The Albin 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 with the moves: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 e5 and the usual continuation is: :3. dxe5 d4 The opening is an uncommon defense to the

Queen's Gambit The Queen's Gambit is the chess opening that starts with the moves: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 It is one of the oldest openings and is still commonly played today. It is traditionally described as a '' gambit'' because White appears to sacrifice the ...

. In exchange for the gambit pawn, Black has a central wedge at d4 and gets some chances for an attack. Often White will try to return the pawn at an opportune moment to gain a positional advantage. In the ''

Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings The ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' () is a reference work describing the state of Chess theory#Opening theory, opening theory in chess, originally published in five volumes from 1974 to 1979 by the Serbian company Šahovski Informator (Che ...

'' the Albin Countergambit is assigned codes D08 and D09.

History

Although this opening was originally played by Cavallotti against Salvioli at the

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

tournament of 1881, it takes its name from

Adolf Albin Adolf Albin (14 September 1848 – 22 March 1920) was a Romanian chess player. He is best known for the countergambit that bears his name and for authoring the first chess book written in Romanian. Life He was born in Bucharest, Romania t ...

, who played it against

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 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

1893. Though it is not played frequently at the master level, Russian grandmaster

Alexander Morozevich Alexander Sergeyevich Morozevich (russian: Александр Серге́евич Морозе́вич, translit=Aleksandr Sergéevich Morozévich; born July 18, 1977) is a Russian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE ...

made some successful use of it in the 2000s.

Main line

The main line continues 4. Nf3 Nc6 (4...c5 allows 5.e3 because Black no longer has the bishop check) and now White's primary options are 5.a3, 5.Nbd2, and 5.g3. Perhaps White's surest try for an advantage is to their king bishop with 5.g3 followed by Bg2 and Nbd2. Black will often

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

. A typical continuation is 5.g3 Be6 6.Nbd2 Qd7 7.Bg2 0-0-0 8.0-0 Bh3.

Variations

Lasker Trap

The black pawn at d4 is stronger than it may appear. After 3. dxe5 d4 the careless move 4.e3 can lead to the

Lasker Trap The Lasker Trap is a chess opening trap in the Albin Countergambit. It is named after Emanuel Lasker, although it was first noted by Serafino Dubois. It is unusual in that it features an underpromotion as early as the seventh move. Analysis 1. ...

. After 4...Bb4+ 5.Bd2 dxe3 6.Bxb4 is a blunder—Black plays 6...exf2+ 7.Ke2 fxg1=N+ and Black's position is superior. The Lasker Trap is notable because it is rare to see an underpromotion in practical play.

Spassky Variation

In the Spassky Variation White plays 4. e4 to take advantage of the fact that an ''

en passant ''En passant'' (, "in passing") is a method of capturing in chess that occurs when a pawn captures a horizontally adjacent enemy pawn that has just made an initial two-square advance. The capturing pawn moves to the square that the enemy pa ...

'' capture must be made immediately after the enemy pawn advances. So now after 4...Bb4+ 5.Bd2 the capture ...dxe3 is no longer available to Black.

References

Bibliography * * *
Adolf Albin and the Genesis of the Albin Counter Gambit Part I
O. G. Urcan, chesscafe.com
Adolf Albin and the Genesis of the Albin Counter Gambit Part II
O. G. Urcan, chesscafe.com

External links

{{Authority control Chess openings 1881 in chess