All gambits are inherently unsound

[Hans Jung]

Nice game Frank!

[Fred Henderson]

Many gambits are a bit unsound in theory, but can be very effective in practice, with the clock ticking, and an opponent outside comfort zones on knowledge, and / or away from the style of game they prefer!!

I have mostly enjoyed playing either side of a gambit, and some of my most enjoyable games -- win, lose, or draw -- have seen gambits employed. My late father played them extensively against me in my youth, during our family encounters at the dining room table!! He said it was a great way to learn both attack and defense, and he was skilled at both!

At the top level, GM Boris Spassky (World Champion 1969-72) was for many years a practitioner with the King's Gambit, and usually very successfully. He defeated GM David Bronstein (also a KG wizard!!) at Leningrad 1960 in less than 25 moves. Boris also won over GM Bobby Fischer at Mar del Plata 1960 with the King's Gambit; the two went on to tie for first place. Fischer himself later employed the KG successfully in tournament play against IMs and GMs. Spassky beat then-World Champion GM Anatoly Karpov with the KG at Hamburg TV 1982 (G/60'), when Karpov had an advantage on the board, but by move 23 had only two minutes left on his clock, to finish the game!!! Karpov was taken out of his comfort zone by Boris!!

Canadian IM Lawrence Day was widely feared for his King's Gambit play, scoring many notable wins over strong players; none better than his triumph over Rubinetti of Argentina at Buenos Aires Olympiad 1978.

GM Pal Benko made a living with the gambit for Black, now bearing his name, from the late 1960s onwards; he knew more about it than his opponents, and by playing ten moves in one minute of clock time, he could avoid his familiar time trouble. The Benko Gambit remains widely seen at events around the world today, at all levels of play. GM Lev Alburt rode it to success in U.S. Championships in the 1980s.

Fair enough, some GM's have played the kings gambit in the past, but not regularly SPassky played it a few times, so did Fischer, but that was decades ago. If any modern day GM plays the King's Gambit as a regular part of his repertoire, Obviously it isn't a losing move, I never said that, but there is a reason why it isn't often played at the top level, imo.

[Frank Dixon]

Here is another sharp King's Gambit miniature from back in the day.
For ten years, starting when I was eight years old, my father Donald Dixon (1932-2014) and I played chess together on Father's Day Sunday in mid-June, on our dining room table. Always a two-game match. And we would usually get in nine holes of golf together, as well, on Saturday of the same weekend! He scored usually around 80 for 18 holes, playing a handful of rounds a season. He started by giving me knight odds in chess, and I improved gradually, to pawn and move, to more time odds, and then where by 1975, we were playing even, at G/45', but I had never won a two-game series, square up. Until that year. Dad, a professional engineer, had been very busy with work, as he had just been appointed one of Canada's delegates to the International Atomic Energy Authority, which meant a lot of international travel, including an annual trip to Vienna, his favorite city, headquarters of IAEA. He would play chess with his work colleagues on those trips. But didn't have much time for study, which he loved. But he never played in a rated tournament, to my great disappointment; I wanted us to travel to a tournament together. Never happened. He was about 1600 strength at his best.

Frank Dixon -- Donald Dixon
Deep River m-2, June 1975, G/45'
King's Gambit, Kieseritzky, C39
Notes by Frank Dixon

