Kieseritzky Gambit

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Kieseritzky Gambit
abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
e5 white knight
e4 white pawn
f4 black pawn
g4 black pawn
h4 white pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
f1 white bishop
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Moves1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.h4 g4 5.Ne5
ECOC39
OriginManuscript by Giulio Cesare Polerio, 1590
Named afterLionel Kieseritzky (1805-1853)
ParentKing's Gambit

In chess, the Kieseritzky Gambit is an opening line in the King's Gambit. It begins with the moves:

1. e4 e5
2. f4 exf4
3. Nf3 g5
4. h4 g4
5. Ne5

Following Black's attempt to hold the sacrificed pawn by 3...g5, White reacts by immediately undermining the pawn chain. It is one of the main lines of the King's Gambit after 3...g5, and its overall assessment is still unclear but approximately equal. The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings classifies the Kieseritzky Gambit under code C39. C39 is also the code for the Allgaier Gambit, in which White plays 5.Ng5?!, sacrificing the knight for an attack after 5...h6 6.Nxf7 Kxf7. The Allgaier Gambit is considered dubious by modern theory.

History[edit]

The opening now known as the Kieseritzky Gambit was first described by Polerio in the late 16th century. Greco also included a game with this opening in his 1620 collection.[1] It was also analyzed by Salvio (1604) and Philidor (1749).[2] In the first edition of the Handbuch in 1843, 5.Ne5 was considered under the heading of the Allgaier Gambit, but the editors noted that Kieseritzky had contributed significantly to the theory of 5.Ne5, which they advocated as superior to 5.Ng5 (an opinion shared by almost all subsequent analysts). The corresponding chapter in the second edition of the Handbuch in 1852 was headed "Allgaier and Kieseritzky's Gambit". Subsequently the name Kieseritzky Gambit came into general use for 5.Ne5, Allgaier Gambit being used exclusively for 5.Ng5.

Main Line[edit]

5...Nf6 6.Bc4[edit]

Although both the bishop on c4 and the knight on e5 target the pawn on f7, if Black does not protect the pawn, the threat is typically Bxf7+ rather than Nxf7. 6.d4 has been tried as well, although it is regarded by some to be inferior to 6.Bc4.[3]

6...d5 7.exd5 Bd6[edit]

The other main move is 7...Bg7.[4]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Greco vs. NN, 1620". Chessgames.com.
  2. ^ Hooper, David; Whyld, Kenneth (1996) [First pub. 1992]. "Kieseritzky Gambit". The Oxford Companion to Chess (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 200. ISBN 0-19-280049-3.
  3. ^ Shaw, John (2019). The King's Gambit. UK: Quality Chess. pp. 91–99. ISBN 978-1-906552-71-8.
  4. ^ Shaw, John (2019). The King's Gambit. UK: Quality Chess. ISBN 978-1-906552-71-8.

Bibliography