I cannot recall when I last witnessed someone playing that way over the board.
Much rarer still is when such a strategy is used against the King's Gambit's cousin, the Vienna Gambit.
But here is an example that helped 12-year-old José Capablanca win a match for the championship of his native Cuba.
Notes in italics are algebraicised from 500 Master Games Of Chess by Savielly Tartakower and Julius du Mont.
Juan Corzo - Capablanca
Match Game Eight (Havana), 1901
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4!? exf4
Stockfish15 and Komodo13.02 reckon the text, which is easily the main move in ChessBase's 2022 Mega database, gives Black an edge, but it is certainly not to everyone's taste, especially as one can be sure White will have studied the consequences of the capture.
4.Nf3 g5
The 'classical defence'.
5.h4 g4 6.Ng5
The chances of this, the Hampe-Allgaier Gambit, are, in practical play, considerable.
The only alternative, 6.Ng1, casts doubt on White's entire opening plan.
6...h6 7.Nxf7 Kxf7 8.d4
More sustained is 8.Bc4+. An interesting attempt, in place of the text, is 8.Qxg4.
The engines reckon Corzo's move is best, and, despite Black being a whole knight up, give Black only the upper hand, rather than a winning advantage.
8...d5
Most incisive. A playable defence is also 8...f3. A less stubborn defence is 8...d6.
The engines strongly dislike Capablanca's choice, preferring 8...d6 and especially 8...f3.
9.exd5?!
Or, eg 9.Bxf4 Bb4 10.e5 (10.Bb5 Nge7) Be6 11.Be2 Qd7 12.0-0 Kg7, and Black succeeds in consolidating his position. Black's refutation of the text move is very effective.
The engines disagree with quite a lot of this analysis, especially the dismissal of 10.Bb5!?, which does not appear in Mega22 but which the engines reckon gives White the upper hand.
9...Qe7+ 10.Kf2
Not 10.Kd2 Qe3#. And if 10.Be2, [then] 10...f3 etc, or 10.Qe2 Nxd4.
10.Be2 f3 was played in match game six. It gives Black a winning advantage, although Capablanca later went wrong and only drew.
10...g3+ 11.Kg1
White's king is in a trap. Black's problem is how to take advantage of the fact.
 |
| What should Black play? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
11...Nxd4!
A far-seeing manoeuvre.
Other moves leave White at least equal, according to the engines.
12.Qxd4
If 12.Bxf4 [then] 12...Nf5.
12...Qc5 13.Ne2
He can neither play 13.Qxc5 Bxc5+, with mate to follow, nor 13.Be3 fxe3 14.Qxh8 e2+ etc.
13...Qb6
A beautiful point with tangible results: an immediate threat, 14...Bc5, and a distant threat of the QR obtaining control of a file after the exchange of queens.
14.Qxb6
The engines give 14.b4!? Bxb4 15.Be3!? fxe3 16.Qxh8 Qf6 17.Qxf6+ Nxf6 18.Nxg3, when Black is the exchange down but, according to the engines, has more than enough compensation, albeit Black is not as much ahead as in the game.
14...axb6 15.Nd4 Bc5 16.c3 Ra4
The final point of the combination.
17.Be2 Bxd4+ 18.cxd4 Rxd4
And, on balance, a valuable extra pawn for Black.
19.b3 Nf6
Neither now, nor on the next move, 19...Rxd5 20.Bc4.
20.Bb2
Combinative, but 20.Bf3 is better.
20...Rd2 21.Bh5+ Nxh5!? 22.Bxh8 f3
A 'vacating advance'.
23.gxf3 Nf4 24.Be5 Rg2+ 25.Kf1 Rf2+ 26.Ke1 Nd3+ 0-1
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