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5
[I had just scored 4/6 at the Ontario H.S. Championship in Toronto, and finished an unbeaten season on board one for Mackenzie H.S. in the Renfrew Country H.S. League, winning the board prize, and we also won the team championship. Dad and I would often play gambits in our matches, and I had won the first round that day as Black, also in a King's Gambit!]
4.h4 g4 5.Ne5 d5
[One of a number of playable possibilities here. Dad always strove for active play, and he remained a dangerous opponent for me well into his late 50s, by which time I had earned a CFC rating approaching 2000.]
6.Nxg4 dxe4 7.Bc4!?
[This natural move is NOT covered in the first or second editions of ECO volume C. It has been played a few times, as per 365chess.com. So the KG has enormous amounts of unexplored territory in the opening.]
7...Bd6 8.Qe2 Bf5 9.Nc3 Qe7?!
[Leads to trouble. Black tries to hold the pawn. I think Black should return the pawn, and prepare to castle long, with 9...Nc6, and then play ...Qe7 a bit later, after exchanges on e5, when the N/c3 has either moved away or been exchanged.]
10.Nd5! Bxg4 11.Qxg4 Qd7 12.Qg7! f3 13.Qxh8 Bg3+ 14.Kd1 Qg4
[Black is trying to bail out of a tough position with a tactical sequence. Apparently holding everything together, and even threatening to win by 15...fxg2+. However...]
15.Nf6+!, 1-0.
[Yes, the knight, guarding the f6 fork, is pinned! The next year I gave Dad time odds!]

[Fred Henderson]

Thanks for the games, Frank. I enjoyed your commentary. Would love to put our ideas on gambits to the test. I happily take Black in Smith-Morra Gambit or King's Gambit. We could even do it here. Maybe a little "trash talk" to amuse the hordes?

Best wishes,
Fred.

:)

[Frank Dixon]

Just to show that 2000+ players are not immune to errors in the King's Gambit, I present, for your enjoyment:

Geoff McKay (2159) -- WIM Johanne Charest (2092)
FCGIO North Bay International Open 1999, Open Section, (9)
King's Bishop's Gambit, C33
Brief notes by Frank Dixon

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4
[This was the choice of future World Champion Bobby Fischer in three 1960s tournament games, all of which he won.]
3...d5
[Both players were having a tough tournament, but Geoff, Kingston champion, salvages some pride against the Canadian Ladies' Champion.]
4.exd5 Qh4+ 5.Kf1 f3?!
[This does not work out well. Straightforward development with 5...Nf6 gives Black a solid position in this rare line.]
6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6
[7...fxg2+ 8.Kxg2 Qb4 mixes it up.]
8.Nxf3 Qb4 9.Qe2+! Be7 10.Bc4
[Black is certainly worse, and now commits a serious oversight.]
10....Nf6 11.b3 O-O? 12.Ba3 1-0.
[Black loses a piece after 12...Qb7 13.Qxe7.]

[Frank Dixon]

Correction on previous post -- I got the move order wrong for some moves. Perhaps just delete the original post.

Just to show that 2000+ players are not immune to errors in the King's Gambit, I present, for your enjoyment:

Geoff McKay (2159) -- WIM Johanne Charest (2092)
FCGIO North Bay International Open 1999, Open Section, (9)
King's Bishop's Gambit, C33
Brief notes by Frank Dixon

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4
[This was the choice of future World Champion Bobby Fischer in two 1960s tournament games, all of which he won. He also won against IM Wade at Vinkovci 1968 after 1.e4 e5 2.f4 Nf6.]
3...d5
[Both players were having a tough tournament, but Geoff, Kingston champion, salvages some pride against the Canadian Ladies' Champion.]
4.exd5 Qh4+ 5.Kf1 f3?!
[This does not work out well. Straightforward development with 5...Nf6 gives Black a solid position in this rare line.]
6.Bb5+ c6 7.Nxf3 Qb4 8.Qe2+ Be7 9.dxc6 bxc6 10.Bc4 Nf6 11.b3 O-O? 12.Ba3 1-0.
[Black loses a piece after 12...Qb7 13.Qxe7.]

[Frank Dixon]

The Danish Gambit is very rarely seen nowadays, especially among Masters. Many lines are better for Black. But I did have a memorable game in it as a teen, which I present here.

