Wing Gambit
Encyclopedia
In chess
, Wing Gambit is a generic name given to openings
in which White plays an early b4, deflecting an enemy pawn
or bishop
from c5 so as to regain control of d4, an important central square. (Or in which Black plays ...b5, but wing gambits offered by Black are very rare.) The most important wing gambit is the Evans Gambit
, which is treated separately on its own page.
Of the others, the most common is the Wing Gambit in the Sicilian Defence
, which runs 1.e4 c5 2.b4 (see diagram). After Black takes with 2...cxb4, the usual continuation is 3.a3 bxa3 (3...d5! is more recently considered superior, when White must avoid 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.axb4?? Qe5+ winning the rook, a blunder actually seen in tournament play in Shirazi-Peters, Berkeley 1986; instead 5.Nf3 is better) and now the main line is 4.Nxa3, though 4.Bxa3 and 4.d4 are also seen. It is also possible to decline (or at least delay acceptance of) the gambit with 2...d5.
For his pawn, White gets quicker development and a central advantage, but it is not generally considered one of White's better choices against the Sicilian and it is virtually never seen at the professional level. Amongst amateurs it is more common, though still not so popular as other systems.
It is also possible to prepare the gambit by playing 2.a3!? followed by 3.b4; another related system is the Wing Gambit Deferred, 2.Nf3 d6 3.b4.
After Black's 2...cxb4 there is another popular third move alternative for White, 3.d4. GMs George Koltanowski
, David Bronstein
and World Champion Alexander Alekhine
have played this line.
There are two Wing Gambits in the French Defence
, 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.b4 and 1.e4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e5 c5 4.b4. They can transpose into each other, and both are quite rare. A related idea is found in the Caro-Kann Defence
after 1.e4 c6 2.Ne2 d5 3.e5 c5 4.b4, however Black can immediately achieve an advantage by playing 4...d4! (this move is also strong in the second French line given above). Even rarer is the Wing Gambit in the Bishop's Opening
, 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.b4, which has some resemblance to the Evans Gambit
.
There are several other "Wing Gambits" in various openings, but they are very rare, and not as notable as the openings mentioned above:
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, Wing Gambit is a generic name given to openings
Chess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
in which White plays an early b4, deflecting an enemy pawn
Pawn (chess)
The pawn is the most numerous and weakest piece in the game of chess, historically representing infantry, or more particularly armed peasants or pikemen. Each player begins the game with eight pawns, one on each square of the rank immediately in front of the other pieces...
or bishop
Bishop (chess)
A bishop is a piece in the board game of chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops. One starts between the king's knight and the king, the other between the queen's knight and the queen...
from c5 so as to regain control of d4, an important central square. (Or in which Black plays ...b5, but wing gambits offered by Black are very rare.) The most important wing gambit is the Evans Gambit
Evans Gambit
The Evans Gambit is a chess opening characterised by the moves:The gambit is named after the Welsh sea Captain William Davies Evans, the first player known to have employed it. The first game with the opening is considered to be Evans - McDonnell, London 1827, although in that game a slightly...
, which is treated separately on its own page.
Of the others, the most common is the Wing Gambit in the Sicilian Defence
Sicilian Defence
The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4...
, which runs 1.e4 c5 2.b4 (see diagram). After Black takes with 2...cxb4, the usual continuation is 3.a3 bxa3 (3...d5! is more recently considered superior, when White must avoid 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.axb4?? Qe5+ winning the rook, a blunder actually seen in tournament play in Shirazi-Peters, Berkeley 1986; instead 5.Nf3 is better) and now the main line is 4.Nxa3, though 4.Bxa3 and 4.d4 are also seen. It is also possible to decline (or at least delay acceptance of) the gambit with 2...d5.
For his pawn, White gets quicker development and a central advantage, but it is not generally considered one of White's better choices against the Sicilian and it is virtually never seen at the professional level. Amongst amateurs it is more common, though still not so popular as other systems.
It is also possible to prepare the gambit by playing 2.a3!? followed by 3.b4; another related system is the Wing Gambit Deferred, 2.Nf3 d6 3.b4.
After Black's 2...cxb4 there is another popular third move alternative for White, 3.d4. GMs George Koltanowski
George Koltanowski
George Koltanowski was a Belgian-born American chess player, promoter, and writer. He was informally known as "Kolty". Koltanowski set the world's blindfold record on 20 September 1937, in Edinburgh, by playing 34 chess games simultaneously while blindfolded, making headline news around the world...
, David Bronstein
David Bronstein
David Ionovich Bronstein was a Soviet chess grandmaster, who narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in 1951. Bronstein was described by his peers as a creative genius and master of tactics...
and World Champion Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
have played this line.
There are two Wing Gambits in the French Defence
French Defence
The French Defence is a chess opening. It is characterised by the moves:The French has a reputation for solidity and resilience, though it can result in a somewhat cramped game for Black in the early stages...
, 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.b4 and 1.e4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e5 c5 4.b4. They can transpose into each other, and both are quite rare. A related idea is found in the Caro-Kann Defence
Caro-Kann Defence
The Caro-Kann Defence is a chess opening —a common defense against the King's Pawn Opening characterised by the moves:The usual continuation isfollowed by 3.Nc3 , 3.Nd2 , 3.exd5 , or 3.e5 . The classical variation has gained much popularity...
after 1.e4 c6 2.Ne2 d5 3.e5 c5 4.b4, however Black can immediately achieve an advantage by playing 4...d4! (this move is also strong in the second French line given above). Even rarer is the Wing Gambit in the Bishop's Opening
Bishop's Opening
The Bishop's Opening is a chess opening that begins with the moves:White attacks Black's f7-square and prevents Black from advancing his d-pawn to d5....
, 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.b4, which has some resemblance to the Evans Gambit
Evans Gambit
The Evans Gambit is a chess opening characterised by the moves:The gambit is named after the Welsh sea Captain William Davies Evans, the first player known to have employed it. The first game with the opening is considered to be Evans - McDonnell, London 1827, although in that game a slightly...
.
There are several other "Wing Gambits" in various openings, but they are very rare, and not as notable as the openings mentioned above:
- In the English OpeningEnglish OpeningIn chess, the English Opening is the opening where White begins:A flank opening, it is the fourth most popular and, according to various databases, anywhere from one of the two most successful to the fourth most successful of White's twenty possible first moves. White begins the fight for the...
: 1. c4 c5 2. b4, or 1. c4 b5 - In the Marshall GambitMarshall GambitThe Marshall Gambit may refer to a number of chess openings named after the American chess master Frank Marshall.*The Marshall Gambit in the Scandinavian Defense...
of the Scandinavian Defence: 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 g6 4. c4 b5 - In the Ware OpeningWare OpeningThe Ware Opening or Meadow Hay Opening, is an uncommon chess opening in which White opens withIt is named after U.S. chess player Preston Ware, who often played uncommon openings...
: 1. a4 b5 2. axb5 Bb7