6/26/2020 – In this Power Play Show Grandmaster Daniel King takes a look at the King's Gambit and shows how Alexander Morozevich (pictured) defeated Vishy Anand with this old but exciting opening. | Power Play is on air most Fridays at 17:00 UK (18:00 CEST, 11:00 EST) on playchess.com. All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer. | Photo: Chess Festival Biel (Archive)
Tata Steel 2023: Analyses by Giri, Van Foreest, Praggnanandhaa, Donchenko and many more. "Special" on Anthony Miles. Kasimdzhanov, Marin and Zwirs show new opening ideas from Wijk in the video. 11 opening articles with repertoire ideas and much more!
Glorious sacrifices, unexpected tactics and checkmating attacks. The King's Gambit is one of the oldest and most romantic openings in the game of chess. This DVD contains all you need to know to tackle your opponent.
We boldly confront the Caro-Kann Defense with the upcoming move 1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.d3!? With this highly strategic choice, we disrupt Black’s typical patterns and comfort zones and enter an early endgame full of chances for you.
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Still exciting: The King's Gambit
The King's Gambit is a very old opening but it still often leads to complicated and unusual positions. The King's Gambit was already mentioned in Lucena's Repetición de Amores y Arte de Ajedrez from 1497 and the ChessBase Mega Database contains a game from 1560 in which White overruns his opponent with the King's Gambit.
Until the late 19th century the King's Gambit was very popular, but today top level players employ it only rarely because according to theory Black has more than one way to equalize. However, players like Boris Spassky, Bobby Fischer, Judit Polgar, Vassily Ivanchuk, Alexander Morozevich, and others, liked or like to play the King's Gambit occasionally or even regularly. Even Magnus Carlsen, who is known for his solid approach and his technical skills, gave the King's Gambit the occasional try. Some examples:
1.e4e52.f4A big surprise: the King's Gambit is extremely rare on the top
level nowadays. "Things weren't going so well in the tournament I thought I
just try it and see how it goes" said Magnus after the game.d5Carlsen
himself played once with Black2...exf43.Nf3g53.exd5exf44.Nf3Nf65.Bc4Nxd56.0-0Be77.Bxd5Qxd58.Nc3Qd89.d40-010.Bxf4Bf511.Qe2
There is almost no theory here. The impression is that White can hope for an
edge thanks to his lead in development and somewhat better control in the
center, but Black has the bishop pair and should be able to hold equality.Bd6A new and somewhat unexpected move, since Black is giving up the bishop pair
and leaves the queenside undeveloped yet.Previously Black played11...Nc6Another move to consider is11...c612.Bxd6Qxd613.Nb5Qd814.c4a6More natural looks14...c615.Nc3Nd715.Nc3Nd716.Rad1Bg617.Qf2Re818.h3White is slightly better, but since Black has no weaknesses it is
far from easy to break through.Rc8What could be possibly be the purpose of
this move? It does not prepare the advance c5 and Black doesn't need to
protect the pawn c7 either. So the only explanation I find is that the Chinese
Grandmaster wanted just to wait and see how his opponent is going to make
progress.19.Rfe1Rxe1+20.Rxe1c621.d5Sooner or later White must make
this move.Nf622.Qd4cxd523.Nxd5Nxd524.cxd5Qd625.Ne5White's plan
is to play at some moment Nc4 and then advance the d-pawn. If Black prevents
it by playing b7-b5, then the weakness of square c6 is unpleasant. Therefore a
good defensive plan is needed and Wang Yue fails to find it.Re8There was
a reasonable way to force matters with25...f626.Nxg626.Nc4?is a
blunder in view ofQb427.Rc1b5and Black wins.26.Nf3is also bad:Bf727.Rd1Rd8and White loses the d5-pawn26...hxg627.Re6Qc5Perhaps
27...Rc1+28.Kf2Rc2+29.Kf3Qd7is also acceptable.28.Qxc5Rxc529.d6Rd5and the endgame should be a draw. For instance:30.Kf2or30.h4b531.Kf2Kf732.Re7+Kf833.Rd7Rd2+34.Ke3Rxg235.Ra7Ke830...g531.Ke331.g4b532.Ke3Kf733.Re7+Kf834.Rd7g635.Ke4Rd231...f532.Re7Rxd633.Rxb7Kh734.a4Kg635.a5f4+36.Ke4Re6+37.Kf337.Kd3Re3+38.Kd4Re239.Rb6+Kf537...Kf525...Bf5!?25...Qc5?loses due to
