Play Opening Systems the Gambit Way

The Reti Gambit was introduced by Richard Reti in the 1920s. It is a hugely flexible opening allowing you to transpose to a number of major opening families. This is the power of 1.Nf3.

The gambit comes when you challenge 1...d5 with the provocative 2.c4. Can Black take and feel comfortable and confident about his future? The answer is probably not.

You now have a majority in the center and a lead in development. Black's only advantage is in material and he should not invest anything into trying to hold it. He will lose the pawn in the end anyway and his Queenside will be hopelessly compromised in the process.

The Lisitsin Gambit plays a little like the From Gambit with similar motifs. After 1.e4 f5 2.Nf3 Black can accept with 2...fxe5. You will reply with 3.Ng5. It is not advisable for Black to try to hold the pawn.

There are four main moves for Black in this position. Two are attempts to hold the material and two are developmental moves that cheerfully hand the pawn straight back.


Surprisingly 3...Nf6 and 3...d5 with poorer results are played much more often than 3...e5 and 3...Nc6. If Black obliges you and plays one of the first two moves then you will play 4.d3.

After 4...exd3 (4.e3 is an alternative) 5.Bxd3 you reach the Main Starting Position of the Lisitsin Gambit Accepted. You will play tactically with your Bishop, Knight and Queen to exploit the inherent weaknesses of the d1-h5 and h5-e8 diagonals.

The Bellon Gambit is a neat trick that appears in a well known line of the English Opening. You can play 3...e4 in an apparent attempt to harass White's f3-Knight. 4.Ng5 solves the problem and your e4-pawn faces being lost pretty soon.

Now comes the neat little trick. You can play the shocking 4...b5!? Suddenly White finds himself in a bind. 5.cxb5 allows 5...d5 supporting e4 and giving Black a fearsome center. 5.Nxe5 allows 5...c6 6.Nc3 d5.

Even 5.b3 fails against 5...b4 6.Nbxe4 h6 7.Nxf6 Qxf6. So why haven't we heard more about the Bellon? Well a solution was found. 5.d3 solves all White's problems. But then how many of your opponents are likely to find this not so obvious move?

The Halibut Gambit is another way to disrupt the English opening by deflecting the key c4-pawn. You may follow up 2.cxb5 with 2...a6 and aim for an accelerated Benko Gambit. If you can get this ...Ba6 will frustrate White's Kingside development.

White can refuse the gambit with moves like 2.Nf3, 2.d3 or 2.d4. The first of these will probably lead to a game that isn't English in nature.

It might be useful to think of this as White playing the Wing Gambit except a tempo behind. It's not a line that White should worry about unduly. If you have the White pieces you must take care and favor development over the winning of any further material after 2.cxb5.

This little idea devised by From is the most aggressive reply to Bird's Opening. It gets crazy after 2.fxe5 d6 where Black wants to open lines for both Bishops at the cost of a pawn.

After 3.exd6 Bxd6, your compensation is clear. White has no development, just a gaping hole on his soft spot f2. For the price of a pawn you have two Bishops in the game and staring down open diagonals towards the Kingside. The Queen is also poised to potentially deliver a check.

In fact Black is threatening a # in 3 through the Queen and dark square Bishop along that weak e1-h4 diagonal. If you have White here you will obviously want to prevent that with 4.Nf3. Black can then continue positionally with 4...Nf6 or dynamically with the dangerous but double-edged 4...g5.

Throw the Sturm at Black in the safe knowledge that you can get free and easy development for the pawn. As White you can also be reasonably confident of rounding up the c4-pawn sooner or later.

This is why Black usually declines the Sturm. 2...c6 and 2...e6 are the most common moves. 2...Nf6, 2...e5 and the provocative 2...d4 are also possible.

White often ends up with three pawn chains in this opening. The central trio on d2, e3 and f4 tend to point the White Queen and Bishop pair towards the Black Kingside. As Black you can depend on d-file pressure against d2 for counterplay.

