Gambit

Gambit
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
8  black rook  black knight  black bishop  black queen  black king  black bishop  black knight  black rook 8
7  black pawn  black pawn  black pawn  black king  black pawn  black pawn  black pawn  black pawn 7
6  black king  black king  black king  black king  black king  black king  black king  black king 6
5  black king  black king  black king  black pawn  black king  black king  black king  black king 5
4  black king  black king  white pawn  white pawn  black king  black king  black king  black king 4
3  black king  black king  black king  black king  black king  black king  black king  black king 3
2  white pawn  white pawn  black king  black king  white pawn  white pawn  white pawn  white pawn 2
1  white rook  white knight  white bishop  white queen  white king  white bishop  white knight  white rook 1
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
Queen's Gambit. The gambit is introduced by 2. c4. If Black takes the pawn (dxc4), White can move e2–e4 and take control of the center, while threatening to capture the black pawn with the bishop (Bxc4).

A gambit (from ancient Italian gambetto, meaning tripping) is a chess opening in which a player, most often White, sacrifices material, usually a pawn, with the hope of achieving a resulting advantageous position.[1] Some well-known examples are the King's Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.f4), Queen's Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4), and Evans Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4). A gambit used by Black may also be called a gambit (e.g., Latvian Gambit--1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5, Englund Gambit--1.d4 e5), but is sometimes called a "countergambit" (e.g., Albin Countergambit) (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5) or Greco Counter-Gambit, an old-fashioned name for the Latvian Gambit.

The word "gambit" was originally applied to chess openings in 1561 by Spanish priest Rúy López de Segura, from an Italian expression dare il gambetto (to put a leg forward in order 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.

Contents


Strategy

Accepted vs Declined (Queen's Gambit)
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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 8
7 a7 black pawn b7 black pawn c7 black pawn d7 black king e7 black pawn f7 black pawn g7 black pawn h7 black pawn 7
6 a6 black king b6 black king c6 black king d6 black king e6 black king f6 black king g6 black king h6 black king 6
5 a5 black king b5 black king c5 black king d5 black king e5 black king f5 black king g5 black king h5 black king 5
4 a4 black king b4 black king c4 black pawn d4 white pawn e4 black king f4 black king g4 black king h4 black king 4
3 a3 black king b3 black king c3 black king d3 black king e3 black king f3 black king g3 black king h3 black king 3
2 a2 white pawn b2 white pawn c2 black king d2 black king e2 white pawn f2 white pawn g2 white pawn h2 white pawn 2
1 a1 white rook b1 white knight c1 white bishop d1 white queen e1 white king f1 white bishop g1 white knight h1 white rook 1
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
Queen's Gambit Accepted
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
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 8
7 a7 black pawn b7 black pawn c7 black pawn d7 black king e7 black king f7 black pawn g7 black pawn h7 black pawn 7
6 a6 black king b6 black king c6 black king d6 black king e6 black pawn f6 black king g6 black king h6 black king 6
5 a5 black king b5 black king c5 black king d5 black pawn e5 black king f5 black king g5 black king h5 black king 5
4 a4 black king b4 black king c4 white pawn d4 white pawn e4 black king f4 black king g4 black king h4 black king 4
3 a3 black king b3 black king c3 black king d3 black king e3 black king f3 black king g3 black king h3 black king 3
2 a2 white pawn b2 white pawn c2 black king d2 black king e2 white pawn f2 white pawn g2 white pawn h2 white pawn 2
1 a1 white rook b1 white knight c1 white bishop d1 white queen e1 white king f1 white bishop g1 white knight h1 white rook 1
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
Queen's Gambit Declined

Gambits are often said to be 'offered' to an opponent, and that offer is then said to be either 'accepted' or 'declined.' If a player who is offered a gambit captures the piece (and thus gains material) the gambit is said to be accepted. If the player who was offered the gambit ignores it and instead continues his or her development, then the gambit is said to be declined.

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 three moves (see tempo) 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.

Soundness

A Gambit is said to be 'sound' if it is capable of procuring some concession from the opponent. There are three general criteria in which a gambit is often said to be sound:

  • Time gain: 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."[citation needed]
  • Generation of positional weaknesses: Finally, accepting a gambit may lead to a compromised pawn structure, holes or other positional deficiencies.

A good example of a sound gambit is the Danish Gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 (3...d5 would be a way of declining the gambit) 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2. White has sacrificed two pawns in exchange for a lead in development (his bishops are raking Black's kingside) and the possibility of a quick attack. A more 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 (a knight for just one pawn) is too large for the moderate advantage of having a strong center.

Examples

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.

Notes

  1. ^ Edward R. Brace, An Illustrated Dictionary of Chess, Hamlyn, 1979, p. 114. ISBN 0-600-32920-8.

Further reading

External links


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • gambit — [ gɑ̃bi ] n. m. • 1743; it. gambetto « croc en jambe » ♦ Aux échecs, Coup qui consiste à sacrifier un pion, une pièce, pour dégager le jeu, ou pour s assurer un avantage d attaque ou de position. Jouer gambit. ● gambit nom masculin (italien… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • gambit — GAMBÍT, gambituri, s.n. Sacrificare a unui pion alb sau a altei piese la începutul unei partide de şah pentru obţinerea unui avantaj în atac. – Din fr. gambit. Trimis de gall, 13.09.2007. Sursa: DEX 98  gambít s. n., pl. gambíturi Trimis de… …   Dicționar Român

  • Gambit — Sn Bauernopfer, um Eröffnungsvorteil zu erlangen per. Wortschatz fach. (16. Jh.) Entlehnung. Ausdruck des Schachspiels, gelegentlich übertragen verwendet. Entlehnt aus span. gambito, das seinerseits übernommen ist aus it. dare il gambetto ein… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • Gambit — Gam bit, n. [F. gambit, cf. It. gambitto gambit, a tripping up. See {Gambol}, n.] (Chess Playing) A mode of opening the game, in which a pawn is sacrificed to gain an attacking position. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • gambit — gàmbīt m <G gambíta> DEFINICIJA 1. šah način otvaranja igre u kojemu bijeli žrtvuje pješaka ili figuru da bi što brže razvio svoj napad [kraljev gambit; damin gambit] 2. pren. prvi potez ETIMOLOGIJA fr. ← tal. gambetto (dare il gambetto:… …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • gambit — chess opening in which a pawn is risked for advantage later, 1650s, gambett, from It. gambetto, lit. a tripping up (as a trick in wrestling), from gamba leg, from L.L. gamba (see GAMBOL (Cf. gambol)). Applied to chess openings in Spanish in 1561… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Gambit — (fr., spr. Gangbi), ein verfänglicher Zug im Schachspiel …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Gambit — Gambit, beim Schachspiel eine Spieleröffnung, wobei vom Anziehenden in den ersten Zügen ein Bauer scheinbar ohne Ersatz preisgegeben wird. Das G. ist ein angenommenes, wenn der Gambitbauer geschlagen, ein abgelehntes, wenn er nicht geschlagen… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Gambit — Gambīt, beim Schachspiel diejenige Eröffnung, bei der man mit Drangabe einer Figur (Läufer G., Springer G.) einen erfolgreichen Angriff zu erzielen sucht …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Gambit — Gambit, bekannter herausfordernder Zug im Schachspiele …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • gambit — index first appearance Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

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