Evans gambit

Evans gambit
a b c d e f G H   8th 8th 7th 7th 6th 6th 5 5 4th 4th 3 3 2 2 1 1   a b c d e f G H
Trains	1. e2-e4 e7-e5 2. Ng1-f3 Nb8-c6 3. Bf1-c4 Bf8-c5 4. b2-b4
ECO key	C51-C52
Named after	the ship's captain William Davies Evans
Played first	1824 in a game between the ports of Milford and Dunmore

The Evans Gambit or Gambit of Captain Evans is an opening of the game of chess , which is divided into several variants. The Evans Gambit is an open game .

Each of his main lines begins with the following moves: 1. e2 – e4 e7 – e5 2. Ng1 – f3 Nb8 – c6 3. Bf1 – c4 Bf8 – c5 4. b2 – b4

The Evans Gambit develops from the Italian part . A famous example is the so-called Evergreen Game between Adolf Anderssen and Jean Dufresne .

Background and idea of ​​the gambit

This opening is named after its inventor , the ship's captain William Davies Evans . He first used it in 1824 in a game between the ports of Milford and Dunmore.

If the black player accepts the gambit , White gets some developmental advantage and initially a so-called full center, since he can put another one after d4 by gaining time with the pawn on e4. The following variant is an example:

1. e2-e4 e7-e5 2. Ng1-f3 Nb8-c6 3. Bf1-c4 Bf8-c5 4. b2-b4 Bc5xb4 5. c2-c3 Bb4-a5 6. d2-d4 d7-d6

Another possibility is to reject the gambit by moving 4.… Bb6, after which the white player wins room on the queenside.

Practice at grandmaster level

Although the rejection of the gambit brought good results for Black at the level of the grandmasters , the pawn sacrifice is mostly accepted. The results are very different, but in general these variants are also considered sufficient for black.

It is noteworthy that both Bobby Fischer and Garri Kasparow , both otherwise loyal supporters of the Spanish game with white, considered this gambit to be playable and used it several times in the course of their careers. When Kasparov successfully used the opening, which had almost completely disappeared from tournament practice at the time, against Viswanathan Anand for the first time in 1995 , there was a resurgence of the Evans gambit. Since then it has been rare, but can be found in the grandmaster's practice at regular intervals. The British grandmaster Nigel Short , who keeps finding innovations and improvements in the less well-known playing of the Gambit, has played a major role in the ongoing maintenance at this level .

Typical opening mistakes

A common mistake is the assumption of another “sacrificed” pawn on c3 after 4.… Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5 ?! 6. d4 exd4 7. 0–0 dxc3? After 8. Bxf7 + Kxf7 9. Qd5 + White wins the bishop back and, with a development lead, is significantly better in view of Black's open position in the king.

First short game

The following game was played in 1826 or 1827 between Captain Evans and Alexander McDonnell in London . It is the original variant, the move changed from 5. b2 – b4 to the fourth move only at a later time.
4. 0–0 d7 – d6 5. b2 – b4 Bc5xb4 6. c2 – c3 Bb4 – a5 7. d2 – d4 Bc8 – g4 8. Qd1 – b3 Qd8 – d7 (8.… Bg4xf3! Was even stronger here.)
9. Nf3 – g5 (Better was 9. Bc4xf7 +! Qd7xf7 10. Qb3xb7! Ta8 – b8 11. Qb7xc6 + ±; the immediate pawn robbery 9. Qxb7? his bishop has to sacrifice without being able to regain the material.) Nc6 – d8
10. d4xe5 d6xe5 11. Bc1 – a3 Ng8 – h6 12. f2 – f3 Ba5 – b6 + 13. Kg1 – h1 Bg4 – h5 14. Rf1 – d1! Qd7 – c8 15. Rd1xd8 +?
With this move White does not use his advantage and allows Black to free himself from his predicament.
The move 15. Qb3 – b5 + !! was the winning move here, as Black can no longer defend himself against White's attack.
It follows either 15.… Nd8 – c6 16. Bc4 – d5! Qc8 – d7 17. Bd5xc6! b7xc6 18. Qb5xe5 + Ke8 – d8 19. Qe5 – e7 +! Kd8 – c8 20. Rd1xd7 + -
or 15.… c7 – c6 16. Qb5xe5 +! Nd8 – e6 17. Ng5xe6 f7xe6 18. Bc4xe6! Qc8 – c7 19. Be6 – d7 + and mate on the next move.
15.… Qc8xd8 16. Ng5xf7 Qd8 – h4 ??
This unmotivated and senseless excursion by the lady enables White to win after he missed the first chance.
After 16.… Qd8 – f6! 17. Nf7xh8 0–0–0! = The position was balanced and a draw was easily possible for Black.
17. Qb3 – b5 + c7 – c6 18. Qb5xe5 + Ke8 – d7 19. De5 – e6 + Kd7 – c7 20. Ba3 – d6 #