This last line from Bird's Opening takes it's name from it's inventor, William L. Williams. This idea has too many holes in it to be considered at a serious level.

Having said that it can fool an amateur. Williams used it to score some quick victories against unsuspecting opponents. The first thing with this line is to be comfortable with your King playing in a slightly loose position. You won't be castling.

If you can tolerate a weak e1-h4 diagonal you may get some tactical chances if your opponent fluffs his lines. In exchange for opening up your Kingside (while your King is still hanging around there!), you can take over the center and Kingside, gaining attacking chances.

The dynamic and volatile Bird's Opening has yet another sacrificial idea for us called the Swiss. If Black tries a symmetrical reply you can choose the violent 2.e4 for the initiative.

2.e4 with a later d3 in mind gives up the pawn for a big lead in development and open lines and diagonals. As Black you will be banking on your unopposed center to give you an advantage later on. But first you must survive the onslaught.

After 2...fxe4, you have a few moves to consider as White. 3.Nc3 or 3.Bc4 are calm developing moves, the first also attacking the intruding pawn. 3.Qh5 or 3.f5 are the aggressive options with 3.f5 probably the better of these two.

The Amar Opening has some land mines as well with one of these unearthed in Paris. The Amar starts with the unusual looking 1.Nh3. The purpose of this move is to control the f4 square.

After the moves 1.Nh3? d5 2.g3 e5 3.f4?! Bxh3 4.Bxh3 exf4 5.0-0!? we reach the Starting Position of the Paris. Of course you could have just restored the material balance with 5.gxf4. But you didn't play for this position just to play some quiet rational moves did you?

As White you make the brave (or foolish!) decision to expose your King on the Kingside. All for a bold initiative. In most games the entire Kingside pawn shell disappears. White scored poorly in the database. In four out five games his King could not survive the attacks from Black's Queen, Rook and/or minor pieces.

The Grant Gambit is a risky maneuver designed to give you a lead in development and an initiative. All at the cost of a pawn and some King safety.

You get an open f-file for your Rook and play on the Kingside. The h3-Bishop will stop Black castling Queenside. He may be unsure whether to castle Kingside in front of your pieces.

Now you have to get your Queenside developed quickly and bearing down on the Black King. You need to get to the enemy King first before Black gets his Queen and minor pieces down around your vulnerable leader.

The Dada is a nice, neat little trick based around the old ploy of offering a Knight pawn as bait to an enemy Bishop. This sacrifice, if accepted, is followed up by another on the following move. Here you play the clever 4.c4! which would give your Bishops complete control of the open center.

You also have deadly resources like Qb3 up your sleeve which can exploit b7 which is unprotected in some lines. Black will need to play precisely to avoid falling victim to your traps.

Of course if you are playing with Black you don't have to accept the b4 present. It's also possible to develop a Knight with 3...Nc6 or 3...Nf6.

The Fischer Gambit, also called the Tartakower Gambit, is a ploy used to exploit Black's weaknesses on the a2-f7 diagonal. If Black accepts playing 3...Bxb4, the most common continuation will be 4.Bc4.

Your whole game plan will revolve around this diagonal and Black will struggle to castle. Of course he can decline. 3...d5, 3...Ne7 and 3...c6 have all been played regularly.

It seems very likely that the great Philidor would have loved playing this opening with either color. In most lines the battle rages as the two pawn shells go at it with the pieces waiting behind for a chance to eventually infiltrate. This gambit can build a great awareness of how to play with pawns.

The Ware Gambit is hardly a well beaten path. You start with 1.a4 which is called the Ware Opening. It seems like a wasted move which switches the advantage where White is now playing as Black and Black is playing as White.

Of course every move achieves something. When you move you take control of new squares. 1.a4 takes control of b5. The value of this move remains to be determined.

The game continues 2.a5 d5 3.e3 f5 4.a6 and this is the Starting Position of the Ware Gambit. Control of b5 is not the priority of this variation. You've allowed Black to gain the center and you are acting on the wing. If Black accepts the gambit he takes on problems with his pawn structure.