Halloween Gambit: Early History

For more than a century, the line known today as the Halloween Gambit was an entertaining option in casual play, but received minimal attention. Wikipedia notes that it appeared in a brief note in an 1888 publication as Gambit Müller und Schulze (not the names of specific people, but rather anyone or everyone). The article relies for historical details upon a article by Tim Krabbe for Chess Cafe (March 2000) and now hosted elsewhere. Krabbe's article is entertaining and the central facts are verifiable. He was prompted to write it after losing to a Crafty clone on ICC named Brause. Brause was the work of Steffen Jacob who coined the name The Halloween-Attack in the Four Knight's Game.

Although Krabbe goes back as far as Oskar Cordel, Führer durch die Schachtheorie: Ausführliche Tabelle der Spiel-Eröffnungen auf Grundlage neuester Forschung (1888), there were at least two games published in magazines prior to Cordel's text. Cordel notes that the opening had been played in Leipzig and a game played there in 1874 is the oldest in ChessBase Mega 2024.

The annotation in Deutsche Schachzeitung (July 1874) of the game between an unnamed player who played the gambit against Johannes Minckwitz, editor of the publication, offers what remains today an apt assessment of the gambit: it is unsound, but in practical play White gets a dangerous attack.

I offer the original annotations, which were in German, translations, and some of my own comments.

NN -- Minckwitz,Johannes [C47]
Leipzig, 02.05.1874

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nxe5

Dieses Opfer ist zwar incorrect, gewährt jedoch einen im practischen Spiele sehr gefährlichen Angriff. This sacrifice is indeed incorrect, but grants a very dangerous attack in the practical game.

4...Nxe5 5.d4

Black to move

5...Ng6

5...Nc6 is the principal alternative.

6.e5 Ng8 7.Bc4 Bb4 8.0–0 Bxc3 9.Qf3 Qe7 10.bxc3 Nh6 11.a4 Nh4 12.Qe4

Black to move

12... d5

Schwarz ist hierzu genöthigt, da er sonst auf keine Weise zur Entwickelung gelangen kann.
Black is compelled to do this, because otherwise he cannot achieve development in any way.

13.Bxd5 c6 14.Bxc6+!

Diese Fortsetzung fällt zu Gunsten von Schwarz aus. Die Combinationen sind sehr interessant.

This sequel is in Black's favor. The combinations are very interesting.

14...bxc6 15.Qxc6+ Qd7 16.Qxa8 0–0

White to move

17.Bxh6

This move gives Black opportunities. Better would be 17.Ba3 or 17.Rb1.

17...Bb7 18.Qxa7 Ra8 19.Qb6

19.Qc5 Qg4

19...Ra6?

White to move

 20.Qb5??

20.e6!! Qd5 21.exf7+ Kf8 22.Qb4+ Kxf7 23.f3 and White should prevail. The move played walks into a mate in four, which Minckwitz finds.

20...Nf3+ 0-1 

21.gxf3 Rg6+
21.Kh1 Rxh6 22.h3 Rxh3+

Ten years later, the second game in the database was played and published. It was part of a blindfold exhibition in St. Petersburg. Ernst Falkbeer provided annotations.

The White player is not well-known. Sarah Cohen (aka batgirl) described him as a strong amateur in "The Prince of Mingrelia, Part 1" on chess.com. The game was published in a Vienna newspaper: Wiener Hausfrauen-Zeitung (1885), which I was able to find online.

De Marcovan,M - NN [C47]
Blindfold Exhibition M de Marcovan St Petersburg, 1884
[Falkbeer,Ernst Karl]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nxe5

Ein ganz neues und geniales Opfer des Blindspielers, um die Partie interessanter zu machen.

A completely new and ingenious sacrifice of the blind player to make the game more interesting.

4...Nxe5 5.d4 Ng6 6.e5 Ng8 7.Bd3 d6 8.f4 dxe5 9.fxe5

Black to move

9...Bb4

Augenscheinlich darf die Dame den Bauer auf d4 nicht schlagen, weil sie sonst durch 9...Qxd4 10.Bb5+ verloren ginge.