Second short game

This game was played in 1862 between Wilhelm Steinitz and Pilhal in Vienna . Special attention should be paid to the triple pawn sacrifice, whereby White skillfully prevents Black castling and thus makes his mate attack possible.
4.… Bc5xb4 5. c2 – c3 Bb4 – a5 6. 0–0 Ng8 – f6 7. d2 – d4 The second pawn sacrifice.
7.… e5xd4 8. Bc1 – a3 d7 – d6 9. e4 – e5 The third pawn sacrifice.
(However, 9. c3xd4! Nf6xe4 10. d4 – d5 Nc6 – e7 11. Qd1 – a4 + c7 – c6 12. d5xc6 0–0 13. Bc4 – a6 = a good continuation.)
9.… d6xe5 10. Qd1– b3 Qd8 – d7 11. Rf1 – e1 Qd7 – f5 ?! (A much stronger defense here was 11.… e5 – e4!)
12. Bc4 – b5! Nf6 – d7? (Here 12.… Bc8 – e6! With an attack on White's queen promised the most, but White would then also have the better position.)
13. Qb3 – d5 Ba5 – b6? A useless move with which Black initiates his defeat.
The correct thing would be 13.… Qf5 – e6! been with forced exchange of women.
14. Nf3xe5! Nc6 – e7? With this, Black makes it easier for his opponent to win, but the better defense possibilities would have resulted in the loss of the queen.
15. Ne5xd7! Qf5xd5? Even if the defeat could no longer be averted, there were a number of serious defenses.
After this lady robbery, black immediately becomes matt.
16. Nd7 – f6 +! Ke8 – d8 17. Ba3xe7 #

Third short game

In this third example game, which was played between Helms and Tenner in New York in 1942 , Black renounces capturing the pawn on b4 and withdraws his bishop.
4.… Bc5 – b6 5. a2 – a4 a7 – a6 ?! Black cannot stop the pawn storm with this. 5.… Nc6xb4 was clearly better here!
6. a4 – a5 Bb6 – a7 7. b4 – b5 a6xb5 8. Bc4xb5 Ng8 – f6 9. Bc1 – a3 ?! Not a good sequel. Although White is delaying Black's castling, there is no apparent advantage. Rather, he gives his opponent an extra pawn without having adequate compensation. There was also the ideal 9.Bb5xc6! also more suitable development moves, for example short castling or Lc1 – b2.
9.… Nf6xe4 This pawn robbery does not pose any risk to Black.
10. Qd1 – e2 Ne4xf2? The idea behind this is to conquer the rook on h1. However, the knight on f2 does not pose any acute threat, which is why this move was a crucial mistake. Since his king is still uncertain, Black was not allowed to think about gaining material.
It was correct to capture with the bishop because the bishop gives check to the white king. With the move of the white king, Black gains the additional speed he needs for his defense: 10.… Ba7xf2 +! 11. Ke1 – f1 f7 – f5! 12. c2 – c3 (necessary to avoid Nc6 – d4, as this move would cement Black's advantage) Re8xa5 13. d2 – d3 Ra5xb5 14. d3xe4 Rb5xb1 + 15. Ra1xb1 Bf2 – a7 16. e4xf5 Qd8 – f6 17. Kf1 – e1 Qxf5∓
[Trying to defend the pawn on f5 would make things worse: 17. g2 – g4? h7 – h5! 18. Nf3 – d2 d7 – d5 19. Rb1 – b5 h5xg4 20. Rb5xd5 Qf6xf5 + 21. Kf1 – g2− + and Black has an even greater positional advantage.]
With correct play, Black gets a bishop and three extra pawns for a rook better position and good chance to win.
But since he captured the pawn f2 with the wrong piece, his advantage is gone.
11. Nf3xe5! This very strong release stroke is only possible because the black knight is no longer in the e-line! The scope of the mistake on move 10 is now evident.
11.… Nc6 – d4 ?? Black still doesn't seem to have noticed that he's about to be mated. Again he is exclusively fixated on winning pieces and therefore attacks the queen, which allows White a two-move mate. Nothing was lost yet, 11.… Nc6 – e7! would have eliminated the danger and initiated a perfectly even game.
12. Ne5xd7 + !! Nd4xe2 13. Nd7 – f6 #

literature

• Alexei Suetin : Textbook of chess theory, Sportverlag Berlin , 1974.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Alexei Suetin: Textbook of the chess theory, Sportverlag Berlin, 1974, p. 97.
2. ↑ Alexei Suetin: Textbook of the chess theory, Sportverlag Berlin, 1974, p. 95.