Today I tried out the King's gambit in one game, and I tried two games in the Vienna game, 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3. It looks quiet and passive, but can lead to very aggressive and tactical play for white if he plays an early f4 ala the King's Gambit. In fact, Wikipedia cites, "Weaver W. Adams, whom Grandmaster Larry Evans described as having an 'all or nothing' mentality, famously claimed that the Vienna Game led to a forced win for White."
I wouldn't go that far, but it can lead to some quick development and powerful attacking chances. I will relay some basic guidelines to the opening from Wikipedia's article. After 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 black has two options. If 2 ... Nf6 white can play 3. f4, the Vienna Gambit, which can lead to open lines against the black king if black does not defend properly. In the few games of blitz I have played I have seen most often 3 ... exf4, but 3 ... d5, a counterstrike in the center, is indicated for black to keep it equal. After 3 ... d5, "4. fxe5 Nxe4, either 5.Nf3, 5.Qf3 or 5.d3 usually follows." After 3 ... exf4 I have been playing 4. Nf3 like the King's Gambit but 4. e5 Qe7 5. Qe2 is another good line, as black's knight must retreat. 3 ... d5 does not seem like a move likely to be found in blitz games, unless the black player knows a little bit about the opening.
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| I felt like spicing up my blog posting with a picture of Vienna. |
Other options after 2 ... Nf6 include 3. Nc4 which can transpose into countless different openings, such as the Four Knights Game, Bishop's Opening, or King's Gambit Declined, and though there are some "wild" lines discussed in the Wikipedia article, this move is not really my main focus at this time. Another popular idea is 3. g3 which prepares the kingside fianchetto and a quieter more positional game, which may be a useful idea if playing a slow game against someone who knows his stuff. The move has been played by Vasily Smyslov, "most notably in a win over Lev Polugaevsky in the 1961 USSR Championship. That game continued 3...d5 4.exd5 Nxd5 5.Bg2 Be6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.O-O Be7 8.Re1 Bf6 9.Ne4 O-O 10.d3 Be7 11.a3 Nb6 12.b4, resulting in a position which the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings assesses as slightly better for White. The main line today, however, is considered to be 5...Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bd6 7.Nf3 O-O 8.O-O."
After 2 ... Nc6 there are still the 3. f4 or 3. g3 ideas, and in either case, "3...d5? would be a weak response losing a pawn, unlike after 2...Nf6." A good sharp line for blitz games might be the Hamppe-Muzio gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 exf4 4.Nf3 g5 5.Bc4 g4 6.0-0 gxf3 7.Qxf3, where white is down a piece but has a significant advantage in central space and development, and has the f-file and the weakened a1-h8 diagonal to generate a powerful attack with.
Now I will recount a game just played on the FICS server in the Vienna/ King's Gambit.
[Event "rated blitz match"]
[Site "Free Internet Chess Server"]
[Date "2009.04.17"]
[Round "?"]
[White "waparker"]
[Black "ayi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1145"]
[BlackElo "1254"]
[ECO "C25"]
[TimeControl "600"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bc4
Unsure of whether I want to go in for the 3. f4 lines, as I have heard that 3. f4 is not as good against 2. Nc3.
3 ... Nf6 4. f4 exf4 5. Nf3 h6 6. d4 g5 7. h4 g4
Gives white the advantage. Better for black would have been 7. ...
Bb4 8. d5 g4 9. dxc6 gxf3 10. gxf3 bxc6 11. Bxf4 d5 12. exd5 cxd5 13. Be2 and black has better central control but white has a small advantage. Note in this hypothetical position black cannot attack the pinned knight because if 13 ... d4 14. Be5 dxc3 15. Qxd8+ Kxd8 16. Bxf6+ Ke8, and here 17. Bxh8 would be a weak move leading to material equality as opposed to 17. O-O-O which threatens checkmate and the hanging rook on h8 simulataneously, which will win material.
8. Ne5 Nxe5 9. dxe5 Nxe4
Not good. My opponent spent much time on this move so I could predict that he was thinking of sacking his knight instead of humbly retreating it. It only took a few moments to decide that 10. Nxe4 would not be very strong because of 10 ... d5 forking knight and bishop, and 10. Qxg5 would lose a piece to 10 ... d5 discovering an attack on the queen. Rybka suggets for black 9. ... d5 10. exd5 Nh5 as the immediate 9. ... Nh5 loses a pawn to 10. Qxg4 d5
11. Bb5+ c6 12. Qxh5 cxb5 13. Nxd5 White is a pawn up with an aggressively placed Queen and knight.
10. Bxf7+
Not the strongest continuation, but it displaces the king and regains material equality. (10. Qd5 Qe7 11. Nxe4 Rb8 12.
Bxf4 b5 13. Nf6+ Kd8 )
10 ... Kxf7 11. Qd5+ Kg7 12. Qxe4 f3 13. h5
Not the strongest continuation. I thought it was clever to threaten mate in one with a pawn push, because I didn't see anything concrete after 13. Qxg4+, but Rybka is better at looking 9 moves deep than I am: 13. Qxg4+ Kh7
14. Qe4+ Kg8 15. gxf3 Rh7 16. Nd5 Be7 17. Be3 c6 18. Rg1+ Rg7 19. Rxg7+ Kxg7
20. Nxe7 Qxe7 21. O-O-O {Black can do nothing to stop the threat along the
g-file} d5 22. Rg1+
13 ... Kf7??
Leads to a mate in two; black missed a continuation leading to equality by 13. ... Rg8 14. Qxg4+ Kh8 15. Qxf3 d5 16. Be3 d4
17. O-O-O
14. Qg6+ Ke7 15. Nd5# {ayi checkmated} 1-0
Note: I have found another great youtube chess commentator, SeanGGodley. He has a great series of Grandmaster miniatures which all feature great tactics in sharp positions and a number of subvariations, with good explanations of what moves are strong and what are not.
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