Apparently, the queen must not capture the pawn on d4, otherwise she will pass through (discovered attack) 9...Qxd4 10.Bb5+ was lost.

10.0–0! Qxd4+ 11.Kh1 Bxc3 12.bxc3 

Black to move

12...Qxc3

Schwarz hätte den Bauer auf c3 nicht schlagen, sondern die Dame nach 12...Qd8 zurückziehen sollen.

Black should not have captured the pawn on c3, but should have withdraw the queen with 12...Qd8.

13.Qf3

Ausgezeichnet gespielt. Weiß droht jetzt zu gleicher Zeit das direkte Schach auf f7 und das Abzugsschach, respektive den Gewinn der Dame durch 14.Lb5+.

Excellently played. White is now threatening direct check on f7, or winning the queen by 14.Bb5+.

13...Qxe5

Es war schon gar nichts mehr zu machen.

There was nothing more to be done.

Wenn die Dame den Turm nahm, so folgte 13...Qxa1 14.Qxf7+ Kd8 und dann 15.Bg5+

If the queen took the rook, then 13...Qxa1 14.Qxf7+ Kd8 and then Bg5+.

14.Qxf7+ Kd8 15.Bxg6 hxg6

White to move

16.Bg5+

Ein schönes Endspiel dieser reizenden kleinen Partie.

A beautiful endgame of this charming little game.

16...Ne7 17.Rad1+ Bd7

Weiß setzt in zwei Zügen matt:

White mates in two moves:

18.Qf8+ Rxf8 19.Rxf8# 1-0

Capablanca -- Lasker, Game 3

Part 7 of a series recognizing the Centennial of Capablanca -- Lasker, World Chess Championship, Havana 1921.

At first glance, I was not certain what to make of this game. The Four Knights Opening transposed into a Steinitz Defense in the Spanish and it was hard for me to see much opportunity for either player. The middlegame seemed to show a lot of fruitless maneuvering. But, as I spent more time playing through the game and reading annotations, tactical threats and positional nuances became evident.

I started with annotations by both players, and then looked at those in British Chess Magazine by George A. Thomas and the unsigned annotations in American Chess Bulletin. I have the Dover reprint of Capablanca's book on the match, but rely on two ChessBase training DVDs (Master Class vols, 4 and 5) for Lasker's notes. These are in German, which I do not read well.

At one time, I had a decent shelf of German language books, including an excellent dictionary and a couple of grammars. I had two years of high school German, and another year in graduate school. These books were in a box in a closet where a cat's water dish overflowed, ruining the books. Hence, I must rely on Google Translate for unfamiliar words, of which there are plenty.

Game three was played over three days at the Marianao Casino in Havana, mostly on Saturday and Sunday, March 19-20, and then concluded Tuesday, March 22. Monday was a rest day that Lasker ordinarily used to fulfill some journalistic commitments in the Netherlands.

Capablanca,Jose Raul -- Lasker,Emanuel [C66]
World Championship 12th Havana (3), 19.03.1921
[Capablanca/Lasker/Stripes]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3

In both the Spanish and the Italian, I'd rather put a pawn on c3. As a consequence, I don't think I've played the White side of the Four Knights in this century, except perhaps in a training game with a student. Youth players seem to favor the opening, especially the Italian Four Knights, which FM Jim Maki calls the Spokane Scholastic Opening.

3...Nf6 4.Bb5 d6

4...Nd4 According to I.A. Horowitz, Chess Openings: Theory and Practice (1964), the Rubinstein variation "drove the Four Knights into disrepute" (20). Nonetheless, "there are some finesses to know and some problems not to be underestimated" (13).

Spielmann had credited the Rubinstein variation as, "the main reason why the Four Knights is now played so rarely" (as quoted in Donaldson and Minev, Akiba Rubinstein: Uncrowned King [1994], 195). Donaldson and Minev go on to credit Nigel Short and John Nunn with reviving the opening with new ideas for White.

