BELOW is an article I posted in April, which fits into the current 'Secret' Gambit series as it covers a gambit against the French Defence that is very little-known.
HERE is another way to spice up a repertoire, and, believe it or not, it can be played against both the French Defence and the main way of declining the Queen's Gambit.
The same position is reached after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c4!? and 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.e4!?
As far as I can recall, I came up with the idea during an idle moment at a tournament in the Czech Republic four years ago
After the natural continuation 3...dxe4 4.Nc3 Nf6, the position resembles a Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6).
The extra moves in the first diagram - c4 for White, ...e6 for Black - have interesting effects.
Having a pawn on c4 gives White extra control in the centre. It keeps a black piece off the d5 square, and makes it easier, and probably more advantageous, to meet ...c5 with d5.
This costs a tempo, which Black has used to open a diagonal for his dark-square bishop. But playing ...e6 rules out developing the light-square bishop to f5 or g4, which is a common occurrence in the regular Blackmar-Diemer Gambit.
All in all, it could be argued this is an improved BDG, and certainly one in which Black cannot rely on having memorised a recommended antidote.
But perhaps there really is nothing new under the sun, for on checking in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database I found long-time US champion Frank Marshall played 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c4!? four times in 1911 alone, while the move-order 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.e4!? is known from a game in the 1983 Armenian U18 Championship.
Here is Emil Diemer, of Blackmar-Diemer fame, using yet another move-order:
Diemer - Ewald Habermann
Zemgalis Farewell Tournament (Stuttgart) 1951
1.d4 d5 2.e4 e6 3.c4!?
Many BDG enthusiasts, when deprived of their favourite opening by 2...e6, play 3.Be3!?, which is known as the Alapin French.
3...dxe4 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.f3!? exf3
Black does not have to accept the gambit, as grandmaster Alexei Barsov showed in a 2004 game when he played 5...Bb4!? His 2067-rated opponent replied 6.Bg5, but could not find a decent answer to Barsov's continuation 6...c5. Better tries would seem to be 6.a3, as Marshall played in a draw in his 1911 match against Boris Kostić, and 6.Be3. Indeed, Be3 might be better played at move five, as I will show in the next game.
6.Nxf3 Bb4!?
As Barsov was later to do, Habermann makes full use of having opened the f8-a3 diagonal. More popular, however, is 6...Be7 7.Bd3 0-0, although the engines reckon White has fairly decent compensation for his pawn-minus (Stockfish10 reckons the position is level; Komodo10 gives Black a slight edge).
7.Bd3 Bxc3+!?
This is somewhat reminiscent of Black capturing on c3 in lines of the Göring Gambit Accepted, but the engines much prefer 7...c5 or 7...0-0.
8.bxc3 0-0
Here the engines give 8...Nbd7 or 8...b6, but with advantage for White.
9.0-0 c5 10.Bg5 Nbd7 11.Ne5 cxd4?
This allows a winning attack against Black's king, so the engines prefer 11...h6 12.Bh4 g5, but this also gives White a very dangerous attack.
12.Nxd7 Bxd7 13.Rxf6!?
Also winning is the simple 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.Bxh7+ Kxh7 15.Qh5+ Kg8 16.Qg4+ Kh8 17.Rf3 etc.
13...gxf6?
Best-play, according to the engines, is 13...dxc3 14.Qh5 g6 15.Qh4 Qb6+ 16.Kh1 Qd6 17.Bc2, when White has a huge attack as well as a bishop for three pawns.
14.Qh5 1-0
**********
Alexander Ianovsky (2202) - Vladimir Tchoubar (2390)
Kiev Independence Cup 2002
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c4!? dxe4 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Be3!?
This can be played with the idea of following up with f3 only after Black has committed to ...Be7, thus meaning ...Bb4 would come with loss of tempo. But more often the idea is to dispense with f3, certainly in the short term, and instead prepare long castling, a plan which should appeal to the attack-minded.
5...Be7
Black played ...Bb4 anyway in Spanton (1923) - Ivo Škvír (1599), Olomouc Open 2016. There followed 6.Qb3 Bxc3+ 7.Qxc3 0-0, when 8.Ne2, intending Ng3, was the way to go, according to the engines, although they prefer Black.
6.Qc2 c5 7.d5!?
As I pointed out in the introduction, one of the advantages of having played c4 is that it makes it easier to reply to ...c5 with d5.
7...exd5 8.cxd5 Bf5
Not 8...Nxd5?? as 9.0-0-0 Be6 10.Nxd5 Bxd5 11.Bc4 wins for White.
9.0-0-0
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
9...0-0??
A remarkable mistake for a 2390 to make.
Blockading the passed pawn with 9...Bd6 makes sense. The engines then reckon Black has a small edge, but, with Black almost certainly castling short, the position is unclear.
10.d6 Bxd6 11.Nb5 Ne8 12.Qd2?!
Stronger is the simple 12.Nxd6 Nxd6 13.Qxc5.
12...Nc6 13.Nxd6 Nxd6 14.Qxd6 Qa5!?
Black's best try, according to the engines.
15.Qxc5 Qxa2 16.Qa3 (1-0, 29 moves)
**********
Here is a look at what can happen when Black tries to spoil White's fun by refusing to capture on e4, typically by playing 3...c6!?
Richard K Delaune (2365) - Alexander Passov (2290)
Eastern Open (Washington DC) 1997
(The game reached the diagram position via the move-order 1.c4 c6 2.e4 e6 3.d4 d5)
4.e5!?
Komodo10's choice, 4.Nc3, is marginally more popular in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database, while Stockfish10 likes 4.exd5. Grandmasters have played all three moves, and 4.cxd5. Suffice it to say there is no consensus on how either player should proceed.
4...dxc4!?
This has been played by Alexander Shabalov, but the most-popular move, at least in Mega20, is 4...c5, whereupon Stockfish10 reckons White gets an edge with 5.Nf3 and 5.cxd5, but Komodo10 reckons both moves lead to equality.
5.Bxc4 Nbd7?!
The most-popular move, albeit from a small sample size, in Mega20. Black's idea is that this knight will hit White's light-square bishop with ...Nb6, while his other knight will occupy the outpost square d5. But it seems the plan is too slow, not least because it takes the queen's knight two tempi to reach b6, so no tempo is being gained on the white light-square bishop.
Shabalov has three times played 5...c5, when 6.d5!?, as first played in Igor Stohl (2530) - Shabalov (2465), Werfen (Austria) 1990, is very interesting. Shabalov replied 6...a6 (the engines prefer 6...exd5) and drew against Stohl's 7.Nc3. Shabalov again played 6...a6 when he had the same position 17 years later against Zviad Izoria. The Georgian grandmaster tried 7.Qf3, but lost in only 24 moves. However, the engines are adamant White has the upper hand after the simple 7.d6!? As with many lines in the 'New BDG', we are on fresh ground from an early stage, and it is very difficult to know where the truth lies.
6.Nf3 Nb6 7.Bd3
The bishop takes the chance to eye h7, as it would not seem to have many prospects on b3.
7...Ne7 8.Nc3 Ned5 9.Ne4 Be7 10.a3!?
White takes time-out to prevent Black's pieces from using the b4 square.
The engines reckon White is also much better after 10.0-0, and if 10...Nb4, then one line they give goes 11.Bb1 h6 12.a3 N4d5 13.Ne1!? with the idea of following up with Qf3 or Qg4.
10...0-0 11.h4!? f5
This comes to be Stockfish10's choice. The problem with Komodo10's 11...Kh8 is 12.Neg5, eg 12...h6 13.Bb1!, when Komodo10 reckons 13...g6 'only' gives White the upper hand, but as soon as the move is played on the board it comes up with 14.h5! with what the engines agree is a winning attack.
12.exf6 gxf6 13.Qe2 Qc7
Komodo10's choice, but Stockfish10 does not like it because of the reply ...
14.Neg5!
… whereupon Komodo10 agrees with the game's …
14...fxg5
… but Black seems to be busted after …
15.hxg5 Kg7
The engines reckon best is 15...Rf5 16.Ne5 Bd6, but then Stockfish10's 17.g6 Bxe5 18.Rxh7 seems to be winning, eg 18...Bg7 19.Bxf5 Qd6 20.Rxg7+! Kxg7 21.Qh5 Nf6 22.Qh6+ Kg8 23.Bd3, when White is a piece-for-two-pawns down but has a raging attack. The tactics are sharp and the line is quite long, but Black's position has been difficult to play from an early stage.
16.Ne5+ Ke8 17.Rxh7 Kd8
The only alternative, according to the engines, is 17...Nd7, but then 18.Qh5+ Kd8 19.Nf7+ Rxf7 20.Rxf7 is simply winning for White.
18.g6 Nf6 19.Bf4
Black's queen is trapped, despite being deep in its own half of the board (1-0, 34 moves).
**********
CONCLUSIONS
The 'New BDG' is probably no better, but no worse, than the traditional Blackmar-Diemer Gambit.
Its main advantage for the practical player is that, over-the-board, Black will have to start thinking from move three, rather than following a memorised BDG antidote.
The main differences are that, in the New BDG, White has more central control while Black has a tempo more for development (but with a restricted light-square bishop).
This means, generally speaking, White is less likely to produce a quick knockout blow (not withstanding Diemer - Habermann), but can afford to, and should, build up more slowly.
Assuming Black captures on e4, White neither has to rush to make the gambit permanent with f3, nor rush to try to win the pawn back - after all, it is a doubled-pawn that may fall in due course anyway.
