The Evans Gambit

jQuery(document).ready(function($) { var selector = '#' + "rpbchessboard-6475b0d0b7a0b-2" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessgameAnchor'; RPBChessboard.renderPGN($(selector), {"pgn":"[Event \"Berlin 'Evergreen'\"] [Site \"Berlin\"] [Date \"1852.??.??\"] [Round \"?\"] [White \"Anderssen, Adolf\"] [Black \"Dufresne, Jean\"] [Result \"1-0\"] [ECO \"C52\"] [Annotator \"Kasparov,G\"] [PlyCount \"47\"] [EventDate \"1852.??.??\"] [EventType \"game\"] [EventRounds \"1\"] [EventCountry \"GER\"] [SourceTitle \"CBM 059\"] [Source \"ChessBase\"] [SourceDate \"1997.08.01\"] {The classic “Evergreen Game”. The game that never goes out of style or loses it’s charm. It has been studied and talked about since it was played all the way back in 1852.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 {The Evans Gambit. An ambitious approach against black’s Italian game.} (4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 {This is a very popular approach at the elite level. It leads to a flexible game for both sides and hopes that white can achieve an advantage. It is covered in the article on the Italian Game.}) 4... Bxb4 5. c3 {[#] White sacrifices the b-pawn so that they can accelerate their own development and build a larger center with d2-d4. Now black has many responses.} Ba5 {This is the classical approach.} ( 5... Bd6 $5 {GM Robert Hess once played this way against me. It gives white easy play. The typical way the game continues is like this.} 6. d4 Nf6 7. O-O O-O 8. Re1 h6 $1 {This move is important to stop Bg5 or Ng5.} (8... Re8 $2 9. Ng5 {[%cal Re4e5]} Re7 10. f4 $1) 9. Nbd2 {White usually plays Bd3, Nc4 with great play against the black center.}) (5... Be7 $5 6. d4 Na5 $1 {This is a good way to deal with white’s pressure on the center.} (6... d6 $2 {[%csl Rf7]} 7. Qb3 $1 {[%csl Rf7][%cal Gb3f7]})) (5... Bc5 $6 {[%csl Rc5] Walks into white’s plan of d2-d4.} 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O $5 {Hoping to bait white into a classic trap.} dxc3 8. Bxf7+ Kxf7 9. Qd5+ Ke8 10. Qxc5 d6 11. Qxc3 {[%csl Gc1, Gc3][%cal Gc3g7] The opposite colored bishops and black’s inability to castle give white a big advantage.}) 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O (7. Qb3 Qe7 8. O-O Bb6 9. cxd4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 Bxd4 11. Nc3 Nf6 12. Bg5 {I played this way in a game I needed to win against IM John Bartholomew to get my second GM norm.}) 7... d3 8. Qb3 Qf6 9. e5 Qg6 10. Re1 Nge7 11. Ba3 {[#][%cal Gc4f7,Ga3e7] The bishops bearing down on the black king is a common tactical feature in the Evans Gambit.} b5 $2 {This type of move was typical of the time period. Black does not think to try to hold on to their material to claim an advantage later. He sacrifices it back to try to get an initiative but it is totally uncalled for here.} (11... O-O $1 {Black was best of castling and taking care of the king.}) 12. Qxb5 Rb8 13. Qa4 Bb6 14. Nbd2 Bb7 15. Ne4 Qf5 $2 {This move costs black dearly. Once again black can spare no time and must castle immediately. It’s hard to justify this move.} 16. Bxd3 Qh5 {[#][%csl Re1][%cal Re1e8]} 17. Nf6+ $2 (17. Ng3 $1 Qh6 18. Rad1 {White is threatening Bc1 among other things. Black is totally lost at this point.}) 17... gxf6 18. exf6 Rg8 $1 19. Rad1 $5 Qxf3 $4 {This move costs black the game. Most chess books I grew up reading mentioned Rg4 as the best defense. It turns out the the computer spots two convincing defenses for black here. One is completely unexpected but the second is more normal for a person.} (19... Bd4 $3 {[%csl Yd4][%cal Gd1d7] An absolutely brilliant move. It’s understandable that black wouldn’t find it. It’s main function is to block the incoming attack down the center files.} 20. cxd4 {[%csl Rd4][%cal Gd1d7]} Qxf3 21. Be4 Rxg2+ 22. Kh1 Rxh2+ 23. Kxh2 Qxf2+ $11) (19... Qh3 $1 20. Bf1 $1 Qf5 $13) (19... Rg4 $6 {This is better for white with correct play but keeps black in the game.}) 20. Rxe7+ $1 {This move starts one of the most famous combinations in chess history. White must play checking moves from here on out or else their king will surely perish.} Nxe7 $5 21. Qxd7+ $3 Kxd7 {[#] [%csl Rd7][%cal Gd1d7]} 22. Bf5+ {[%cal Gd1d7,Gf5d7]} Ke8 (22... Kc6 23. Bd7# $1 {This move reminds me of a variation from my game with Argandona which is also in the lesson archive.}) 23. Bd7+ Kf8 24. Bxe7# {A glorious finish for white. White’s swashbuckling style paid off with a spectacular win.} 1-0","nboSquareSize":50,"idoSquareSize":50,"nboCoordinateVisible":true,"idoCoordinateVisible":true,"nboColorset":"greenvintage","idoColorset":"greenvintage","nboPieceset":"new-set-mac","idoPieceset":"new-set-mac","nboAnimated":true,"nboMoveArrowVisible":false,"nboMoveArrowColor":"b","pieceSymbols":"native","navigationBoard":"frame","withFlipButton":true,"withDownloadButton":true}); });