5.d4 Bd7 6.O-O Be7 7.Re1

Black to move

7...exd4

American Chess Bulletin points out that 7...0-0 allows White to spring the "Tarrasch Trap", an instructive sequence of exchanges that appeared in Tarrasch -- Marco, Dresden 1892. The game is annotated in Tarrasch, 300 Games of Chess; Tartakower and DuMont, 500 Master Games of Chess; and Reti, Masters of the Chessboard. All of these books are on my shelf, and the annotations are reproduced in ChessBase Mega 2020. Perhaps, I'll create a separate post on the game.

That game continued 8.Bxc6 Bxc6 9.dxe5 dxe5 10.Qxd8 Raxd8 11.Nxe5 Bxe4 12.Nxe4 Nxe4 13.Nd3 f5 14.f3 Bc5+ 15.Nxc5 Nxc5 16.Bg5 Rd5 17.Be7 and Marco resigned. The entire sequence has appeared several times in master play since with a scoring percentage for White near 90%.

8.Nxd4 

Lasker had this position twice in his World Championship match with Tarrasch in 1908. He also had it against Janowski in a match a year later that was not an official World Championship match.

8...O-O

8...Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Bxb5 10.Nxb5 0-0 11.Bg5 h6 12.Bh4 Re8 13.Rad1 0-1 (41) Tarrasch,S -- Lasker,E, Duesseldorf & Munich 1908.

9.Bxc6

9.Nxc6 Bxc6 10.Bxc6 bxc6 11.Ne2 Qd7 12.Ng3 Rfe8 13.b3 Rad8 14.Bb2 Ng4 0-1 (41) Tarrasch,S -- Lasker,E, Duesseldorf & Munich 1908.

9...bxc6

White to move

10.Bg5

More popular today are 10.Qf3 and 10.Bf4.

10...h6 11.Bh4 Re8 12.Qd3 Nh7 13.Bxe7

An old move, generally played by all the masters. I believe, however, that 13.Bg3 is the best continuation (Capablanca).

13.Bg3 was played against Capablanca two years prior to this match. 13...Nf8 14.Rad1 Bf6 15.Rd2 Qb8 16.f4 Bxd4+ 17.Qxd4 Qxb2 18.Rb1 Qa3 19.Rb3 Qa5 0-1 (32) Cole,H -- Capablanca,J Hastings 1919.

13...Rxe7

White to move

14.Re3

14.Qc4 will come up in game six.

14...Qb8

This move gives the game its character. Qxb2 is not threatened directly because Ra1-b1, Qb2-a3, Nc3-d5 would then lead to material superiority, but the move provokes b2-b3 and loosens White's position (Lasker).

15.b3

Unnecessary at this point, since Black cannot take the pawn (Capablanca).

15.Rae1 Qxb2? 16.Rb1 Qa3 17.Nd5 White wins material.

15...Qb6 16.Rae1 Rae8 17.Nf3

White wants to proceed with e4-e5 in order to weaken the point c5 (Lasker).

A nice point about the two ChessBase training DVDs is effective use of the software's capabilities for highlighting squares.

Black to move

17...Qa5 18.Qd2

Now Nc3-d5 is threatened (Lasker).

Black to move

18...Ng5

A very good move, which gives Black the better position (Capablanca).

The mutual respect that Capablanca and Lasker had for one another often reveals itself in their annotations.

19.Nxg5

19.Nd5 no longer works 19...Nxf3+ 20.gxf3 Qxd2; 19.Qd3 Nxf3+ 20.Rxf3.

19.Nd4 might have been worth considering.

19...hxg5 20.h3

I would have preferred to try to use the h-file.

This move is necessary because otherwise Black would paralyze the white pawns with g5-g4 (Lasker).

20...Re5 21.Rd1

Black to move

21...Bc8

Admittedly the energetic 21...f5 is bad, not because of 22.exf5 (But White would not do the Black the favor of exchanging. And after 22.f3 the g5 pawn would be weak. For example 22...d5 [or 22...f4 23.Rd3 and now White occasionally threatens h4, and Black is more on the defensive] 23.Rd3) 22...Rxe3 23.fxe3 Bxf5 where the weakness of c2 and e3, even after 24.e4 Bg6 Black gives good prospects (Lasker).

