I have decided to return to my project on the Alrick Man Vienna Gambit Theme Tournament of 1924-1925, so I thought I'd compile a bibliography on the Vienna Gambit (C29), which opens 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 and usually continues 3...d5 4.fxe5 Nxe4 when White then has a choice among 5.d3, 5.Qf3 and 5.Nf3. Part of my inspiration for returning to the Alrick Man project comes from an article in New in Chess Yearbook #110 (2014), which presents the Vienna Gambit as an interesting territory in which to "just play chess" in creative ways, as in the game Jobava - Mamedyarov, Warsaw 2013. This is an attractive idea, and one I think the Alrick Man games demonstrate. You can also find a lot of creativity in the games of other players who have favored the Vienna Gambit, including Jonny Hector, Dragoljub Janošević, Heikki Westerinen, Karel Hromadka, and Rudolf Spielmann.
The Vienna Gambit might make an interesting addition to a Four Knights repertoire, starting 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 when you can choose between 3.Nf3 or 3.f4!? for times when you are looking for an offbeat adventure. Vienna Gambit game collections can be found at Chessgames (C29), Spielmann playing C29 as White, Vienna Gambit 3...exf4? 4.e5, Vienna Gambit f5 Variation, 365 Chess, Chess-DB, ChessTempo, ChessTempo2, ChessTempo1, and ChessAge.
Bibliography
"Meagre Prospects of Success" by Martin Breutigam, ChessBase Magazine #169 (December 2015 - January 2016). A very critical consideration of White's chances, focusing on the main lines that follow 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 d5 4.fxe5 Nxe4, which include: 5.Qf3 as in Nakamura - Yermolinsky, Stillwater 2007 which continued 5...Nc6! 6.Bb5 Nxc3 7.dxc3 Qh4+ 8.g3 Qe4+ 9.Qxe4 dxe4 10.Bf4?! (the Sveshnikov's prefer 10.Be3!) with a complex ending where Black had better chances than the result would suggest, according to Breutigam; 5.d3 when Black is already better after 5...Nxc3 6.bxc3 d4!; and 5.Nf3 when Black can try 5...Be7 or 5...Bc5! as in Jobava - Mamedyarov, Warsaw 2013 and other games. A very challenging article for players as White, and more evidence that 5.Qf3 may indeed be White's best try.
A Chess Opening Repertoire for Blitz and Rapid: Sharp, Surprising and Forcing Lines for Black and White by Evgeny and Vladimir Sveshnikov, New in Chess 2015.
A wonderful book with lots of interesting lines, including the Vienna Game and Gambit (pp. 333 - 398). The father and son authors focus appropriately on the line 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 d5 4.fxe5 Nxe4 5.Qf3! which increasingly looks like White's best chance for getting a playable game and even the initiative, especially in blitz and rapid chess. Main Vienna Gambit games discussed include Najdorf - Chaves, Sao Paulo simul 1947; Lagarde - Bouget, Avoire Open 2012; Spielmann - Marshall, Breslau 1912; and Depasquale - Charles, Suncoast 1999, but many more games are discussed and analyzed in the notes. They also analyze 2...Bc5 3.f4! and 2...Nc6 3.Bc4. Other openings covered include, for Black, the Alekhine and Queen's Gambit Accepted and, for White, the 2.b3 Sicilian, the Two Knights French, and the Two Knights Caro-Kann.
"A Worthy Alternative" by Alexander Finkel, New in Chess Yearbook #110 (2014): 135-139. Focuses on the line 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 d5 4.fxe5 Nxe4 5.Nf3 Bc5!, featuring the recent game Jobava - Mamedyarov, Warsaw 2013, which continued 6.Qe2!? Bf5! 7.Nd1 with complex play, though Black clearly has the initiative. Other games include Lehtivaara - Virtanen, Finland Junior Ch 1987; Uritzky - Kogan, Tel Aviv 1996; Pedersen - Ochsner, Denmark tt 2001-2002; Lemmers - Vedder, Netherlands tt 2013-2014; Andreikin - Kramnik, Moscow WCh Blitz 2010; Milotai - Fichtl, Brno 1957; Hector - Hagen, Copenhagen 2012; Ljubojevic - Ciocaltea, Skopje ol 1972; Narmontas - Gustafsson, Warsaw rapid 2008; and Vavra - Fernandez Garcia, Barcelona tt 1993. A close look at the line suggests that the classic 5.Nf3 is put into question by 5....Bc5!
Game Of the Week: GM Jobava vs. GM Mamedyarov by Joel Benjamin, ICC Video (November 29, 2013). Some useful notes on the widely discussed Jobava game. Membership required.
"Alrick H. Man Vienna Gambit Theme Tournament" by Michael Goeller, Kenilworth Chess Club (January 2011). My first and (until 3 years later) last article on this theme tournament at the Marshall Chess Club that ran from December 1924 - April 1925 and was sponsored by club member and philanthropist Alrick H. Man. In this first article, I had annotated the game Carlos Torre - C. E. Norwood, which began 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 d5 4.fxe5 Nxe4 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.Qe2! I will soon be posting all of the games from this theme tournament. Update: the final article on this tournament contained all games and analysis.
