The Tennison Gambit is a
chess opening
A chess opening or simply an opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established theory; the other phases are the middlegame and the endgame. Many opening sequences have standard names such as the "Sicilian Defens ...
in which
White gambits a
pawn. The opening moves begin with either the
Zukertort Opening:
:1.
Nf3 d5 2. e4
or the
Scandinavian Defense
The Scandinavian Defense (or Center Counter Defense, or Center Counter Game) is a chess opening characterized by the moves:
:1. e4 d5
This opening is classified under code B01 in the ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' (). The Scandinavian ...
:
:1.
e4 d5 2. Nf3
The ''
Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' 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''.](_blank)
/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. 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
An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...
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, o ...
. 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.
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)
See also
* List of chess gambits
References
Further reading
* Bekemann, Uwe. (2016). ''Better late than never – The Tennison Gambit''. Schachverlag Ullrich.
* Lutes, John. (2002). ''Tennison Gambit''. Chess Enterprises.
{{Chess, state=collapsed
18th century in chess
1854 in chess
1854 introductions
Chess openings