Now 21...g4 was the stronger continuation. For example 22.hxg4 Bxg4 23.f3 Bc8 24.Qd4 Qb6 25.Red3 f5 (Lasker).

21...f5 22.f3 (22.exf5 Rxe3 23.fxe3 Bxf5) 22...g4 (22...d5 23.Rd3; 22...f4 23.Rd3) (Lasker).

21...g4 22.hxg4 Bxg4 23.f3 Bc8 24.Qd4 Qb6 25.Red3 f5 (Lasker).

22.Rd3 Qb6 23.Kh2 R8e6 24.Rg3

White wants to open lines for the rooks with f2-f4, Black prevents the maneuver by counterattacking f2 (Lasker).

24...Rf6

Artifice and no end! (Lasker).

Why not 24...f6 If White then answers 25.f4, he is at a disadvantage after 25...gxf4 26.Qxf4 Rh5. (Lasker).

White to move

25.Kg1

25.f3 would have been answered by 25...Qc5 (Lasker).

25...Kf8 26.Na4 Qa5 27.Qxa5 Rxa5

After exchanging queens, Black has no chance of winning, provided that White goes his straight way without fear or illusion. There is no question that Capablanca is the right man to do this (Lasker).

28.Rc3

Played under the impression that Black would have to play 28...Bd7. Since Black can play the text move, it would have been better for White to have played 28.c4 (Capablanca).

28...Bb7 29.f3 Re6 30.Rcd3 Ba6 31.Rd4 f6

White to move

32.Rc1

Perhaps this was the adjourned position. My sources do not indicate the point where the game was adjourned at 1:00 am Sunday morning to be resumed at 9:00 pm.

32.c4 would be an error, as Thomas noted in British Chess Magazine. 32...c5, rook moves, and Bxc4.

32...c5 33.Rd2 Bb5 34.Nc3 Bc6 35.a4

White now threatens to lock up Black's rook with Rc1-a1. If then Ra5-a6 then a4-a5 (Lasker).

35...Ra6 36.Kf2 Rb6 37.Nd1 Kf7

White to move

38.Ne3 Rb8 39.Rh1 Ree8 40.Rdd1 Rh8 41.g4 Bd7 42.Nd5 Rb7 43.Kg3 Rh4 44.Rd3 Be6 45.c4

Black to move

White purposely makes weak pawns on b3 and h3 in order to prevent the advance of c5 and g5 just in case. With that he blocks the position and reaches a draw (Lasker).

The rest of the game seems almost futile. However, perhaps such maneuvering against lesser players could provoke frustration and error.

45...Rh8 46.Rc1 Ke8

White to move

47.Ne3

47.f4 would be a blunder 47...c6 48.Re3 (48.Ne3 gxf4+ 49.Kxf4 Rxh3 50.g5 (50.Rxd6 g5#) 50...fxg5+ 51.Kxg5) 48...Kd7 (48...cxd5 49.exd5) 49.fxg5 (49.Nc3 gxf4+ 50.Kxf4 Rxb3) 49...fxg5 50.Nc3 Rxb3.

47...Kd7

White has slightly more space, but the backward pawns are targets. Black's bishop guards against intrusions by the knight.

48.Ng2 Rbb8 49.Re1 Kc6 50.Ne3 Rbe8 51.Rb1 Rh7 52.Rd2 Rb8 53.Rd3 Rbh8

White to move

54.Rh1 Kb6 55.Rh2 Kc6 56.Rh1 Rb8 57.Rh2 Rf8 58.Rh1 Kd7 59.Rh2 Bf7 60.Nf5 Rfh8 61.Ne3 Ke6 62.Nd5 Rc8

White to move

Here, the game was adjourned a second time.

63.Ne3 ½-½

Lasker had the initiative for much of the game, but could not provoke a decisive error by Capablanca.