William Dixon -- Frank Dixon
Vancouver 1974, 3rd match game, played 1974-07-28
W: 60', B: 30'
Danish Gambit, C21
Clock times in brackets
Notes by Frank Dixon

1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 d5
[Our family had driven across Canada from the Ottawa Valley to Vancouver that summer, with an extended stop in central Alberta, all while visiting relatives. My uncle Bill, still alive today in his late 80s, still looks at chess every day!! He is my father Donald's younger brother, and had defeated Dad in a high school championship match back in the day, late 1940s, in Vancouver. That led to quite a bit of extended teasing over the years; I consider my father the stronger player. But I hadn't played Bill since five years earlier, when he was defeating me at 'pawn and move'. In the first match game I had scrambled a draw by perpetual check as Black, after going full 'Danish'!: 3...dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2. My father negotiated the time control handicap in deference to my recent high school season: board prize on board two in the Renfrew County League, and 4/6 at the 1974 Ontario HS Championship in Toronto. Bill never played a rated event in his life, but had a regular group of neighbourhood competitors, playing with a clock and touch move. He turned 40 that year, and got a bit of teasing at work, a forest products company, as 'WD-40', like the motor oil!]
4.cxd4
[Not covered by ECO either in 1974 or 1981.]
4...dxe4
[This is the Soerensen Defense. It creates an isolated queen pawn type of position, often seen in Queen's Gambit lines.]
5.Bc4 c6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Bg5 Be7 8.Bxf6 Bxf6 9.d5!? O-O (9,3) 10.Ne2 Re8 11.Qd2?!
[Simply 11.O-O gives a good game for White.]
11...b5 12.Bb3 e3!
[My HS League prize was a copy of Fred Reinfeld's 'The Immortal Games of Capablanca' (Dover), and I was trying to absorb the great Cuban's skills, such as identifying a clear theme and pursuing it as far as possible. Here I pick out the open e-file and White's King still in the centre, to force open attacking lines. It turns out well for me.]
13.fxe3 Bg5 14.Rd1
[Here 14.Nd1, while defensive, gives better chances to hold, and then castle. White never does manage to castle in this game.]
14...b4 15.Na4 Ba6! 16.Qxb4 Rxe3 (20,7) 17.Nac3
[We looked at 17.Bc4 Re4! later; it is worse than the game for White. For example, 18.dxc6 Qe8! 19.c7 Nc6! wins.]
17...Qe8!
[The N/e2 is now triple attacked, and White is tied down defending it.]
18.Rd2 c5!?
[I need to develop my queenside pieces, so decided on this pawn sac. Uncle Bill is slowing down on the clock.]
19.Qxc5 Nd7 (36,12) 20.Qd4 Bf6 21.Qg4!
[Stays in touch with the N/e2, as the defending N/c3 will be exchanged next move.]
21...Bxc3 22.bxc3 Ne5! 23.Qd4 Nd3+! (49,19)
[Bill said later he thought he had prevented this move!]
24.Kf1
[On 24.Kd1 Nf2+ wins. If 24.Rxd3 Rxe2+ 25.Kf1? Re1+ wins. He could try 25.Kd1!, with perhaps better chances to survive than in the actual game.]
24...Rxe2! 25.Rxe2 Nc1!! (53,25)
[Uncle Bill was surprised, but complimented me later on this lovely move!]
26.Bc4 Nxe2!
[The attack on the Q/d4 wins the game.]
27.Qd3!
[Uncle Bill thought I had messed up here, since he has a double attack, but I have a strong counter. I am getting short of time as well.]
27...Nf4! (53,27) 28.Qd4 Bxc4+ 29.Qxc4 Qe3!
[Guards the knight and prepares the R/a8 incursion.]
30.Rg1 Re8! (57,28)
0-1.
[Mate is inevitable.]

[Ian Findlay]

Gambits by White throw away his advantage, gambits by Black give White the advantage out of the opening, such as the Smith-Morra the King's gambit, and the Budapest

prove me wrong, or if you prefer convince me otherwise.

These days, one can get lots of stats from Chessbase. Maybe at the 2600 level and above? I agree, Marshall is far from unsound!

