Effectivity of the Blackmar Gambit
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Hello! I am a 500-600 rated player on this site, and I have been using the Blackmar Gambit lately. I enjoy using this opening and it is the reason I went from 300-400 to my current rating. However, whenever I look at the evaluation bar in game review, it goes down whenever I start the Blackmar Gambit. Could someone please explain why this happens, and if there are any queenside gambits (other than Queen's Gambit) that work better than Blackmar, could you pleaee explain? (Blackmar Gambit is D4, D5, E4)
Blackmar-Diemer Gambit is fundamentally unsound as it sacrifices the f pawn for dubious compensation. Theoretically, the compensation for the pawn is not enough and black should be better if they know how to play it. Sacrificing the f pawn also weakens the kingside. However, at lower levels many players won't know how to correctly play it. White will develop quite quickly so it may be somewhat effective.
Sundip recommends this for lower level e4 players against the Caro Kann and Scandinavian.
It's unsound unfortunately, better to play something else.
SamuelAjedrez95 wrote:
Blackmar-Diemer Gambit is fundamentally unsound as it sacrifices the f pawn for dubious compensation. Theoretically, the compensation for the pawn is not enough and black should be better if they know how to play it. Sacrificing the f pawn also weakens the kingside. However, at lower levels many players won't know how to correctly play it. White will develop quite quickly so it may be somewhat effective.
Sundip recommends this for lower level e4 players against the Caro Kann and Scandinavian.
I typically don't like the Kingside as much because I prefer Queenside Castling (It can help set up a Queen-Rook or Queen-Bishop Battery for future offensive play), since I don't care about the strength of the Kingside, would the Blackmar be suitable for my playstyle, or would there be a better option? Also, thank you for your original reply.
Lemur_flop-es wrote:
I typically don't like the Kingside as much because I prefer Queenside Castling (It can help set up a Queen-Rook or Queen-Bishop Battery for future offensive play), since I don't care about the strength of the Kingside, would the Blackmar be suitable for my playstyle, or would there be a better option? Also, thank you for your original reply.
Queenside castling really depends on what the position demands. In many positions, kingside castling is simply the best plan.
There are some openings where queenside castling is very thematic though. There is a pretty respectable gambit line called the Urusov Gambit where white castles queenside.
Also we can't talk about queenside castling without mentioning the Open Sicilian. It's very thematic for white to castle queenside in these lines.
- Najdorf, English Attack (6. Be3)
- Najdorf, Classical Main Line (6. Bg5)
- Dragon, Yugoslav Attack (6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3)
- Classical, Richter-Rauzer (6. Bg5)
are all lines where white castles queenside and attacks kingside.
It's worth pointing out that many consider these lines fairly high level. They can require some understanding and study. However, they are definitely lines which deserve attention and respect from any attacking player. The Bg5 Najdorf is one of my favourite openings for white personally.
150 Attack setups in the Pirc and Modern also facilitate queenside castling with the idea Be3-Qd2-f3-0-0-0, or the Kurajica variation of the Austrian Attack.