Morphy's Immortal

Game of the Week

This week, I am working on the sixth match game between Louis Paulsen and Paul Morphy. Some commentators have called this game "Morphy's Immortal". The decisive combination that begins with a queen sacrifice is the first problem in Anthology of Chess Combinations.

I have been reading several chess books, and also watching YouTube videos to get a sense of what others say about this game. In addition, I read through A.J. Goldsby's annotations and all of the comments on chessgames.com.

This game is number ten in Rashid Ziyatdinov, GM-RAM: Essential Grandmaster Knowledge (2000).

Paulsen,Louis -- Morphy,Paul  [C48]
USA–01.Kongress New York (4.6), 1857

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bc5 

Morphy's move is still a popular choice among some Grandmasters today.

4...Nd4 was first played by Emil Shallop against Paulsen. 5.Nxe5 (5.Ba4 Nxf3+ 6.Qxf3 c6 1–0 in 42 moves, Paulsen,L -- Schallopp,E, Berlin 1881) 5...Qe7

4...Bb4 is most popular.

5.0–0

5.Nxe5 Nxe5 (5...Bxf2+? 6.Kxf2 Nxe5 7.d4±) 6.d4 Bd6.

5...0–0 

5...d6 6.d4 exd4 7.Nxd4 Bd7 8.Nf5 0–0 9.Bg5 Bxf5 10.exf5 Nd4 11.Bd3 d5 12.Bxf6 gxf6 (12...Qxf6  is better 13.Nxd5 Qg5) 13.Na4 1–0 in 26 moves, Paulsen,L -- Zukertort,J, Leipzig 1877.

6.Nxe5

Black to move

6...Re8

6...Nxe5 is an interesting possibility 7.d4 Bd6 8.f4! (8.dxe5 Bxe5) 8...Nc6 9.e5 Be7 10.d5 (10.exf6 Bxf6) 10...Nb4

6...Nd4 7.Be2 d5 ½–½ is 32 moves. Marco,G -- Marshall,F, Monte Carlo 1904

6...Bd4 7.Nf3 Bxc3 8.dxc3 Nxe4 9.Bd3 d5 ½–½ in 33 moves, Tarrasch,S -- Schlechter,C, Monte Carlo 1903.

7.Nxc6?!

7.Nf3 "gives an advantage" (Kasparov, My Great Predecessors, Part I, 33).

7...dxc6 8.Bc4 b5

8...Nxe4? 9.Nxe4 Rxe4 10.Bxf7+ Kxf7 11.Qf3++-.

9.Be2

9.Bb3?! Bg4 10.Qe1 b4 with a slight advantage for Black, according to A.J. Goldsby 11.Nd1 Rxe4 12.Ne3 "is hardly advantageous to White" (Kasparov, 33).

9...Nxe4 10.Nxe4

10.Bf3? Nxf2 11.Rxf2 Qd4 12.Ne4 Rxe4–+.

10...Rxe4 11.Bf3

11.c3 is playable here Qh4 12.d4 Bd6 13.g3 Qh3 (with the idea 14...Rh4) 14.f4 Bd7 15.Bf3 Re7 and White has chances for advantage.

11...Re6

Forced.

White to move

12.c3

"A simply hideous move: who would think of allowing the queen in at d3?" (Kasparov, 33)

12.d3 has been suggested by most commentators, including Ray Keene.

"We can safely say that the play, as above given, was the main cause of White's disasters, particularly when contending against such a far-sighted and powerful adversary as Mr. Morphy."
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper (28 November 1857).

A.J. Goldsby diagrees, offering: "Yet another perfectly reasonable move. (The main idea is to play d4, and block out Black's powerful dark-squared KB.)  I know Reinfeld condemned this move here, but again I am not at all sure that this criticism is either merited -- or justified. (David Lawson gives this a whole question mark, but this is completely and totally unjustified.)"

