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To start with, let me list my personal library entries on the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (BDG). Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Das moderne Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (Emil Joseph Diemer) 1983 Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (Eric Schiller) 1986 The Blackmar-Diebert Gambit (Charles Diebert) 1991 Blackmar-Diemer gambit keybook (Rev. Tim Sawyer) 1992 Winning with the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (Ken Smith and John Hall) 1993 Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (Gary Lane) 1995 The Ryder Gambit Accepted (Eric Schiller and John Crayton) 1995 The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Keybook II (Rev. Tim Sawyer) 1999 the Blackmar-Diemer gambit (Christoph Scheerer) 2011 Related lines or systems used by BDG players: Gibbins-Weidenhagen-Gambit (Rasmus Pape and Niels Jorgen Jensen) 1991 The Anti-Dutch Spike (Alan L. Watson) 1995 Alapin French (Rev. Tim Sawyer) 1995 Game Collections: The BDG Mega-CD (Rev. Tim Sawyer) 1999 The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Mega-CD 2nd Edition (Rev. Tim Sawyer) 2003

Credit Wormrose Team matches and vote chess requests shall be honored as long as they are reasonable starting positions, with 3 days per turn. Vote chess rules: Discuss day 1 and 2, vote on the third. In order to find the best move and to play the best move there are a few guidelines which we follow. These have been gleaned from the pains of experience and most of them should not be thought of as rules. They are just good ideas. We cannot enforce rules. However there are some guidelines infractions for which a person might find themselves removed from the group. Those would deal with one member's behavior towards another member.Our games typically allow two days for us to make a move. The first 24 hrs is for submission and suggesting of moves, plans and strategies and for the subsequent discussion, evaluation and appraisal of those candidates by the members of the team. Votes are far more effective when cast during the final 24 hrs. If, for personal reasons, you find you must vote early, there is nothing to prevent you from doing so. However, please do not encourage others to vote early. We strive to reach a consensus through discussion and vote together as a team. At times there may be two or more moves which are roughly equal but which lead to different strategies. In those circumstances an "Open Vote" may be declared and the votes will decide it. In these cases it is important to remember we are not competing with each other. Personal attacks on team mates will not be tolerated. When the clock reads [new comment alert]which will appear on your home page and will serve as a reminder that it is now time to review the analysis and cast your vote.When joining a new vote game don't forget to tick [x] Notify me of new comments near the bottom of the page. This will ensure that you will receive an alert when it is our turn to move and it will also enable the [new comment alert] mentioned above. If you submit a comment in the discussion forum at any time, that action will automatically enable alerts for the remainder of that game.Each of our vote games is a team effort. Please do not treat it as your personal game. Please do not vote for moves which are not mentioned in the discussion forum. If you have a good move then tell us about it in a comment so the team will have the opportunity to give it fair consideration. It is not necessary to explain why you think it is a good move but of course that is helpful. If you see a foolish move or blunder being suggested by team mate please be courteous and respectful in your appraisal of the move. Let us analyse the moves - not the people who suggest them. Chess engines are not allowed in normal vote chess games. Referencing archived computer analysis is also not allowed. Please refrain from mentioning computer analysis in our vote chess forums. If you get madand decide to quit the game or if you accidentally click on [Leave Game] you will see a pop-up which will give you a second chance to stay with the game (suggested). If you still decide to quit that action is irreversible. Please respect your team mates and keep the language clean. Enjoy the games! ------------

Its always nice when it goes down like this...

This is an old subject of debate for BDG players: what is the best move after Black takes the knight and plays c6? I've tried playing all three. They all have their plusses and minuses. From a practical standpoint, White's win rate is quite good in all three lines--above 60%, though that doesn't convey how good White's chances are against the most critical Black defences. From a positional standpoint, is one better than the others? Lately I've been trying out the Seidel Hall Attack. I was skeptical at first, but Scheerer likes it, and Stockfish seems to think White is fine after Qxd4 so, the very simple plan of ejecting the knight and ganging up on f7 if Black declines the second pawn is quite appealling. But I have yet to test this 'hari kiri' idea in a non-blitz game against a strong opponent. I only have engine suggestions, Scheerer's analysis, and De Bouver's analysis to go by.

Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Zeller Variation Miniature. After the game I checked with the computer and these are the best moves for white up to move 7.

What plans are recommended to combat: 1) d4...d5 2) e4...e6

The ryder gambit begins with the moves... What's so special about this gambit, well there is a very cool trap in it called the Halosar Trap: what do we gain from the two pawn gambit. we gain a lead in development, a very long d-file, and easier time developing. Since the center is opened up we can get are rooks into the game onto lon files. full on mistake because of the move if black doen't play ...Qb4 he has Qg4 or Qe5 which i still think white is better even though the computers disagree

I've been playing the BDG more seriously now for a number of months (on another chess site) and I've focused on the von Popiel Gambit. It is as follows: Computer evaluation shows this as inferior to the 4. f3 variation. But I like it better because the moves your opponent will play are super predictable. One downside is that your opponent may choose to play 5. ...d6 to transpose into the French. I don't mind this because I have several aggressive French variations that I like to play. You can play 6. f3 at this point if you're committed to the BDG, but I think there are more aggressive lines in the French. It is literally SO EASY for your opponent to drop a piece in this version. Here is a trap I have pulled off so many times I can't even count... mostly resulting in instant resignation by Black (because they are so pissed-off that they fell for it haha). Your opponent might get extra greedy. Bad news if they do. There are some ways for Black to limit the damage but very hard to find in a game with little time and unknown territory. This is a very common scenario that I've had plenty of times: I encourage you to give this variation a shot. There are a ton of traps, and even if Black plays some of the better moves, you get a nice attacking, sharp game. For example: I'm not saying the above is better for White. It's not. It's pretty fun to play though and asks Black all the questions. Anyway, I'll look to post a few example games sometime. For now, I encourage you to spend a week or so playing this variation. You may never go back to the typical BDG lines

The third and final installment to the life and games of Emil Josef Diemer. Here I present to you the final few years of Diemer's life and the stunning game he played late in his career. Enjoy! If you missed Part 1 and 2 I have provided these videos below. Enjoy! Part 1: Part 2:

1.d4 Nf6 2.f3 d5 3.e4 dxe4 4.fxe4!? I have been working on a new gambit that as far as I can tell has never been explored or named. A few people may have fallen into it mistakenly in the database but I see the potential for something good here. For now I wish to call it the Lemur Gambit, or the Blackmar-Lemur Gambit. With 4.fxe4 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3, borrowing an idea from the Stafford Gambit, we reach a position where I believe White has sacrificed their pawn under more favorable circumstances. Note - a knight that normally defends the Black king is traded with a queenside knight that often does not participate in the attack. White's d-pawn which is often the subject of counterplay for Black has been shored up. And while we have the same initiative as the Stafford, we have an extra f-file to work with which makes it extremely hard to defend. Bogo style defenses tend to be totally inadequate in this line. An important declination. 4...e5 is critical. I misplayed my first attempt at it. 5.Bc4 was an idea from the Caro-Kann Fantasy that made sense at the time but 5.Nc3 was much better. I'll have more to add on this. I have some important variations to cover. For posterity I'm just putting it all here.

What plans are recommended to combat: 1) d4...d5 2) e4... Nc6

I had an idea to start an unconventional thread. Rather than simply showing off like the miniatures thread, this is a place where we can all learn something and help each other out. Perhaps if there's a common area where a lot of people seem to be losing we can devote some attention to that. I'll kick this off with some tough losses I experienced recently: Another one:

Played consulting engines (at a server that allows engines, of course), it finished a few days ago:

I thought this group would appreciate another blog I have done about gambiteer Emil Josef Diemer. Here I have featured another four of his games: 3 Blackmar-Diemer games and 1 Elephant gambit! Enjoy https://www.chess.com/blog/ThePawnSlayer/the-life-and-games-of-emil-josef-diemer-the-madman-of-chess-part-2