§ 6. The Gambit Declined. In the preceding sections every important form of the Gambit has been examined. We have seen that the second player ought always to secure an even, sometimes a superior game; yet, unless tolerably conversant with the defence, he is not unlikely to commit some error which may lose him the game. He may therefore be anxious to know how to evade its perils. Unlike the Evan's Gambit, it may be declined with perfect safety. White 1. P. to K 4 2. P to K B4 Black 1. P to K4 He may now play either 2. P to Q 4, or 2. B to QB 4; of these the latter is perhaps the best, as it prevents you from Castling for some time. 2. Q to KR5 ch is not good. In the first place 3. PXQP 2. P to Q 4 Better than 3. P x P or 3. P to K 5. 4. Q Kt to B 3 5. K Kt to B 3 4. Q to K 3 5. P to K 5 If instead 5. P x P ch, you play 6. K to B 2, with a strong game; the same position occurs when he plays KPXP at his third move, instead of the move in the text, thus: 4 K Kt to B3 6. Kt to K 5 7. B to QB 4 Even game. 3. KP XP 4. Q x P 5. Q to K 3 ch 6. Kt to KR 3 CHAPTER IV. THE QUEEN'S KNIGHT'S OPENING, THE CENTRE GAMBIT, AND THE QUEEN'S BISHOP'S PAWN'S OPENING. IN the preceding chapters I have examined the three great openings, or rather groups of openings which 1. P to K 4 result from Besides these there are 1. P to K 4 three others which, though vastly inferior in strength, beauty, and variety, yet deserve a passing notice ; they are the Queen's Knight's, Centre Gambit, and the Queen's Bishop's Pawn's. § 1. The Queen's Knight's Opening, otherwise called Hampe's, or the Vienna Opening. This opening is generally classed with the Irregulars, but erroneously so; for, though seldom adopted, it is in no respect irregular. Its peculiarity lies in the relation which it establishes between the two players. The sortie of the Queen's Knight is by its nature a defensive move, and consequently the positions of the players are not unfrequently reversed, the second player becoming the assailant, while his adversary plays a defensive game, with the advantage however of being a move in advance. A single example will illustrate this, viz. 2. P to K B 4, in reply to which you take the Pawn, and are in the position of the second player in the King's Gambit, with this important difference that your Queen's Knight is in the field. White 1. P to K 4 2. Q Kt to B 3 Black 1. P to K 4 2. K Kt to B 3 This is considered the best defence, but 2. B to Q B 4, or 2. Q Kt to B 3, may be safely played. 2. P to K B 4, and 2. B to Q Kt 5, are bad. 3. P to KB 4 (best) 4. BPXKP 3. P to Q4 (best) This is, I think, your best move, but 4 P to Q 3 |
