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Italian Game, Blackburne Shilling Gambit

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit is the name

facetiously given to a dubious chess opening, derived
from an offshoot of the Italian Game, that begins:

Blackburne Shilling Gambit

a

1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bc4 Nd4?!
It is also sometimes referred to as the Kosti Gambit
after the Serbian grandmaster Borislav Kosti, who
played it in the early 20th century.[1]

Contents
History
Analysis
See also
References
External links

1
a

1
2
3
4
5

Moves

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4

ECO

C50

Origin

Wilhelm Steinitz, The Modern Chess

Instructor, Part II, 1895

Named

History

Legend on Blackburne (see text)

after
Parent

Italian Game

Synonym(s) Kosti Gambit

Wilhelm Steinitz made the first known mention of this
line, noting it in 1895 in the Addenda to his Modern
Chess Instructor, Part II.[2] The earliest game with the opening on chessgames.com, DunlopHicks, New
Zealand Championship, dates from 1911.[3] Another early game, mentioned by Bill Wall, is Muhlock
Kosti, Cologne, 1912.[1][4]

Analysis
Black's third move is, objectively speaking, a weak, time-wasting move. Steinitz recommended 4.0-0 or
4.Nxd4 in response.[2] International Master Jeremy Silman writes that White has an advantage after 4.0-0,
4.c3, or 4.Nc3. He recommends as best 4.Nxd4! exd4 5.c3 d5 6.exd5 Qe7+ 7.Kf1 +/=, when 5...Bc5? loses a
pawn to 6.Bxf7+! Kxf7 7.Qh5+.[5]
The only virtue of 3...Nd4 is that it sets a trap that has ensnared many players. After the natural 4.Nxe5!?,
Black wins material with 4...Qg5! Now the obvious 5.Nxf7?? loses to 5...Qxg2 6.Rf1 Qxe4+ 7.Be2 Nf3#, a
smothered mate. This trap is what gives the line its name; the great English master Joseph Henry
Blackburne reputedly used it to win shillings from amateurs.[1] However, Wall has questioned this, stating

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that there are no recorded games of Blackburne with the opening.[1]

The opening is not a true gambit, since White cannot take the pawn on e5 without losing material. However,
after 4.Nxe5 Qg5, White can maintain a playable game with 5.Bxf7+! Steinitz wrote that this move,
"followed by castling, is now White's best chance and in some measure a promising one, considering that he
has two Pawns and the attack for the piece".[2] After 5...Ke7? (5...Kd8!? 6.0-0 [6.Ng4? Nh6!+] +/=) 6.0-0
Qxe5 7.Bxg8 (7.Bc4 is also possible) Rxg8 8.c3 Nc6 (8...Ne6 9.d4! Qxe4? 10.d5 Nf4?? 11.Re1 pins Black's
queen against his king and wins; Silman analyzes 9...Qf6 10.f4 when "[w]ith two pawns and an attack for
the sacrificed piece, Whites compensation isnt in doubt".[5]) 9.d4, White's two extra pawns, strong center,
and lead in development, combined with Black's awkwardly placed king, give White strong compensation
for the sacrificed knight. G. ChandlerNN, Stockbridge 1983, concluded 9...Qa5? (9...Qf6 10.e5 Qf7 may be
best) 10.d5 Ne5? 11.Qh5! Nf7? (11...d6 12.Bg5+ Kd7 13.Qxh7 also wins for White) 12.d6+! 10 (in light of
13.Qxa5).
Graham Burgess writes that 3...Nd4 is also known as the "Oh my God!" trap, as for full effect, Black is
supposed to make this exclamation, pretending to have accidentally blundered the e-pawn. Burgess
condemns this behavior as unethical, and notes that the trap, if avoided, leaves White with a large
advantage.[6]

See also
List of chess openings
List of chess openings named after people

References
1. Bill Wall (2005), The Blackburne Shilling Gambit (http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http:
//www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lab/7378/shilling.htm&date=2009-10-25+09:51:10)
2. Wilhelm Steinitz, The Modern Chess Instructor, Edition Olms Zrich, 1990 (reprint), p. 63 of Part II. ISBN
3-283-00111-1.
3. DunlopHicks, New Zealand Championship 1911 (http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1320024).
4. MuhlockKosti, Kln 1912 (http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1243016)
5. Jeremy Silman (2004), Two Wild Black Systems (http://www.jeremysilman.com/chess_opng_anlys
/040801_two_wild_black_systems.html)
6. Graham Burgess, The Mammoth Book of Chess, Carroll & Graf, 1997, pp. 12223. ISBN 0-7867-0725-9.

External links
Opening Report: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 (635 games)
(http://studimonetari.org/edg/blackburn2.html)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org
/w/index.php?title=Italian_Game,_Blackburne_Shilling_Gambit&
oldid=650537690"

The Wikibook Chess

Opening Theory has a
page on the topic of:
Blackburne Shilling
Gambit

Categories: Chess openings Chess traps 1912 in chess

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