Albin Countergambit
Encyclopedia
The Albin Countergambit is a chess opening
that begins with the moves:
and the usual continuation is:
The opening is an uncommon defense to the Queen's Gambit
. In exchange for the gambit
pawn, Black has a central wedge at d4 and gets some chances for an attack. Often White will try to return the pawn at an opportune moment to gain a positional advantage.
In the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
the Albin Countergambit is assigned codes D08 and D09.
tournament of 1881, it takes its name from Adolf Albin
, who played it against Lasker
in New York
1893. Though not played frequently at the master level, Russian Grandmaster Alexander Morozevich
has recently made much successful use of it.
. After 4...Bb4+ 5.Bd2 dxe3 6.Bxb4?? is a blunder—6...exf2+ 7.Ke2 fxg1=N+ and Black wins. The Lasker Trap is notable because it is rare to see an underpromotion in practical play.
capture must be made immediately after the enemy pawn advances. So now after 4...Bb4+ 5.Bd2 the en passant capture ...dxe3 is no longer available to Black.
queenside. A typical continuation is 5.g3 Be6 6.Nbd2 Qd7 7.Bg2 0-0-0 8.0-0 Bh3.
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...
that begins with the moves:
- 1. d4 d5
- 2. c4 e5
and the usual continuation is:
- 3. dxe5 d4
The opening is an uncommon defense to the Queen's Gambit
Queen's Gambit
The Queen's Gambit is a chess opening that starts with the moves:The Queen's Gambit is one of the oldest known chess openings. It was mentioned in the Göttingen manuscript of 1490 and was later analysed by masters such as Gioachino Greco in the seventeenth century...
. In exchange for the gambit
Gambit
A gambit is a chess opening in which a player, most often White, sacrifices material, usually a pawn, with the hope of achieving a resulting advantageous position. Some well-known examples are the King's Gambit , Queen's Gambit , and Evans Gambit...
pawn, Black has a central wedge at d4 and gets some chances for an attack. Often White will try to return the pawn at an opportune moment to gain a positional advantage.
In the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings is a classification system for the opening moves in a game of chess. It is presented as a five volume book collection describing chess openings...
the Albin Countergambit is assigned codes D08 and D09.
History
Although this opening was originally played by Cavallotti against Salvioli at the MilanMilan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
tournament of 1881, it takes its name from Adolf Albin
Adolf Albin
right|thumb|Adolf AlbinAdolf Albin was a Romanian chess player, especially known for the countergambit that bears his name, and for the first chess book written in Romanian.- Life :...
, who played it against Lasker
Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
1893. Though not played frequently at the master level, Russian Grandmaster Alexander Morozevich
Alexander Morozevich
Alexander Morozevich is a Russian chess Grandmaster. In the November 2011 FIDE list, he had an Elo rating of 2762, making him the 9th-highest rated player in the world, although he has previously ranked as high as second, in the July 2008 list....
has recently made much successful use of it.
Lasker trap
The Black pawn at d4 is stronger than it may appear. The careless move 4.e3? can lead to the Lasker TrapLasker Trap
The Lasker Trap is a chess opening trap in the Albin Countergambit, named after Emanuel Lasker, although it was first noted by Serafino Dubois . It is unusual in that it features an underpromotion as early as the seventh move....
. After 4...Bb4+ 5.Bd2 dxe3 6.Bxb4?? is a blunder—6...exf2+ 7.Ke2 fxg1=N+ and Black wins. The Lasker Trap is notable because it is rare to see an underpromotion in practical play.
Spassky Variation
In the Spassky Variation White plays 4.e4 to take advantage of the fact that an en passantEn passant
En passant is a move in the board game of chess . It is a special pawn capture which can occur immediately after a player moves a pawn two squares forward from its starting position, and an enemy pawn could have captured it had it moved only one square forward...
capture must be made immediately after the enemy pawn advances. So now after 4...Bb4+ 5.Bd2 the en passant capture ...dxe3 is no longer available to Black.
Main line
The main line continues 4.Nf3 Nc6 (4...c5 allows 5.e3 because Black no longer has the bishop check) and now White's primary options are 5.a3, 5.Nbd2, and 5.g3. Perhaps White's surest try for an advantage is to fianchetto his king bishop with 5.g3 followed by Bg2 and Nbd2. Black will often castleCastling
Castling is a special move in the game of chess involving the king and either of the original rooks of the same color. It is the only move in chess in which a player moves two pieces at the same time. Castling consists of moving the king two squares towards a rook on the player's first rank, then...
queenside. A typical continuation is 5.g3 Be6 6.Nbd2 Qd7 7.Bg2 0-0-0 8.0-0 Bh3.