The Vienna with 3.f4 by Nigel Davies, ChessBase DVD (2011)
"Besides the traditional lines such as 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 d5 4.fxe5 Nxe4 and 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 exf4 4.Nf3 g5 5.h4 g4 6.Ng5 h6 7.Nxf7, Davies examines modern treatments such as 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 d5 4.exd5 and 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 exf4 4.Nf3 g5 5.d4 d6 6.d5!?. He also shows why many of the typical reactions at club level are bad. Video running time: 4 hours." Also at ChessCentral.
"Vienna Gambit - 5. d3" by Subhodh Kotekal & Tony Palmer, West Michigan Chess (2011).
"Vienna Gambit - 5. Nf3" by Subhodh Kotekal & Tony Palmer, West Michigan Chess (2011). Some questionable analysis and old sources, but not a bad overview.
Boris Alterman, Vienna Gambit video lecture series at ICC (2010). Part One (Preview, Members); Part Two (Preview, Members); Part Three (Preview, Members); Part 4 (Preview, Members) - requires Windows Media Player.
The ABC of the Vienna by Andrew Martin, ChessBase DVD (2009)
Reviewed by Louis Lima. "IM Andrew Martin argues that the Vienna is a good practical choice. White can steer the game into all manner of interesting positions according to Black’s response. He may play sharply or positionally. Black must respond very accurately to demonstrate equality. Video running time: 3 hours 42 minutes."
"The Rough Guide to Vienna" by Gary Lane, Opening Lanes #119 at ChessCafe (2008). Discusses some games where Black plays the passive d6 defense, which is generally not effective against the Vienna.
The Art of Sacrifice in Chess, Game 20 by Katar, ChessVideos.tv (2007). A useful commentary on the game Spielmann - Flamberg 1914.
Shock and Awe in the Vienna Gambit by George Eraclides, Pawn's Progress blog (October 2006). An interesting game of the author's with the Oxford d3 line and eventual O-O-O!?
The Vienna Game C23-C29 by Gregory Huber, ChessBase (2006). Reviewed by Hansen. "The work consists of a clearly laid out database containing 26 texts and 330 games, 220 of which have been annotated by the author. In addition there is a large database containing more than 27,000 games (a good 300 of which have been annotated), a training database with 124 training questions and a large opening tree constructed from all the games."
Play 1.e4 e5! by Nigel Davies, Everyman Chess (2005): 178-182. Takes as its main game Hellers - Karpov, Haninge 1990 and also discusses Milner-Barry - Haygarth, Sunderland 1966 and Hromadka - Bogoljubow, Mahrisch-Ostrau 1923.
"Sideways" by Gary Lane, Opening Lanes #75 at ChessCafe (March 2005)
Looks at Black's options in the Wurzburger Trap line, based on analysis by reader Patrick Byrne, where Black might save himself by 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 d5 4.fxe5 Nxe4 5.d3 Qh4+ 6.g3 Nxc3!
White Repertoire 1.e4 by Alexander Bangiev, ChessBase CD (2003)
Though I do not agree with all of Bangiev's opinions on these lines, I think he makes a very thorough and useful presentation and analysis, covering lots of lines and offering many analyzed games. The rest of the repertoire is very interesting, along the lines of "the Big Clamp" theme. If you are interested in lines with an early f4 for White, get a copy of this while it still exists. You can find a useful review at Seagaard by Pelle Bank.
"How to Win on the Internet" by Gary Lane, Opening Lanes #50 at ChessCafe (2002). Discusses some games of interest to Vienna theory, including 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 d6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bb5 and 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 f5 3.exf5 with a King's Gambit Accepted plus extra tempo.
"Fischer Plays Again" by Gary Lane, Opening Lanes #45 at ChessCafe (September 2002)
Looks at the Wurzburger Trap line from the White perspective.
"The Romantic 5.Qf3: Classical Main Line 4.fxe5 Nxe4 5.Qf3 " by A.C Van der Tak, New in Chess Yearbook #62 (2002): 123-128. Sample games include Sax - Pavasovic, Nova Gorica 2001; Noskov - Kunits, Correspondence USSR 1936; Swanson - Baker, England tt 2000; Arnaudov - Hristov, Teteven 1991; Depasquale - Charles, Suncoast 1999; Darvall - Lovejoy, Canberra 2001; Grau - Van Schelinga, Buenos Aires ol 1939; Shaw - Parker, Hastings 1995-1996; Vankov - Angelov, Corr. ch Great Britain 1992; Vankov - Sergiev, Corr. ch Great Britain 1992; Spielmann - Schenkein, Vienna 1913; Vankov - Unglaub, Correspondence 1991; Swanson - Yeo, Great Britain 1998; Schwarzbach - Chalupetzky, Correspondence 1908; Antal - Lukacs, Budapest 2000; Hromadka - Lasker, Mahrisch Ostrau 1923; Kazic - Poljakov, Novi Sad 1945; Koniger - Maler, Munchen 1993; and Paulsen - Schiffers, Breslau 1889, among others.
Vienna Game by Gary Lane, Everyman Chess (2000): 10-41. I find Gary Lane's book useful, but his goal is to survey the opening for both players and not necessarily to identify the best lines for White. He focuses most on 5.Nf3, where he says that "'If in doubt play Qe2' could be White's slogan in this line" -- though he thinks White must meet 5....Bc5! by 6.d4 Bb4 7.Bd2 where the Vorotnikov game is an interesting try. Main games include Adams - