A recent forum post about the King’s Gambit prompted me to pull David Bronstein’s 200 Open Games.  This is a sweet collection of Bronstein’s games that began 1 e4 e5, and it is available from Dover for $9.95.  As just about everyone knows, Bronstein played the King’s Gambit against high level competition and had good success with it, even though it is no longer regarded as a strong opening try for White.

            At least that is what theory says, as far as I know, and the forum thread I mentioned was full of the usual passionate arguments about whether the King’s Gambit was sound or not.  There were also pictures of waffles as I recall.  But anyway, as someone who often responds to 1 e4 with 1…e5, I have usually accepted the gambit and used the line that Bobby Fischer recommended, namely 1 e4 e5 2 f4 ef 2 Nf3 d6 and done quite well.  However I find it very interesting that two outstanding repertoire books, namely Marin’s Beating the Open Games and Davies’ Play 1 e4 e5! recommend declining the gambit with 1 e4 e5 2 f4 Bc5.  They don’t say why either.  Maybe it’s because they think accepting the gambit is too complicated for “club” players?  Or perhaps because there are sacrificial lines in the King’s Gambit Accepted that allow White to draw, whereas in the King’s Gambit Declined it is easier to get a game where both sides can just play chess?  Who knows.

            But here is what Marin says about Akiba Rubenstein, one of the giants of positional play, and the King’s Gambit: “The great Pole had played the King’s Gambit in tournament games no fewer than 22 times, obtaining a devastating score of 19 points against reasonably strong opposition(including grandmasters) … I have the impression that he played 1 e4 only when he had reasons to believe that the answer would be 1…e5.  Or, in other words, his main repertoire consisted of 1 d4 and the King’s Gambit … The fact that one of the greatest ever positional players resorted to the King’s Gambit on a regular basis strongly suggests that this is more than just an adventurous opening.

            So it sounds like Marin has doubts as to Black’s prospects if he accepts the King’s Gambit. 

Marin goes on to analyze the King’s Gambit Declined, and the majority of his lines lead at best to equality for Black.  Hardly the attitude of a player who wants to win badly, even if it involves accepting a pawn and defending for a while. 

            This brings up a good point to consider if you intend to reply to 1 e4 with 1…e5.  In many of the lines White either maintains the initiative for a long time and Black needs to carefully equalize.  If you want to counterattack from the outset and keep the position unbalanced, you need to play the Sicilian Defence.

But back to Bronstein!  In looking through his games with the King’s Gambit I found this one, from 1963, where he played a Soviet computer.  See if you can calculate the mate in 10!