Growing up, one of the first openings I played was the King’s Gambit. References and actual game play I collected in a note pad. 1. e4 e5 2. f4 fit perfectly in my study of the chessboard seen here in my July 2007 columns, especially relating to the f7 square.
Keres, Spassky, Bronstein, and Marshall are among the giants of chess who followed in the tradition after the old guard like Anderssen and Zukertort. And none other than Judit Polgar is writing a column for New In Chess where her latest article is The Queen’s King’s Gambit.
The gambit can be a double-edged sword slashing both ways. Short cc games are often the result. Keres vs. Villa Here is a sample: 1. e4 e5 2. f4 e:f4 3. Nf3 Be7 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. Nc3 N:e4 6. Ne5 Bh4+ 7. g3 f:g3? Erring is commonplace in the KG. 8. B:f7+ Kf8 9. O-O g:h2+ 10. K:h2 Bg3+ 11. Kg2 Qh4 12. Nf3 Black resigns. Keres winds up on the short end in this one against Menke. 1. e4 e5 2. f4 e:f4 3. Nc3 Qh4+ 4. Ke2 d5 5. N:d5 Bg4+ 6. Nf3 Nc6 7.N:c7+ Kd8 8. N:a8 Ne5 9. h3 Bh5 10. Rg1? Qg3! 11. Qe1 B:f3+ 12. g:f3 Q:f3 mate.
Spassky was noted for his unpredictable character when sitting down at the board. Against David Bronstein, he decided to employ it as both he and his opponent were KG fans. Leningrad 1960 was a barn burner. 1. e4 e5 2. f4 e:f5 3. Nf3 d5 4. e:d5 Bd6 5. Nc3 Ne7 6. d4 O-O 7. Bd3 Ne4 8. O-O h6 9. Ne4 N:d5 10. c4 Ne3 11. Be3 f:e3 12. c5 Be7 13. Bc2 Re8 14. Qd3 e2 15. Nd6! Nf8 16. N:f7 e:f1/Q+ 17. R:f1 Bf5 18. Q:f5 Qd7 19. Qf4 Bf6 20. N/3e5 Qe7 21. Bb3 B:e5 22. N:e5+ Kh7 23. Qe4+ Black resigns.
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