The Tennison Gambit is a chess opening in which

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 ...

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 ...

s a

pawn Pawn most often refers to: * Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous piece in the game * Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral Pawn may also refer to: Places * Pawn, Oregon, an his ...

. The opening moves begin with either the

Zukertort Opening The Zukertort Opening is a chess opening named after Johannes Zukertort that begins with the move: :1. Nf3 Sometimes the name "Réti Opening" is used for the opening move 1.Nf3, although most sources define the Réti more narrowly as the se ...

: :1. Nf3 d5
2. e4 or the Scandinavian Defense: :1. e4 d5
2. Nf3 The ''

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 ...

'' code for the Tennison Gambit is A06.

History

The first person to significantly research this opening was chess amateur Otto Mandrup Tennison (1834–1909).Wall, Bill. ''Tennison Gambit''.
/ref> Tennison was born in Denmark, studied in Germany and moved to the United States in 1854. There he played in the chess clubs of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. Many strong players picked up the idea from the first half of the 20th century.

After 2...dxe4 3.Ng5

*White intends to tempt Black to play 3...Nf6 After 4.d3 exd3 5.Bxd3 h6, White wins with 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Bg6+ Kxg6 8.Qxd8. This continuation has been referenced as the " ICBM Variation" by noted players such as IM

Levy Rozman Levy Rozman (born December 5, 1995), known online as GothamChess, is an American chess International Master and commentator. He produces content on the online platforms Twitch and YouTube. Early life Rozman was born in Brooklyn, New York, on D ...

. After 4.Bc4 e6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Ngxe4 Nxe4 7.Nxe4 b5 8.Be2 Bb7 9.Bf3 White had the advantage in Ermenkov–Bonchev, Bulgaria 1970. * 3...e5 4.Nxe4 f5! favors Black. * 3...Bf5 and Black is better. The continuation might be 4.Nc3 Nf6 and Black keeps an advantage and a pretty solid position.

Notable games

Otto M. Tennison vs. , New Orleans 1891:
1. Nf3 d5 2. e4 dxe4 3. Ng5 f5 4. Bc4 Nh6 5. Nxh7 Rxh7 6. Qh5+ Kd7 7. Qg6 Rh8 8. Be6+ Kc6 9. Bxc8+ Qd6 10. Qe8+ Kb6 11. Qa4 If 11...Qc6 then 12.Qb3+ Ka6 13.Nc3 any 14.Bxb7+; 11...e6 12.a3, etc. (Tennison)

History

After 2...dxe4 3.Ng5

Notable games

See also

References

Further reading