The position after 3...dxe4 has had no modern tests at the highest level, and possibly never will, but it will continue to appear from time-to-time in club chess.
The same position is reached after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c4!? and 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.e4!?
As far as I can recall, I came up with the idea during an idle moment at a tournament in the Czech Republic four years ago
After the natural continuation 3...dxe4 4.Nc3 Nf6, the position resembles a Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6).
 |
| Position after 4...Nf6 in the 'New BDG' |
 |
| Position after 3...Nf6 in the regular BDG |
Having a pawn on c4 gives White extra control in the centre. It keeps a black piece off the d5 square, and makes it easier, and probably more advantageous, to meet ...c5 with d5.
This costs a tempo, which Black has used to open a diagonal for his dark-square bishop. But playing ...e6 rules out developing the light-square bishop to f5 or g4, which is a common occurrence in the regular Blackmar-Diemer Gambit.
All in all, it could be argued this is an improved BDG, and certainly one in which Black cannot rely on having memorised a recommended antidote.
But perhaps there really is nothing new under the sun, for on checking in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database I found long-time US champion Frank Marshall played 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c4!? four times in 1911 alone, while the move-order 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.e4!? is known from a game in the 1983 Armenian U18 Championship.
Here is Emil Diemer, of Blackmar-Diemer fame, using yet another move-order:
Diemer - Ewald Habermann
Zemgalis Farewell Tournament (Stuttgart) 1951
1.d4 d5 2.e4 e6 3.c4!?
Many BDG enthusiasts, when deprived of their favourite opening by 2...e6, play 3.Be3!?, which is known as the Alapin French.
3...dxe4 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.f3!? exf3
Black does not have to accept the gambit, as grandmaster Alexei Barsov showed in a 2004 game when he played 5...Bb4!? His 2067-rated opponent replied 6.Bg5, but could not find a decent answer to Barsov's continuation 6...c5. Better tries would seem to be 6.a3, as Marshall played in a draw in his 1911 match against Boris Kostić, and 6.Be3. Indeed, Be3 might be better played at move five, as I will show in the next game.
6.Nxf3 Bb4!?
As Barsov was later to do, Habermann makes full use of having opened the f8-a3 diagonal. More popular, however, is 6...Be7 7.Bd3 0-0, although the engines reckon White has fairly decent compensation for his pawn-minus (Stockfish10 reckons the position is level; Komodo10 gives Black a slight edge).
7.Bd3 Bxc3+!?
This is somewhat reminiscent of Black capturing on c3 in lines of the Göring Gambit Accepted, but the engines much prefer 7...c5 or 7...0-0.
8.bxc3 0-0
Here the engines give 8...Nbd7 or 8...b6, but with advantage for White.
9.0-0 c5 10.Bg5 Nbd7 11.Ne5 cxd4?
This allows a winning attack against Black's king, so the engines prefer 11...h6 12.Bh4 g5, but this also gives White a very dangerous attack.
12.Nxd7 Bxd7 13.Rxf6!?
Also winning is the simple 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.Bxh7+ Kxh7 15.Qh5+ Kg8 16.Qg4+ Kh8 17.Rf3 etc.
13...gxf6?
Best-play, according to the engines, is 13...dxc3 14.Qh5 g6 15.Qh4 Qb6+ 16.Kh1 Qd6 17.Bc2, when White has a huge attack as well as a bishop for three pawns.
14.Qh5 1-0
**********
Alexander Ianovsky (2202) - Vladimir Tchoubar (2390)
Kiev Independence Cup 2002
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c4!? dxe4 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Be3!?
This can be played with the idea of following up with f3 only after Black has committed to ...Be7, thus meaning ...Bb4 would come with loss of tempo. But more often the idea is to dispense with f3, certainly in the short term, and instead prepare long castling, a plan which should appeal to the attack-minded.
5...Be7
Black played ...Bb4 anyway in Spanton (1923) - Ivo Škvír (1599), Olomouc Open 2016. There followed 6.Qb3 Bxc3+ 7.Qxc3 0-0, when 8.Ne2, intending Ng3, was the way to go, according to the engines, although they prefer Black.
6.Qc2 c5 7.d5!?
As I pointed out in the introduction, one of the advantages of having played c4 is that it makes it easier to reply to ...c5 with d5.
7...exd5 8.cxd5 Bf5
Not 8...Nxd5?? as 9.0-0-0 Be6 10.Nxd5 Bxd5 11.Bc4 wins for White.
9.0-0-0
 |
| How should Black proceed? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
9...0-0??
A remarkable mistake for a 2390 to make.
Blockading the passed pawn with 9...Bd6 makes sense. The engines then reckon Black has a small edge, but, with Black almost certainly castling short, the position is unclear.
10.d6 Bxd6 11.Nb5 Ne8 12.Qd2?!
