:chess_zhor_26.png]]

Moves 1.d4 d5 2.
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Mikhail Tal

Full name Mikhail Tal
Country  Latvia  Soviet Union
Born November 9, 1936
Riga, Latvia
Died June 28, 1992
Moscow, Russia

Title
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In chess, compensation refers to various (typically positional) advantages a player has in exchange for a (typically material) disadvantage. The term normally refers to medium to long-term advantages as opposed to short-term advantages.
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Danish Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves
1.e4 e5
2.d4 exd4
3.c3


Although it may have been known earlier, Danish player Severin From essayed the gambit in an 1867 Paris tournament and he is usually given
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Müller-Schulze Gambit or Leipzig Gambit, also known more recently as the Halloween Attack or Halloween Gambit, is an aggressive but dubious gambit in chess, in which White sacrifices a knight for just one pawn.
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15th century - 16th century - 17th century
1530s  1540s  1550s  - 1560s -  1570s  1580s  1590s
1558 1559 1560 - 1561 - 1562 1563 1564

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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Motto
"Plus Ultra"   (Latin)
"Further Beyond"
Anthem
"Marcha Real" 1
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Ruy López de Segura (c1540 –1580) was a Spanish priest and later bishop in Segura whose book Libro de la invención liberal y arte del juego del Axedrez was one of the first fundamental chess books in Europe, only after Pedro Damiano's.
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1820s  1830s  1840s  - 1850s -  1860s  1870s  1880s
1852 1853 1854 - 1855 - 1856 1857 1858

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.
gambit name – ECO code – moves

Albin Countergambit

  • Albin Countergambit – D08 – 1.d4 d5 2.

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Chessgames.com opening explorer

The King's Gambit is a chess opening that begins:
1.
2.


White offers a pawn to divert the Black e-pawn and build a stronger center with d2-d4.
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Queen's Gambit is a chess opening that starts with the moves
1.d4 d5
2.c4


The Queen's Gambit is one of the oldest known chess openings, as Lucena wrote about it in 1497 and it is mentioned in the earlier Göttingen manuscript.
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Evans Gambit is a chess opening with the moves:

1.
2.
3.
4.

History

The gambit is named after Captain William Davies Evans, the first player known to have employed it.
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Rousseau Gambit is a dubious chess opening characterised by the moves:

1.
2.
3.


The gambit is named after Eugéne Rousseau.
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Smith-Morra Gambit (or simply Morra Gambit) is a gambit against the Sicilian Defence distinguished by the moves 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3. It is not common in grandmaster games, but at club level chess it is an excellent weapon.

The gambit is accepted by:
  • 1.

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Two Knights Defense or the Prussian Game [1] is a chess opening that begins
1.
2.
3.


First recorded by Polerio [2] (c.1550–c.
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Blackmar-Diemer Gambit is a chess opening characterized by the moves
1.
2. dxe4
3. Nc3,
intending f3 on the next move.
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Chessgames.com opening explorer

Bird's Opening is a chess opening characterised by the move
1.
It is named after the 19th century English master Henry Bird.
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Staunton Gambit is a chess opening, having ECO codes A82 and A83. It is characterized by the moves 1.d4 f5 (the Dutch Defence) 2.e4!? (see diagram). White sacrifices a pawn for quick development, hoping to launch an attack against Black's kingside, which has been
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Chessgames.com opening explorer

The Budapest Defence (or Budapest Gambit) is a chess opening beginning with the moves
1.d4 Nf6
2.c4 e5.

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Scotch Game is a chess opening that begins with the moves
1.e4 e5
2.Nf3 Nc6
3.d4


The Scotch Game received its name from a correspondence match in 1824 between Edinburgh and London.
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Latvian Gambit is an aggressive but dubious chess opening, which often leads to wild complications. This opening is virtually never seen at the top levels, but some correspondence chess players are devoted to it.
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Blackburne Shilling Gambit


[[Image:chess_zhor_26.png]]

Moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.
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Elephant Gambit (also called the Queen's Pawn Counter Gambit or Englund Counterattack) is a rarely played chess opening beginning with the moves:

1.e4 e5
2.

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Englund Gambit is a rarely played chess opening that starts with the moves
1.d4 e5?!
It is also known as the Charlick Gambit after Australian Henry Charlick (1845–1916) who introduced it in the early 1890s.
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Italian Gambit is a chess opening characterized by the moves

1.
2.
3.
4.


It is often played as an alternative to the quiet and closed lines of the Giuoco Piano or Giuoco Pianissimo openings.
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