[Marc Andre Beaudry]

Just at the top of my head I can think of the Marshall, the Ng5 variation of the Italian with Nf6, the Botvinnik, the Evans, the Benko, even the Morra gives decent position for white. Even all the gambits with e4 e5 are not that sound but if you don't know what to do you might lose in under 15 moves. So gambit play is pretty interesting, not my cup of tea but still interesting for the attacking player. The Ng5 d5 cxd5 Na5 is an awesome variation for black that teaches attacking play. I played the Benko a bit and it gives interesting fighting positions. There are others interesting gambits that I can't think of right now but I will look.

[Frank Dixon]

Other lines in the Two Knights' are also of continuing interest. Particularly, including those with an early ...Nd4 by Black. This was featured in the 5th World Correspondence Championship's key game: Yakov Estrin 0-1 Hans Berliner, 1965-68. Berliner won a very complex game in a line he had analyzed deeply, and captured the world title. Estrin, who won the world postal title a few years later, was at the time recognized as the world's leading authority on the Two Knights'.

Quite a few modern GMs will play the King's Gambit on occasion against what they think is an appropriate opponent. British / Swiss GM Joe Gallagher is probably the leading exponent off that gambit for the past 30+ years.

[Fred Henderson]

These days, one can get lots of stats from Chessbase. Maybe at the 2600 level and above? I agree, Marshall is far from unsound!

:) I must have been into the sauce when I started this discussion. I think I did clarify what I meant be "unsound". The subject line was just an attention grabber. I suppose the Marshall is the most frequently played gambit, White or Black. Because it provides lots of winning chances for Black. I don't have time to look at the chessbase stats, but I suspect that few if any GMs make it a staple part of their repertoire, correct me if I'm wrong. More of a surprise weapon, no? I am mostly a correspondence player.

[Roger Patterson]

:) I must have been into the sauce when I started this discussion. I think I did clarify what I meant be "unsound". The subject line was just an attention grabber. I suppose the Marshall is the most frequently played gambit, White or Black. Because it provides lots of winning chances for Black. I don't have time to look at the chessbase stats, but I suspect that few if any GMs make it a staple part of their repertoire, correct me if I'm wrong. More of a surprise weapon, no? I am mostly a correspondence player.

surely you have noticed that the top players have abandoned the main line lopez as white. The Marshall plays a big part in that.

[Fred Henderson]

surely you have noticed that the top players have abandoned the main line lopez as white. The Marshall plays a big part in that.

No, I did not know that. That comes as a complete surprise. I don't study the games of today's players, I just read the headlines. And I never play the Ruy as White myself, not style, Although I will play the Marshall when I need something different Or a surprise weapon. How long has this been going on? I'll definitely take a look.

:)

[Roger Patterson]

No, I did not know that. That comes as a complete surprise. I don't study the games of today's players, I just read the headlines. And I never play the Ruy as White myself, not style, Although I will play the Marshall when I need something different Or a surprise weapon. How long has this been going on? I'll definitely take a look.

:)

I don't know - a decade or more? After 1. e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 both the Berlin and Marshall are big problems for white. Top games still occasionally allow the Berlin but almost never the Marshall, playing one of a4, Nc3 or an early d3. And of course, mostly it's 3 Bc4 avoiding the whole discussion.

[Fred Henderson]

I don't know - a decade or more? After 1. e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 both the Berlin and Marshall are big problems for white. Top games still occasionally allow the Berlin but almost never the Marshall, playing one of a4, Nc3 or an early d3. And of course, mostly it's 3 Bc4 avoiding the whole discussion.

Putting aside the question of whether 3...Nf6 is any better than 3...a6, Surely if White sidesteps the Marshall by playing the Anti-Marshall, and I suspect Whites % is pretty good here, then can we not say that The Marshall Gambit begins with ...0-0, and is thus another "unsound" gambit?

:)