Stronger is the simple 12.Nxd6 Nxd6 13.Qxc5.
12...Nc6 13.Nxd6 Nxd6 14.Qxd6 Qa5!?
Black's best try, according to the engines.
15.Qxc5 Qxa2 16.Qa3 (1-0, 29 moves)
**********
Here is a look at what can happen when Black tries to spoil White's fun by refusing to capture on e4, typically by playing 3...c6!?
Richard K Delaune (2365) - Alexander Passov (2290)
Eastern Open (Washington DC) 1997
 |
| Position after 3...c6!? |
4.e5!?
Komodo10's choice, 4.Nc3, is marginally more popular in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database, while Stockfish10 likes 4.exd5. Grandmasters have played all three moves, and 4.cxd5. Suffice it to say there is no consensus on how either player should proceed.
4...dxc4!?
This has been played by Alexander Shabalov, but the most-popular move, at least in Mega20, is 4...c5, whereupon Stockfish10 reckons White gets an edge with 5.Nf3 and 5.cxd5, but Komodo10 reckons both moves lead to equality.
5.Bxc4 Nbd7?!
The most-popular move, albeit from a small sample size, in Mega20. Black's idea is that this knight will hit White's light-square bishop with ...Nb6, while his other knight will occupy the outpost square d5. But it seems the plan is too slow, not least because it takes the queen's knight two tempi to reach b6, so no tempo is being gained on the white light-square bishop.
Shabalov has three times played 5...c5, when 6.d5!?, as first played in Igor Stohl (2530) - Shabalov (2465), Werfen (Austria) 1990, is very interesting. Shabalov replied 6...a6 (the engines prefer 6...exd5) and drew against Stohl's 7.Nc3. Shabalov again played 6...a6 when he had the same position 17 years later against Zviad Izoria. The Georgian grandmaster tried 7.Qf3, but lost in only 24 moves. However, the engines are adamant White has the upper hand after the simple 7.d6!? As with many lines in the 'New BDG', we are on fresh ground from an early stage, and it is very difficult to know where the truth lies.
6.Nf3 Nb6 7.Bd3
The bishop takes the chance to eye h7, as it would not seem to have many prospects on b3.
7...Ne7 8.Nc3 Ned5 9.Ne4 Be7 10.a3!?
White takes time-out to prevent Black's pieces from using the b4 square.
The engines reckon White is also much better after 10.0-0, and if 10...Nb4, then one line they give goes 11.Bb1 h6 12.a3 N4d5 13.Ne1!? with the idea of following up with Qf3 or Qg4.
10...0-0 11.h4!? f5
This comes to be Stockfish10's choice. The problem with Komodo10's 11...Kh8 is 12.Neg5, eg 12...h6 13.Bb1!, when Komodo10 reckons 13...g6 'only' gives White the upper hand, but as soon as the move is played on the board it comes up with 14.h5! with what the engines agree is a winning attack.
12.exf6 gxf6 13.Qe2 Qc7
Komodo10's choice, but Stockfish10 does not like it because of the reply ...
14.Neg5!
… whereupon Komodo10 agrees with the game's …
14...fxg5
… but Black seems to be busted after …
15.hxg5 Kg7
The engines reckon best is 15...Rf5 16.Ne5 Bd6, but then Stockfish10's 17.g6 Bxe5 18.Rxh7 seems to be winning, eg 18...Bg7 19.Bxf5 Qd6 20.Rxg7+! Kxg7 21.Qh5 Nf6 22.Qh6+ Kg8 23.Bd3, when White is a piece-for-two-pawns down but has a raging attack. The tactics are sharp and the line is quite long, but Black's position has been difficult to play from an early stage.
16.Ne5+ Ke8 17.Rxh7 Kd8
The only alternative, according to the engines, is 17...Nd7, but then 18.Qh5+ Kd8 19.Nf7+ Rxf7 20.Rxf7 is simply winning for White.
18.g6 Nf6 19.Bf4
Black's queen is trapped, despite being deep in its own half of the board (1-0, 34 moves).
**********
CONCLUSIONS
The 'New BDG' is probably no better, but no worse, than the traditional Blackmar-Diemer Gambit.
Its main advantage for the practical player is that, over-the-board, Black will have to start thinking from move three, rather than following a memorised BDG antidote.
The main differences are that, in the New BDG, White has more central control while Black has a tempo more for development (but with a restricted light-square bishop).
This means, generally speaking, White is less likely to produce a quick knockout blow (not withstanding Diemer - Habermann), but can afford to, and should, build up more slowly.
Assuming Black captures on e4, White neither has to rush to make the gambit permanent with f3, nor rush to try to win the pawn back - after all, it is a doubled-pawn that may fall in due course anyway.
The position after 3...dxe4 has had no modern tests at the highest level, and possibly never will, but it will continue to appear from time-to-time in club chess.