Goldsby offers the following variation: 12...Qh4 13.g3 Qf6 14.c3 Re8 15.d4 Bh3 16.Bg2 Bxg2 17.Kxg2 Bd6 18.Bd2 Qf5 19.Qf3 Qc2 when Black may be a little better.

12.a3? a5 Black has a clear edge.

12...Qd3

Yikes! The cramping effect of this move reminds me of my victory over Stockfish from a set position based on analysis of Mayet -- Anderssen (see "Training with Anderssen").

13.b4

13.Re1 seems better 13...Rxe1+ (13...Rb8) 14.Qxe1 Bf5 15.Bxc6 Rd8 16.Qe5 Qc2 17.Bf3 Bd6 18.Qxb5 Bd3 19.Qc6 Kf8 "Black still has the advantage" (Kasparov, 34)

13...Bb6 14.a4

"Probably worse for White" 14.Re1 Rxe1+ 15.Qxe1 Bd7 16.Qf1 Qc2 (Goldsby).

14...bxa4 15.Qxa4

Black to move

15...Bd7

15...Bb7 may be superior. Indeed, Kasparov identifies 15...Bd7 as Morphy's most significant miscalculation. 16.Ra2 Rae8 17.Qd1 Ba6 18.Rxa6 Qxa6 19.d4 Qc4 20.Bd2 a5 and Black has a clear advantage, according to Kasparov (34).

16.Ra2? 

16.Qa6! was Paulsen's last chance.

16...Rae8 17.Qa6

Black to move

This position is the first one in the Anthology of Chess Combinations, third edition.

17.Qc2 was no good. 17...Qxf1+ 18.Kxf1 Re1#.

17...Qxf3!!

"Beautiful as unexpected. Mr. Stanley, one of the bystanders, remarked of Mr. M., on his making this seemingly rash move, that he should be confined in a lunatic asylum. No one present could fathom the meaning of this bold play, until move after move showed to the wonder-struck spectators how accurate had been Mr. M.'s calculations. Just think of this, student--seeing into a dozen moves ahead, with all its attendant variations."
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper.

"One of the most amazing moves ever played on a chess-board." A.J. Goldsby

17...Qxf1+? 18.Qxf1 Re1 19.d4 Rxf1+ 20.Kxf1 and White has an advantage.

18.gxf3 Rg6+ 19.Kh1 Bh3 20.Rd1

20.Rg1 Rxg1+ 21.Kxg1 Re1+ 22.Qf1 Rxf1#.

20.Qd3 tests Black's calculation.

Black to move

Analysis diagram after 20.Qd3

I put this position in front of the members of a Chess.com fan page on Facebook. No one found 20...f5!

a) 20...Bg2+ was suggested 21.Kg1 Bxf3+ 22.Qxg6 hxg6 and White is materally ahead.

b) 20...Bxf2 was the best of the suggestions on Facebook. 21.Qxg6 fxg6 22.Rd1 Be6 23.Ra1 Bd5 24.Kg2 Bh4 Black has a bishop and pawn for a rook, and perhaps a slight advantage.

c) 20...f5! keeps the attack alive. 21.Rd1 Bg2+ 22.Kg1 Bxf3+ 23.Kf1 Bxd1 and Black should win.

20...Bg2+ 21.Kg1 Bxf3+ 22.Kf1

Black to move

22...Bg2+

Morphy missed 22...Rg2! 23.Qd3 Rxf2+ 24.Kg1 Rg2+ 25.Kf1 (25.Kh1 Rg1#) 25...Rg1#.

23.Kg1 Bh3+

23...Be4+ 24.Kf1 Bf5 25.Qe2 Bh3+ 26.Ke1 Rg1#.

24.Kh1 Bxf2 25.Qf1

25.Rf1 Bxf1 26.Qxf1 Re1 27.Qxe1 Bxe1 28.Rxa7 h6-+

25...Bxf1 26.Rxf1 Re2 27.Ra1 Rh6 28.d4 Be3 29.Rf2 Rxf2 30.Bxe3 Rfxh2+ 31.Kg1 Rh1+ 32.Kg2 Rxa1 33.Bxh6 gxh6 0–1