Why is the King’s Gambit beautiful?
The importance of each move is critical. There are points where the conflict is heightened. There are beautiful final positions which can easily be reached.
In short, there is daring, and risk. — Bronstein
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4
Before White can fulfill his positional ambition of d2-d4 to control the center, plus Bc1xf4 to equalize material while gaining time, he must contend with …Qd8-h4+, a check that is inconvenient at least, and overpowering at worst.
There are three methods of dealing with a check. White has tried all three in response to …Qd8-h4+. In ascending order of popularity:
Interposition
3. Nh3
That most colorful grandmaster Tartakover played 3. Nh3 against Grunfeld (Budapest 1921), anticipating 3…Qh4+ 4. Nf2. Grunfeld did the right thing: 3…d5, drawn in 31 moves.
I’m determined to play some games with each of the moves mentioned here. My online opponent was a beginner (the global pandemic in 2020 brought about a surge in online chess and first-time players): 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nh3 d5 4.Nxf4 c6 5.d4 dxe4 6.Nc3 Bd6 7.Nxe4 Bxf4? 8.Bxf4 and White won quickly. 7…Bxf4 is very bad; White isn’t thrilled about 4. Nxf4, but it makes a useful interposition of g2-g3 in case of …Qd8-h4+, and gets the knight into play. 7…Bxf4? means White recaptures Bc1xf4 with gain of time anyway, and Black has set himself up for 9. Nd6+.
3. Kf2
Click or tap on a move in the game text for a popout display board. Then 3…Qh4+4.g34.Kf3??Qh5+5.g4fxg3+0-1, Nash-Jordan, Ohio 19794…fxg3+5.Kg2has been played a few times, maybe as a form of handicap.
3. Qf3
Breyer’s move 3. Qf3 is worthier than its popularity indicates. The queen does three jobs: 1) inhibiting …d7-d5; 2) directly threatening f4 (and f7 behind it); and 3) protecting the h1-rook in case of 3..Qh4+.
In 1919 — 16 years before he won the world championship — young master Max Euwe played the first of two training matches with Gerard Kroone, who represented the Netherlands in the Olympiad.
The queen guards h1, making this interposition viable. The drawback is that Black can exchange the f4-pawn, which deprives White of Bc1xf4.
4…fxg3
Black secured his material advantage, but the h-file is open for the white rook.
5.hxg3Qf6
This is a tense position. Neither side wants to trade queens, enabling the opponent to recapture with a developing move.
Until that situation is resolved, the queens glower at each other, while the king knights are effectively stuck in place. If either moves the king knight, then the other can make the queen trade without losing time.
6.Nc3d6
Black should do something about Nc3-d5xc7, but 6…c6 is a pawn move Black can’t afford, while …Bc5-b6 and …Be7-d8 are sluggish.
In Poland, grandmasters actually had to do some homework about this position, because the Breyer Gambit is a favorite of GM Bartel’s. They’ve settled on 6….Bd6, and untangling the queenside later.
7.Nd5Qxf3
The fork induced a blink from Black, so White gets plenty of compensation for the pawn.
8.Nxf3Kd89.Ng5Be610.Nf4Ke711.Ngxe6!fxe612.Ng6+hxg613.Rxh8Nh614.d4
What I like about this game is that after winning the early skirmish, White has to mobilize the remaining forces, and does so smoothly.
14…d515.Bg5+Kf716.exd5exd517.Bg2c618.O-O-O
Three moves ahead in development again!
18…Nd719.Rf1+Nf620.Rxh61–0
Flight
White’s 3rd moves that permit the queen check before fleeing can be the most double-edged. White’s forfeit of castling rights plus Black’s exposed queen make for additional imbalance in a game that already promised tactical complexity.
3. Qe2
3.Qe2 is an intriguing move by the English master Basman, a fountain of quirky opening ideas since the ’70s. 3…d5 is inhibited because 4. exd5+
discovers check, while d1 is opened as a flight square. The preference for fleeing to d1 instead of f1 is so the h1-rook won’t be blocked by the king. On the other hand, the uncastled king is stuck in the center, and White will have to make another queen move to free the king bishop.
3. d4 and 3. Nc3
The most provocative 3rd moves are 3. Nc3 — the great Keres played it — and 3. d4, which world champion Steinitz tried. In both cases, White intends 3…Qh4+ 4. Ke2.
By all means, experiment with these, though I’ve grown mistrustful. The white king is more exposed on the second rank than the first, and blocks queen and bishop.
3. Bc4
The Bishop’s Gambit is the best, most logical choice among the moves that precede taking flight. It’s the choice of Fischer and Polgar, the topic of tomorrow’s entry.