The Blackburne Shilling

Gambit

Samantha212

| Apr 8, 2015 at 6:10 PM

| Posted in: Samantha212's Blog

| 2759 reads

| 9 comments

Hello Chess Fans,

Today we will review a somewhat common trap
seen in the Italian Game: The Blackburne
Shilling Gambit.
It is characterized by the moves 1.e4 e5
2.Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nd4

Steinitz said, "Black's third move, objectively speaking, is

wasting move." He recommended that White play 4.0-0 o
only virtue of 3...Nd4 is that it sets up a trap that has e
players.
CHESS' BLACK DEATH:
Joseph Henry Blackburne was known as a
killer, a chess killer. Estimated to have played
over 50,000 simultaneous games in his life,
and a lover of whiskey, Ole' Joe was, to
bluntly put it, an ardent a** kicker over the
board and one of England's All Time Best too.

He had his traps, his setups and a way of

"grueling" his opponents. Sometimes there was
chess violence and sometimes he could behave like
a drunk, probably because he was. His whiskey
bottle was always ON the table when he played in
a simul.
He dominated British chess during the second half
of the 19th century and had a professional chess
career that spanned over 50 years. At one point he
was the world's second most successful player,
with a string of tournament victories behind him.
He often played the dubious Blackburne Shilling
Gambit, named after him because he would "lure"
his opponents to put up a SHILLING WAGER on the
game. As you can imagine, he quickly won against
his opponent, thus winning the SHILLING wagered
on the game. By the way, a shilling in today's
money would be almost $7.50. When you think of
the number of games Blackburne was reported to
have played, he made himself quite a sizable profit
from
his
winnings.

After 3...Nd4, if White goes "Pawn-Picking" with

4.Nxe5, then Black wins material with 4...Qg5! and
eventually wins with a rather quick Smothered
Mate.
Let's take a look at how Blackburne earned
his Black Death reputation:
The Blackburne Shilling Gambit

0-1
1. e4e52. Nf3Nc63. Bc4The Italian Game
3... Nd4!?The Blackburne Shilling Gambit
4. Nxe5?White goes PAWN PICKING
4... Qg5BAM! Forks g2 and Ne5
5. Nxf7??Forks the queen and the rook
(IF White goes for the Checking
Variation: 5. Bxf7+Kd8Simply moves 6. O-OScoots to
safety 6... Qxe5Picks up the knight. 7. Bxg8Rxg8White is
underdeveloped and Black is poised to set up more
attacks. )5... Qxg2POW! Ignoring the loss of material the queen
goes for the attack. This looks like the WASP VARIATION we
reviewed in the ELEPHANT GAMBIT.
6. Rf1Retreats to safety.
6... Qxe4+WHAM! The king is blocked in by his pieces.
7. Be2Blocks
7... Nf3#CAPOW! The king is Smothered into Checkmate.

Let's look at White's Best response to 3...Nd4:

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit
How White Should Play Against It
1. e4e52. Nf3Nc63. Bc4Nd4Blackburne Shilling Gambit
4. Nxd4Simply Take the Knight!
4... exd4Recaptures
5. O-OCastle and continue developing. White has an advantage
in development and spatial dominance of center squares.
5... Nf66. d3d67. f4Be78. e5dxe59. fxe5Nd510. Qf3This move
Forks Nd5 and threatens check with Qxf7+. IF Black castles (A
BLUNDER)
10... O-O(10... Be6This is Black's best response. It defends

both the knight and the f7 square, allowing Black to

safely castle without hanging any pieces. )11. Bxd5White
picks up the knight for FREE.

To Review:
1. If Black plays 3...Nd4, simply take the knight 4.Nxd4.
2. Castle.
3. Gain more space in the center by pushing the fpawn
4. Be on the look out for forking Nd5 and f7 with a
Qf3 move.
5. White has a strong initiative going forward and
should be able to turn this game into a win.
I hope this has shed some light on Playing
Against the Blackburne Shilling Gambit and
added a little background to its creator and colorful
character Joseph Blackburne. Look for the next in
the
Trap
Series.
Until
then
...Cheers.