The Evans Gambit is a
chess opening
A chess opening or simply an opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established theory; the other phases are the middlegame and the endgame. Many opening sequences have standard names such as the "Sicilian Defens ...
characterised by the moves:
:1.
e4 e5
:2.
Nf3 Nc6
:3.
Bc4 Bc5
:4.
b4
The Evans Gambit is an aggressive line of the
Giuoco Piano
The Giuoco Piano (Italian: "Quiet Game"; ), also called the Italian Opening, is a chess opening beginning with the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. Nf3 Nc6
:3. Bc4 Bc5
"White aims to develop quickly – but so does Black. White can construct a pawn cen ...
. White offers a pawn to divert the black bishop on c5. If Black accepts, White can follow up with c3 and d4, ripping open the , while also opening diagonals to play Ba3 or Qb3 at some point, preventing Black from castling and threatening the f7-pawn, respectively. If Black declines, the b4-pawn stakes out on the queenside, and White can follow up with a4 later in the game, potentially gaining a
tempo
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...
by threatening to trap Black's .
According to
Reuben Fine
Reuben C. Fine (October 11, 1914 – March 26, 1993) was an American chess player, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology. He was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the mi ...
, the Evans Gambit poses a challenge for Black since the usual defences (playing ...d6 and/or returning the gambit pawn) are more difficult to achieve than with other
gambit
A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage.
The word '' gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe sim ...
s. (Fine was once beaten by this gambit in a against
Bobby Fischer
Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11 ...
, in just 17 moves.)
The ''
Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
The ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' () is a reference work describing the state of opening theory in chess, originally published in five volumes from 1974 to 1979 by the Serbian company Šahovski Informator (Chess Informant). It is current ...
'' has two codes for the Evans Gambit, C51 and C52.
*C51: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4
*C52: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5
History
The gambit is named after the Welsh sea captain,
William Davies Evans
Captain William Davies Evans (27 January 1790 – 3 August 1872) was a seafarer and inventor, though he is best known today as a chess player. He is buried at the Belgian port of Ostend.
Early life
Evans was born at St Dogwells, Pembrokeshire ...
, the first player known to have played it. The first game with the opening is considered to be Evans–
McDonnell
The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded on July 6, 1939, by James Smith McDonnell, and was best known for its military fighters, including the F-4 Phantom I ...
, London 1827, although in that game a slightly different move order was tried (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0-0 d6 and only now 5.b4). In his monthly ''
Chess Life
The monthly ''Chess Life'' and bi-monthly ''Chess Life Kids'' (formerly ''School Mates'' and ''Chess Life for Kids'') are the official magazines published by the United States Chess Federation (US Chess). ''Chess Life'' is advertised as the "most ...
'' column,
Andrew Soltis
Andrew Eden Soltis (born May 28, 1947) is an American chess grandmaster, author and columnist. He was inducted into the United States Chess Hall of Fame in September 2011.
Chess career
Soltis learned how the chess pieces moved at age 10 when he ...
commented that Evans was "the first player to be widely honored for an opening we ''know'' he played".
The first analysis of the gambit was published in the ''Second Series of Progressive Lessons'' (1832) by
William Lewis. The gambit became very popular and was played several times in the series of games between McDonnell and
Louis de la Bourdonnais in 1834. Players including
Adolf Anderssen
Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen (July 6, 1818 – March 13, 1879)"Anderssen, Adolf" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 385. was a German chess master. He won the great interna ...
,
Paul Morphy
Paul Charles Morphy (June 22, 1837 – July 10, 1884) was an American chess player. He is considered to have been the greatest chess master of his era and is often considered the unofficial World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he was ca ...
and
Mikhail Chigorin
Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin (also ''Tchigorin''; russian: Михаи́л Ива́нович Чиго́рин; – ) was a Russian chess player. He played two World Championship matches against Wilhelm Steinitz, losing both times. The last great ...
later took it up. The
Evergreen Game
The Evergreen Game is a famous chess game won by Adolf Anderssen against Jean Dufresne in 1852.
This was probably an . At the time, there was no formal title of "World Champion", but the German mathematics professor Anderssen was widely conside ...
won by Adolf Anderssen against
Jean Dufresne
Jean Dufresne (14 February 1829 – 13 April 1893) was a German chess player and chess composer. He was a student of Adolf Anderssen, to whom he lost the "Evergreen game" in 1852.
