Blackburne Gambit

This is a very uncommon gambit, but chances are that you will fall for it the first time that you see it. I just hope it never happens again. You can play this against friends, but I don't suggest it in tournament play because of its success rating. It starts out like the Classic opening which is why it is in here. 1. e4, e5 2. Nf3, Nc6 3. Bc4

The Blackburne Gambit

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

So what does black play here? Well he could go Nf6 and be the victim of the Fried Liver Attack. He can do the h3 Defense and have no good spots do develop. He can do the Bishop Variation and play the Italian Game. However, there is one more option. Black plays 3. Nd4. This looks strange. Why is he sacrificing the e pawn? Let's take a closer look. 4. Nxp?? Taking the pawn is a horrible move for white. Why? Black plays 4. Qg5!! Well that's just stupid, white does the fried liver attack. He plays 5. Nxpf7 which forks the queen and the trapped rook. So black plays 5. Qxpb2!! Well if NxR, then QxR results in lots of lost pieces for white. It is not checkmate because of the bishop on c4, but to avoid all of that, White plays 6. Rf1. The position reached is just below and to the left.

Position reached after white's move 6

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

Take a look. It is black to move. You should know what comes next. Black plays 6. Qxe4+!! Well, white has 2 options now. He can lose his queen to a knight if he blocks with it, so he decides to kill himself with 7. Be2. Black's fatal blow is 7. Nf3#!! So whatever you do, don't fall into that trap. Instead, whenever someone moves his knight to d4, respond by either taking the knight or with c3. If NxN, QxN which threatens checkmate. He must defend that, and then white gets a pawn center with d4 the next move. That is why it is not recommended for tournament play.