von Hennig Gambit | SINK the Caro-Kann!
#carokann #vonhenniggambit
The von Hennig Gambit (1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Bc4) is a bit of a hidden gem against the Caro-Kann Defense. The Caro-Kann is one of the best responses by Black against 1. e4 so having a weapon against it is important. The von Hennig Gambit is only played in around 1% of Caro-Kann games meaning that most Caro-Kann players will not be very familiar with it. On the Lichess community database, it is one of the most winning responses against the Caro-Kann and impressively, seems to be good not only at the beginner-intermediate level, but also advanced levels at blitz and rapid. Although I've not faced against the Caro-Kann that often, I've won almost 80% of my games using the von Hennig Gambit!
In game 1, I managed to pull off the famous 8-move checkmate with the von Hennig Gambit that features the "oh no my queen!" trap! The impressive thing with this trap is that the penultimate move (7. Ne5) where we ostensibly hang our queen isn't a bad move even when Black spots the trap and avoids it! Most traps of this nature are a bit of a gamble, but not this one! There is the more "sensible" move (7. Bxf7+) but at high depth Stockfish rates the two moves as almost the same, and on the Lichess community database, the "on no my queen" move has a slightly high win ratio! Given the fun nature of "oh no my queen" traps and the possibility of an immediate win, I will always recommend this over Bxf7+ in this context!
Game 2 demonstrates that von Hennig Gambit isn't only good for the trap line. On move 6, Black responds with (6... e6) which blocks access to the f7 square along the light square diagonal, and thus, prevents the trap. However, in doing so, Black cramps their development and Stockfish rates the position as [0.00]. As I'm down a pawn, this means that my POSITION is substantially better. At the end of move 8, we've both castled kingside and Stockfish now gives an evaluation of [+1.2]! The difference is our respective development and the capacity that I have in launching a quick attack on Black's king. My lost pawns have been converted into semi-open e- and f-files - a pathway for my pieces to attack!
By move 12, I have SIX pieces positioned to attack Black's king - the queen, a rook, and both bishops and knights. Against this overwhelming force, Black had little ability to sustain the onslaught even when I didn't play the most accurately. The queen infiltrates, and after some pieces are traded, Black's king is trapped on the kingside, blocked in by his own pawns. Stockfish sees complex long mating lines that I can't see, M12, M17, but I did know in game that I was completely winning. On move 20, Black makes a desperate attempt to trade queens (Qe7) but in doing so literally seals their king's final escape square as (21. Qh8#) became possible the next turn. GG!
Game 1: https://www.chess.com/game/live/80185786341
Game 2: https://www.chess.com/game/live/80013621101