Life
Dufresne was born and died in Berlin. The son of a wealthy J ...
opened with the Evans Gambit. Eventually, however, the second world chess champion
Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker (; December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign of any officially recognised World Chess Champ ...
dealt a heavy blow to the opening with a modern defensive idea: returning the pawn under favourable circumstances. The opening was out of favour for much of the 20th century, although
John Nunn
John Denis Martin Nunn (born 25 April 1955) is an English chess grandmaster, a three-time world champion in chess problem solving, a chess writer and publisher, and a mathematician. He is one of England's strongest chess players and was former ...
and
Jan Timman
Jan Timman (born 14 December 1951) is a Dutch chess grandmaster who was one of the world's leading chess players from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. At the peak of his career, he was considered to be the best non-Soviet player and was known as ...
played it in some games in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and in the 1990s,
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist and commentator. His peak rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by ...
used it in a few games (notably a famous 25-move win against
Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster and a former five-time World Chess Champion. He became the first grandmaster from India in 1988, and is one of the few players to have surpassed an Elo rating of ...
in
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
, 1995), which prompted a brief revival of interest in it.
General remarks
Accepting the gambit
The most obvious and most usual way for Black to meet the gambit is to accept it with 4...Bxb4, after which White plays 5.c3 and Black usually follows up with 5...Ba5 (5...Be7 and, less often 5...Bc5 and 5...Bd6, the Stone–Ware Defence, are also played). White usually follows up with 6.d4.
Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker (; December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign of any officially recognised World Chess Champ ...
's line is 4...Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 d6 7.0-0 Bb6 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.Qxd8+ Nxd8 10.Nxe5 Be6. This variation takes the sting out of White's attack by returning the gambit pawn and exchanging queens, and according to Fine, the resulting simplified position "is psychologically depressing for the gambit player" whose intent is usually an aggressive attack. Chigorin did a lot of analysis on the alternative 9.Qb3 Qf6 10.Bg5 Qg6 11.Bd5 Nge7 12.Bxe7 Kxe7 13.Bxc6 Qxc6 14.Nxe5 Qe6, which avoids the exchange of queens, but reached no clear verdict. Instead White often avoids this line with 7.Qb3 Qd7 8.dxe5, when Black can return the pawn with 8...Bb6 or hold onto it with 8...dxe5, though White obtains sufficient
compensation in this line.
Alternatively, Black can meet 6.d4 with 6...exd4, when White can try 7.Qb3, a move often favoured by
Nigel Short
Nigel David Short (born 1 June 1965) is an English chess grandmaster, columnist, coach, and commentator, who is the vice-president of FIDE since October 2018. Short earned the Grandmaster title at the age of 19, and was ranked third in the w ...
. 7.0-0 is traditionally met by 7...Nge7, intending to meet 8.Ng5 or 8.cxd4 with 8...d5 returning the pawn in many lines, rather than the 7...dxc3, which is well met by 8.Qb3 with a very dangerous
initiative
In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a pu ...
for the
sacrificed pawns. Alternatively, 7...d6 8.cxd4 Bb6 is known as the ''Normal Position'', in which Black is content to settle for a one-pawn advantage and White seeks compensation in the form of and a strong centre.
Declining the gambit
Alternatively, the gambit can be declined with 4...Bb6, when 5.a4 a6 is the normal continuation. But due to the loss of
tempo
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...
involved, most commentators consider declining the Evans Gambit to be weaker than accepting it, then returning the pawn at a later stage. Black can also play the rare Countergambit Variation (4...d5), but this is thought to be dubious.
Aron Nimzowitsch
Aron Nimzowitsch ( lv, Ārons Nimcovičs, russian: Аро́н Иса́евич Нимцо́вич, ''Aron Isayevich Nimtsovich''; 7 November 1886 – 16 March 1935) was a Latvian-born Danish chess player and writer. In the late 1920s, Nimz ...
states in the book ''
My System
''My System'' (german: Mein System) is a book on chess theory written by Aron Nimzowitsch. Originally over a series of five brochures from 1925 to 1927, the book—one of the early works on hypermodernism—introduced many new concepts to foll ...
'', however, that by declining the gambit Black has not lost a tempo, since the move b4 was, in the sense of development, unproductive,
as is every pawn move, if it does not bear a logical connection with the centre. For suppose after 4...Bb6 5.b5 (to make a virtue of necessity and attempt something of a demobilizing effect with the ill-moved b-pawn move), 5...Nd4 and now if 6.Nxe5, then 6...Qg5 with a strong attack.
