The Irish Gambit, Chicago Gambit,Hooper & Whyld (1996), pp. 76–77. ''Chicago Gambit''. or Razzle Dazzle Gambit is a weak

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

opening Opening may refer to: Types of openings * Hole * A title sequence or opening credits * Grand opening of a business or other institution * Inauguration * Keynote * Opening sentence * Opening sequence * Opening statement, a beginning statemen ...

that begins: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Nxe5? The Chicago Gambit adds 3...Nxe5 4.d4.

Discussion

White's pawns occupy the , but the

sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...

of a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a 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. The concept of a knighthood ...

for a

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

is a very high price to pay. The gambit is accordingly considered unsound, and is almost never seen in high-level play. Remarkably however, Harold Meyer Phillips used it in an

1899 Events January * January 1 ** Spanish rule formally ends in Cuba with the cession of Spanish sovereignty to the U.S., concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.''The American Monthly Review of Reviews'' (February 1899), p ...

game in a

simultaneous exhibition A simultaneous exhibition or simultaneous display is a board game exhibition (commonly chess or Go) in which one player (typically of high rank, such as a grandmaster or dan-level player) plays multiple games at a time with a number of other pl ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

to beat

Harry Nelson Pillsbury Harry Nelson Pillsbury (December 5, 1872 – June 17, 1906) was a leading American chess player. At the age of 22, he won the Hastings 1895 chess tournament, one of the strongest tournaments of the time, but his illness and early death prevente ...

, one of the strongest players in the world at the time. The moves 3...Nxe5 followed by 4.d4 (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nxe5 Nxe5 4.d4) became known as the Chicago Gambit. An apocryphal tale is told of the anonymous inventor of the gambit. On his deathbed, when asked what subtle idea lay behind the gambit, his last words were reportedly: "I hadn't seen the king's pawn was defended."Hooper & Whyld (1996), p. 182. ''Irish Gambit''. A similar line is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nxe5, the

Halloween Gambit The Halloween Gambit (also known as the Müller–Schulze Gambit or Leipzig Gambit) is an aggressive chess opening gambit in which White sacrifices a knight early on for a single pawn. The opening is an offshoot of the normally staid Four Knights ...

. It is also considered dubious, but is sounder than the Irish Gambit, because White can gain by chasing both of Black's knights while occupying the center. White has won a number of short games with the Halloween Gambit.

References

Bibliography *{{cite book , last1=Hooper , first1=David , authorlink1=David Vincent Hooper , last2=Whyld , first2=Kenneth , authorlink2=Kenneth Whyld , title=

The Oxford Companion to Chess ''The Oxford Companion to Chess'' is a reference book on the game of chess written by David Vincent Hooper and Kenneth Whyld. The book is written in an encyclopedia format. The book belongs to the Oxford Companions series. Details The first ed ...

, publisher=

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, year=1996 , edition=2nd , orig-date=First pub. 1992 , isbn=0-19-280049-3 Chess openings 1899 in chess

Discussion

See also

References