The Falkbeer Countergambit 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 ...
that begins:
:1.
e4 e5
:2.
f4 d5
In this aggressive , Black disdains the
pawn offered as a
sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
, instead opening the to exploit White's weakness on the . After the standard capture, 3.exd5, Black may reply with 3...exf4,
transposing into the
King's Gambit Accepted
The King's Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. f4
White offers a pawn to divert the black e-pawn. If Black accepts the gambit, White has two main plans. The first is to play d4 and Bxf4, regaining the gambit p ...
, 3...e4, or the more modern 3...c6.
A well-known blunder in this opening is White's reply 3.fxe5, which after 3...Qh4+, either loses after 4.g3 Qxe4+,
forking the king and rook, or severely exposes the white king to the black pieces after 4.Ke2 Qxe4+ 5.Kf2 Bc5+.
The opening bears the name of Austrian master
Ernst Falkbeer who played it in an 1851 game against
Adolf Anderssen. The ''
Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' codes for the Falkbeer Countergambit are C31 and C32.
Old Main line: 3...e4
In this variation, Black's
compensation for the sacrificed pawn primarily consists of his lead in , coupled with the exposure of White's king. A typical line may run: 4.d3 Nf6 5.dxe4 Nxe4 6.Nf3 Bc5, where Black aims for the weakness on f2. In
Maehrisch-Ostrau
Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rive ...
1923, a game between
Rudolf Spielmann and
Siegbert Tarrasch continued: 7.Qe2 Bf5 (this was condemned by the ''Handbuch des Schachspiels'' because of White's next, though Black had already gotten into difficulties in the game
Réti–
Breyer, Budapest 1917, where 7...f5 8.Nfd2 Bf2+ 9.Kd1 Qxd5 10.Nc3 was played) 8.g4 (in retrospect, prudent was 8.Nc3) 8...0-0 9.gxf5 Re8 and Black has a tremendous position, as he is bound to regain material and White's positional deficiencies will remain.
This line fell out of favour after
World War II, as Black encountered difficulties, with players eventually turning to the next idea.
Nimzovich Variation: 3...c6
This has become the most commonly played move after 3.exd5, with its most notable advocate being
John Nunn. It is usually attributed to
Aron Nimzowitsch, who successfully played it in
Spielmann–Nimzovich, Munich 1906.
Frank Marshall actually introduced the move to master play, however, at Ostend 1905, defeating
Richard Teichmann in 34 moves. Annotating that game in his 1914 book ''Marshall's Chess "Swindles"'', Marshall described his 3...c6 as "An innovation."
[''Marshall's Chess "Swindles"'', '' American Chess Bulletin'', 1914, p. 119.]
Although Black won both of those games, 3...c6 languished in obscurity for many years thereafter. White can respond with 4.Qe2, despite the drastic defeat inflicted on the young
Alexander Alekhine by
Paul Johner at Carlsbad 1911, although 4.Nc3 exf4 is much more common. The resulting positions are analogous to the
Modern Defence of the King's Gambit Accepted, in which White strives to utilise his 4–2 pawn , with Black relying on his piece activity and cramping pawn at f4 to play against White's king.
Theory has not reached a definitive verdict, but the resulting positions are believed to offer Black more chances than 3...e4.
See also
*
List of chess openings
*
List of chess openings named after people
References
External links
{{wikibooks, Chess Opening Theory, 1. e4/1...e5/2. f4/2...d5, Falkbeer Countergambit
Falkbeer Countergambit video and analysis
Chess openings
pl:Kontrgambit#Kontrgambit Falkbeera