The McDonnell Gambit is a chess opening

gambit A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage. The word '' gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe sim ...

in the

King's Gambit 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 ...

, Classical Variation that begins with the moves:Hooper & Whyld (1996), p. 241. ''McDonnell Gambit''. :1. e4 e5 :2. f4 exf4 :3. Nf3 g5 :4. Bc4 g4 :5. Nc3 or alternatively via the Quaade Gambit:Kasparov & Keene (1982), p. 289. :4. Nc3 g4 :5. Bc4 The opening is named after Alexander McDonnell, a 19th-century Irish

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

master, who successfully introduced it in his third match with

Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais (1795 – December 1840) was a French chess master, possibly the strongest player in the early 19th century. Early life La Bourdonnais was born on the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean in 1795. He w ...

. The aim is to gain a significant lead in (

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

, and

queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

) for the sacrificed knight, followed by a attack. The McDonnell Gambit has always been much less popular for

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

than the similarly motivated Muzio Gambit (4.Bc4 g4 5.0-0). Although considered obsolete by '' MCO'', it has not been thoroughly tested.

5...gxf3

After 5... gxf3 6. Qxf3 is usual, though the wild 6.0-0 is occasionally seen. Now 6...Bh6 (as in the McDonnell–La Bourdonnais game below) is regarded as inferior. Better options for Black are: * 6... d5 7.Nxd5 Nc6 led to approximate in Charousek & Fahndrich – Halprin & Marco, Vienna 1897 after 8.0-0 Bd6 9.d4 Nxd5 10.Qh5 Be6 11.Bxf4 Bxf4 12.Nxf4 Bxc4 13.Qe5+ Kf8 14.Qxh8 Bxf1 15.Rxf1 Qf6 16.Qxh7 Qxf4. * 6... d6 7.0-0 Be6 8.Nd5 c6 9.Qc3 cxd5 10.Qxh8 dxc4 11.Qxg8 Qb6+ 12.Kh1 Nc6 13.b3 Qd4 and Black is better (analysis by J. Malkin,

Wiener Schachzeitung ''Wiener Schachzeitung'' (or ''Wiener Schach-Zeitung'', "''Viennese Chess Bulletin''") was the name of several Austrian chess periodicals published in Vienna between 1855 and 1949. Original publications (1855 and 1887-1888) The original publicat ...

1911).

McDonnell vs. La Bourdonnais, London 1834

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 g4 5. Nc3 gxf3 6. Qxf3 Bh6? 7. d4 Nc6 8. 0-0 :Continuing his policy of development over . 8... Nxd4 9. Bxf7+! :A frequently seen move in the King's Gambit as it strips away a key defensive pawn. 9... Kxf7 10. Qh5+ Kg7 11. Bxf4 Bxf4 12. Rxf4 Nf6 13. Qg5+ Kf7 14. Raf1 :McDonnell has built up a winning attack almost effortlessly. 14... Ke8 15. Rxf6 Qe7 :Looking for some with his queen and at the same time freeing a square for his king. 16. Nd5! Qc5 :One last try; if McDonnell is inattentive he could miss the 17...Nf3+! followed by 18...Nxg5 when suddenly he has a lost position. 17. Kh1! Ne6 18. Rxe6+! dxe6 19. Nf6+! :White will win the queen next move, so La Bourdonnais resigned here.

Maróczy vs. Chigorin, Vienna 1903

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 g4 5. Nc3 gxf3 6. Qxf3 d6! 7. d4 Be6 8. Nd5 White can try 8.d5 Bc8 9.Bxf4 as in Dufresne–Anderssen, Berlin 1851 ( Korchnoi).Matanović 1981 (Vol C), p. 180, n. 38. 8... c6 9. 0-0 cxd5 10. exd5 Bf5 11. Bxf4 Bg6 12. Bb5+ Nd7 13. Rae1+ Be7 14. Bxd6 Kf8? Black had a clear advantage after 14...Qb6! 15.Qa3 Qxd4 16.Rf2 Be4 17.Bxe7 Nxe7 18.d6 Rg8 19.Rxe4 Qxe4 20.Re2 Qxe2 21.Bxe2 Nc6 in Barth–Lenz, 1913 (Korchnoi). 15. Rxe7 Nxe7 16. Re1 Kg7 17. Bxe7 Qa5 18. Qe2 Nf8 19. Bf6+ Kg8 20. Qe5 h6 21. Bxh8 f6 22. Qe7 Kxh8 23. Qxf6+ Kg8 24. Re7 1–0

Alternatives to 5...gxf3

* 5...Nc6 transposes to the Hamppe–Muzio Gambit after 6.0-0, or to the Pierce Gambit after 6.d4. * 5...d5 is also likely to lead to a transposition after 6.Bxd5 gxf3 7.Qxf3 or 6.Nxd5 gxf3 7.Qxf3.

Marshall vs. Leonhardt, Hamburg 1911

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 g4 5.Nc3 d5 6.Bxd5 gxf3 7.Qxf3 Nf6 8.Qxf4 Be7 9.0-0 0-0 10.b4 a5 11.Bb2 axb4 12.Ne2 Ra6 13.Qh6 Kh8 14.Nf4 Rg8 15.Bxf7 Bf8 16.Qh5 Rg4 17.Ne6 Bg7 18.Bxf6 1–0Frank Marshall vs. Paul Saladin Leonhardt
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References

Bibliography * * * *{{cite book , editor-last=Matanović , editor-first=Aleksandar , editor-link=Aleksandar Matanović , title=

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

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Chess Informant Chess Informant (Šahovski Informator) is a publishing company from Belgrade (Serbia, former Yugoslavia) that periodically (since 2012, four volumes per year) produces a book entitled ''Chess Informant'', as well as the ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Op ...