jQuery(document).ready(function($) { var selector = '#' + "rpbchessboard-6475b0d0b7a0b-3" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessgameAnchor'; RPBChessboard.renderPGN($(selector), {"pgn":"[Event \"USA-01 Morphy Casual Games\"] [Site \"New York,NY\"] [Date \"1857.10.11\"] [White \"Marache, Napoleon\"] [Black \"Morphy, Paul\"] [Result \"0-1\"] [ECO \"C52\"] [Annotator \"ChessBase\"] [PlyCount \"40\"] [EventDate \"1857.10.??\"] [EventCountry \"USA\"] {Paul Morphy for those who don’t know was the most dominant player of his lifetime. He only played competitively until his early 20’s but he set the chess world ablaze. This game is a good example of his domination and you will not forget the finish!} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 7. e5 $2 {[#][%csl Re5] This is an absolutely awful move. In an opening like the Evans gambit there is absolutely no time to waste at all. Rather than develop or castle, white overextends their center and gives black time to hit back in the center.} (7. Qb3 {This is also a good move. I have played this several times myself. It has the benefit of avoiding the more explored variations that start with 7. 0-0.} Qe7 8. O-O Bb6 9. cxd4 {With compensation.} ) (7. O-O {Paul Morphy played this move frequently with the white pieces and did exceptionally with it. It is very principled. White takes care of the king and can recapture on the following turn with cxd4 building a powerful center.} dxc3 $6 {This is an ill-advised pawn grab. White gets more than enough compensation for the current 3 pawn deficit. Often times black will not survive the opening after…} (7... Nge7 8. cxd4 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 {This is a much better defense for black.}) 8. Qb3 $1 Qe7 $2 {This natural move has led to many miniatures.} 9. Nxc3 Nf6 10. Nd5 $1 {With an irresistible attack.}) 7... d5 $1 8. exd6 Qxd6 (8... cxd6 $1 {The computer likes this option for black in order to play d5 a second time. That will effectively shut down white’s bishop and keep black up a healthy extra pawn.} 9. O-O d5 $1 10. Bb5 { [%cal Ge1e8]} Nge7 {[#][%csl Ye7][%cal Ge8g8]}) 9. O-O Nge7 10. Ng5 $4 {[%csl Ra1, Rb1,Rc1] Another slow move from white which completely abandons control of the center. White is giving up any hope of winning back the central pawn or developing the queenside in the near future. It is almost never a good idea to attack with so few pieces.} (10. Ba3 $1 {This would have given white some compensation for the pawn deficiency.} Qf6 $1 $17 {Black is still doing well here though.}) 10... O-O {[#][%csl Ga5,Gc6,Gd6,Ge7] Black is two pawns up with the better development! This is the reverse of how a gambit is supposed to go!} 11. Bd3 (11. Qh5 {Perhaps white thought he had this move available but black has it well covered.} Qg6 $1 12. Qxg6 Nxg6 {White is busted.}) 11... Bf5 (11... h6 {This also would have been very strong.}) 12. Bxf5 Nxf5 13. Ba3 Qg6 14. Bxf8 Qxg5 15. Ba3 (15. Bb4 $1 $19 {White is still lost but this was the best hope. With an exchange of pieces and change of pawn structure on the queenside, white could hope to complete development. The move played in the game leaves white hopelessly lagging behind.} Nh4 $1 16. g3 Bb6 {[%cal Gb6g1]}) 15... dxc3 {[%csl Ra1,Rb1,Rd1,Rf1] The exchange that white managed to win back was hardly any consolation for the complete neglect of development. Black has a winning position here but the way Morphy wraps it up is something you will never forget!} (15... Nh4 {Black could have gone for this as well but it wouldn’t have changed much.} 16. g3 dxc3 $19) 16. Bc1 {[#][%csl Ra1,Ga5,Rb1,Rc1,Gc6,Rd1, Rf1,Gf5,Gg5] A very telling position. After 16 moves, all of white’s pieces are on the first rank.} Qg6 17. Bf4 Rd8 18. Qc2 Ncd4 19. Qe4 Ng3 $3 20. Qxg6 Nde2# {That might be the most beautiful mate ever played!} 0-1","nboSquareSize":50,"idoSquareSize":50,"nboCoordinateVisible":true,"idoCoordinateVisible":true,"nboColorset":"greenvintage","idoColorset":"greenvintage","nboPieceset":"new-set-mac","idoPieceset":"new-set-mac","nboAnimated":true,"nboMoveArrowVisible":false,"nboMoveArrowColor":"b","pieceSymbols":"native","navigationBoard":"frame","withFlipButton":true,"withDownloadButton":true}); });