26.Qxc5Rxc527.d6Rd528.d7winning.26.Re3Rd826...b527.Nc4!Qd828.Rxe8+Qxe829.Ne5is the kind of position White is aiming for.27.Nc4Qf628.Re5!h6?This allows White to advance the pawn.After28...b529.Na529.Qe3h629...h6Black should be able to hold the
position.29.d6!Bf529...b530.d7!Kh731.Nb6is also unpleasant.30.Nb6!Be630...Rxd631.Nd5forces Black to give up the exchange30...Qxd6?loses right away due to31.Rd531.d7Kh832.a4Black is
almost paralyzed and will soon end up in a sort of zugzwang.g633.Qc3Kg734.a5h535.h4Here the Chinese player decided to give up the exchange and
go for a position where he said "I think I have chances to draw".Rxd735...Bxd7?36.Rd5loses the bishop35...Qxh4?36.Rxe6+Black could
still wait with35...Kg8but then36.Rc5or first36.g336...Qxc336...Qxh437.Rc837.Rxc3Kf838.Rc7and White wins.36.Nxd7Bxd737.Qd4Bc638.b4Bb539.Kh2Ba440.Rd5Bc641.Qxf6+Kxf642.Rc5Ke643.Kg3f644.Kf2Bd545.g3g5?This loses by force, but on the other hand the
position must be lost anyway. White brings the king to d4, then attacks with
the rook the pawn f6, forcing Black to play Ke6, then White goes with the king
to b6 and takes with the rook on b7, winning.46.g4!This way White
creates a passed h-pawn, which decides quickly.hxg447.h5Be448.Rc7f549.h6f450.h7g3+51.Ke1f352.h8Qf2+53.Ke2Bd3+54.Ke31–0
These games show that the King's Gambit has a lot to offer. And on his recently published DVD about the King's Gambit Daniel King shows why this old opening is a dangerous weapon that is interesting and fun to play.
Glorious sacrifices, unexpected tactics and checkmating attacks. The King's Gambit is one of the oldest and most romantic openings in the game of chess. This DVD contains all you need to know to tackle your opponent.
In today's Power Play Show King also takes a look at the King's Gambit. He writes:
"I have recently been preparing the follow up to my King's Gambit repertoire DVD: The King's Gambit Tactics Toolbox. This will feature all the typical tactical themes that you can expect when playing the King's Gambit and is the perfect complement to the repertoire DVD. I'll give you a taste of what you can expect on that.
The main focus will be a spectacular game in the Bishop's Gambit between Morozevich and Anand from 1995, and examining how the former World Champion improved his opening play against the same opponent 23 years later.
But first a little warm-up: Good technique requires good calculation. How did Fabiano Caruana finish the game efficiently from the position below? This features one of my favourite themes..."
F. Caruana - M. Vachier-Lagrave, Chessable Masters 2020, 8.2
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Glorious sacrifices, unexpected tactics and checkmating attacks. The King's Gambit is one of the oldest and most romantic openings in the game of chess. This DVD contains all you need to know to tackle your opponent.
Johannes FischerJohannes Fischer was born in 1963 in Hamburg and studied English and German literature in Frankfurt. He now lives as a writer and translator in Nürnberg. He is a FIDE-Master and regularly writes for KARL, a German chess magazine focusing on the links between culture and chess. On his own blog he regularly publishes notes on "Film, Literature and Chess".
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Whether it’s a weak pawn, a vulnerable king, or poor piece coordination, this course will teach you how to pinpoint the critical targets, prioritise your attack, and execute a clear, effective plan.
Videos by Nico Zwirs: Nimzo-Indian with 4.e3 b6 and Robert Ris: French Advance Variation with 6.Na3. Alexander Donchenko analyses his winning game against Fabiano Caruana from the Saint Louis Masters 2024. “Lucky bag" with another 43 analyses by Edouard,
The Black Sniper is back – sharper and deadlier than ever! This dynamic system (1...g6, 2...Bg7, 3...c5 against 1.e4, 1.d4 and 1.c4) creates unpredictable, high-pressure positions, leaving opponents struggling to adapt.
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The King‘s Indian Attack is a universal opening: easy to learn, flexible, and rich in both tactical and positional opportunities.
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