Articles
Openings for Tactical Players: Göring Gambit

Openings for Tactical Players: Göring Gambit

Gserper
| 39 | Tactics

The subject of today's discussion is the Göring Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 exd4 4. c3!?).  Just like practically any gambit, this opening is a very dangerous weapon and since it is not particularly popular these days, most of your opponents will probably be caught by surprise. Of course it is foolish to play any opening just on the basis of surprise value, so let's see if the Göring Gambit is sound.  Of course the sheer fact that this opening was played by both Old Masters (like Adolf Andersen, Aaron Nimzowitcth, Siegbert Tarrasch), as well as by the modern Grandmasters (like Velimirovic, Sermek, Tseitlin amongst others) gives a lot of confidence. Now let's check some particular variations to learn the typical ideas of the opening.

Just like in any gambit, Black can simply reject the sacrifice here too. But in this case White gets the initiative for free as the next classical game shows.

 

Another way to defend against this gambit is pretty typical: Black tries to solve his problem by counter strike in the center (d7-d5). In this case the game becomes sharp very quickly and one mistake can be fatal.
When Black accepts the gambit by 4...dxc3, White has two options. He can sacrifice the second pawn by 5.Bc4 when the game transposes into the Danish Gambit as happened in the next game.
Another option is 5.Nxc3 where White sacrifices just one pawn but gets a long-lasting initiative which Black wasn't able to neutralize in the next game played by modern masters.
 
Of course it is impossible to analyze all the lines of such a complicated opening in just one article, so if you like it, you should do your own extensive research.
Anyway, I recommend you to give the Göring Gambit a try.  I promise you a lot of excitement!
Good luck!
More from GM Gserper
How Grandmasters Play Chess

How Grandmasters Play Chess

Learn How To Spot Winning Tactics With "Mr. Chess Combinations"

Learn How To Spot Winning Tactics With "Mr. Chess Combinations"