Bishop retreats after accepting the gambit
After 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3, the bishop must move or be captured. The common retreats are listed here, with the good and bad sides of each:
5...Ba5
Black's most popular retreat according to
Chessgames.com
Chessgames.com is an Internet chess community with over 224,000 members. The site maintains a large database of chess games, where each game has its own discussion page for comments and analysis. Limited primarily to games where at least one pla ...
. It gets out of the way of White's centre pawns, and pins the c3-pawn if White plays 6.d4, but it has the drawback of removing the a5-square from the black . Black usually subsequently retreats the bishop to b6 to facilitate ...Na5, which is particularly strong when White opts for the Bc4, Qb3 approach.
5...Bc5
The second most popular retreat according to Chessgames.com, with White scoring better than after 5...Ba5. This is often played by those unfamiliar with the Evans Gambit, and is arguably inferior to 5...Ba5, because 6.d4 attacks the bishop and limits Black's options as compared with 5...Ba5 6.d4.
5...Be7
Lasker's Defence has often been considered one of the "safer" retreats and has been played by
Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster and a former five-time World Chess Champion. He became the first grandmaster from India in 1988, and is one of the few players to have surpassed an Elo rating of ...
. After 6.d4 Na5 White can attempt to maintain an initiative with 7.Be2 as played by Kasparov, or immediately recapture the pawn with 7.Nxe5.
5...Bd6
The Stone–Ware Defence, named after Henry Nathan Stone and
Preston Ware
Preston Ware Jr. (August 12, 1821 – January 29, 1890) was a US chess player. He is best known today for playing unorthodox chess openings.
Ware was born in Wrentham, Massachusetts, and died in Boston, Massachusetts.
Boston Mandarins
Ware was a ...
, reinforces the e5-pawn and has been played by several
grandmasters such as
Andrei Volokitin
Andrei Volokitin ( uk, Андрій Волокітін, ''Andriy Volokitin''; born 18 June 1986 in Lviv) is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster. He is a two-time Ukrainian champion and has competed in four Chess Olympiads, winning team gold in 2004 a ...
,
Alexander Grischuk
Alexander Igorevich Grischuk (born October 31, 1983) is a Russian chess grandmaster. Grischuk was the Russian champion in 2009. He is also a three-time world blitz chess champion (in 2006, 2012 and 2015).
He has competed in five Candidates T ...
and
Loek van Wely
Loek van Wely (born 7 October 1972) is a Dutch chess player and politician. He was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 1993, and was rated among the world's top ten in 2001 with a rating of 2714. In March 2019, he was elected to the Dutch ...
.
5...Bf8
The Mayet Defence, named after
Carl Mayet
Carl (Karl) Mayet (11 August 1810, Berlin – 18 May 1868, Stettin, now Szczecin) was a German chess master. He was one of the most original of the Berlin Pleiades (the seven stars of German chess).
In 1839, Mayet defeated Jozsef Szen in a match ...
, is played very rarely.
In popular culture
The Evans Gambit is referenced in episode 15 of Season 3 of ''
The West Wing
''The West Wing'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the ...
'' "Hartsfield's Landing". It is the favourite opening
of
agadmator
Antonio Radić (born 16 June 1987), better known as agadmator, is a Croatian YouTuber and chess player. He has one of the most popular chess channels on YouTube, and he previously had the most subscribers of any YouTube chess channel from 2018 u ...
, a popular chess Youtuber.
See also
*
List of chess openings
This is a list of chess openings, organized by the ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' () code. In 1966, Chess Informant categorized the chess openings into five broad areas ("A" through "E"), with each of those broken down into one hundred subca ...
*
List of chess openings named after people
''The Oxford Companion to Chess'' lists 1,327 named openings and variants. Chess players' names are the most common sources of opening names. The name given to an opening is not always that of the first player to adopt it; often an opening is name ...
References
Bibliography
*
ChessCafe.com article about the Evans Gambit(PDF)
*
Handbuch des Schachspiels
''Handbuch des Schachspiels'' (''Handbook of Chess'', often simply called the ''Handbuch'') is a chess book, first published in 1843 by Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa. It was a comprehensive reference book on the game, and one of the most imp ...
*
*
*
External links
Evans Gambit video and analysisKibitzer article, part one(
PDF
Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...
file)
Fischer vs. Fine, New York 1963
{{Authority control
Chess openings
1827 in chess
1869 in chess