Halloween-Gambit

The Halloween Gambit or Müller -Schulze Gambit is a chess opening variation in the results from the Four Knights Game. The ECO code is C 47

It arises after the moves 1 e2 -e4 e7 - e5 2 Sg1 -f3 c6 3 Sb8 - Nb1 - c3 - f6 Ng8 4 Sf3xe5.

White sacrifices a knight for a pawn. After 4 ... Sc6xe5 5 d2 -d4 he has a strong pawn center and will achieve further speed gains by attacking the black knight in the sequence. Whether this is a sufficient compensation is doubtful, however, White's initiative is not without risk, particularly in blitz games.

The gambit was played in 1873 by Carl Goering. In 1877 it was mentioned in the German chess magazine, 1888 in Guide to the Chess theory of Oskar Cordel. At this time, called the variant Gambit Müller and Schulze. This name did not refer to specific chess player, but should express that the opening of amateurs was preferred. Later authors such as Paul Keres in the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings (1974 ), they mentioned only in footnotes. As a refutation of the move order was 5 ... Ne5 - g6 6 e4 e5 Nf6 - g8 7 Lf1 - d7 -d5 c4 c6 c7 8 Lc4xd5. An analysis in the chess magazine edge Springer (1993 ) presented this assessment into question. However, the former correspondence chess world champion Hans Berliner is of the opinion that black to the other trains 9 Ld5 -b3 Bc8 - e6 10 11 0-0 Le6xb3 a2xb3 Ng8 - e7 12 Nc3 -e4 Ne7 - f5 13 c3 c2 - h7 h5 - in advantage. IM Larry Kaufman claims in his book published in 2004, The Chess Advantage in Black and White (p. 328) that the Halloween Gambit with Jan Pinskis move order 5.d4 Nc6 6.d5 Sxe5 4 .. Bb4! 7.dxc6 Nxe4 8.Dd4 Qe7 may be rebutted.

The name Halloween Gambit comes from the German computer scientist Steffen A. Jakob, who had the chess program Crafty several thousand games under the nick name " shower " with this opening in Internet Chess Club Play.