A gambit is a chess opening in which something, usually a pawn, but sometimes even a piece, is sacrificed in order to achieve an advantage. A gambit played by Black is often called a countergambit. A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game (the opening moves). ... Look up pawn in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A Piece may be: A Musical piece - a work of music. ...

There are three general methods in which a gambit can help a player's position. For a gambit to be sound it will typically have some degree of at least two of the following:

• Gain of Time: 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 sacrified a pawn just because "it was in his way"!

• Generation of positional weaknesses: Finally, accepting a gambit may lead to a compromised pawn structure, holes or other positional deficiencies.

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 3 moves 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. Mikhail Tal Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal (IPA: ; Latvian: ; Russian: ) (November 9, 1936 - June 28, 1992) was a Jewish Latvian chess player and the eighth World Chess Champion. ... In chess, compensation refers to various (typically positional) advantages a player has in exchange for a (typically material) disadvantage. ...

A good example is the Danish Gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 (3...d5 would be a way of refusing the gambit) 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2. White has sacrificed two pawns, but his bishops are very well developed, looking to the opponent's kingside. A very 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 is too big for the moderate advantage of having a strong center. The Danish Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves 1. ... This page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. ... (After move 4) The Müller-Schulze Gambit also known as the Halloween Gambit or Halloween Attack is an aggressive gambit in chess that involves a knight sacrifice at e5. ...

The word "gambit" was originally applied to chess openings in 1561 by Spanish priest Rúy López de Segura, who was an admirer of Giovanni Gambetto, first chess player to use this kind of subterfuge, in the 12th century. Lopez studied and improved this maneuver during his lifetime, 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. // Events The Edict of Orleans suspends the persecution of the Huguenots. ... Spanish stamp on the Chess Olympiad 2004. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

Some gambits

Main article: List of chess gambits

• King's Gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.f4
• Queen's Gambit: 1.d4 d5 2.c4

This is the most played "gambit", but it is technically not a gambit since white can guarantee the recovery of his pawn (most simply 2. ..dxc4 3. Qa4+, but usually more subtle lines).

• Evans Gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4
• Rousseau Gambit 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 f5
• Smith-Morra Gambit: 1.e4 c5 2.d4 intending 2. ..cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3
• Two Knights Defence: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 with 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 likely to follow.
• Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (BDG): 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 followed by 4.f3
• From's Gambit: 1.f4 e5
• Staunton Gambit: 1.d4 f5 2.e4
• Budapest Gambit: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5
• Scotch Gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4
• Latvian Gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5
• Blackburne Shilling Gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4?!

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.

• Elephant Gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5
• Englund Gambit: 1.d4 e5?!
• Italian Gambit: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d4

gambit name – ECO code – moves // Albin Countergambit – D08 – 1. ... The Kings Gambit The Kings Gambit is a chess opening that begins (in algebraic notation): 1. ... The Queens Gambit is a chess opening that starts with the moves 1. ... The Evans Gambit is a chess opening with the moves (in algebraic notation) 1. ... Rousseau Gambit The Rousseau Gambit is a dubious chess opening characterised by the moves (in algebraic chess notation): 1. ... Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted In chess, the Smith-Morra Gambit (or simply Morra Gambit) is a gambit against the Sicilian Defence distinguished by the moves 1. ... The first moves of a chess game are the opening moves, collectively referred to as the opening or the book. ... This chess opening begins with 1. ... Birds Opening is a chess opening characterised by the move 1. ... The Staunton Gambit In chess, A82 is the ECO code for the Staunton Gambit opening. ... The Budapest Defence is a chess opening beginning with the moves 1. ... The Scotch Game is a chess opening that begins with the moves 1. ... The Latvian Gambit is an aggressive but dubious chess opening, which often leads to wild complications. ... The Blackburne Shilling Gambit is the name facetiously given to a dubious chess opening, an offshoot of the Italian Game, that begins (in algebraic notation) 1. ... The Elephant Gambit (also called the Queens Pawn Counter Gambit or Englund Counterattack) is a rarely played chess opening beginning with the moves (in algebraic chess notation): 1. ... The Englund Gambit is a rarely played chess opening that starts with the moves 1. ... The Italian Gambit is a chess opening characterized by the moves 1. ...

External links

• Guide to Chess Gambits (Part 1)
• Guide to Chess Gambits (Part 2)

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Chess/Opening Theory

bishops gambit Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... Image File history File links Wikibooks-logo-en. ... The Kings Gambit The Kings Gambit is a chess opening that begins (in algebraic notation): 1. ...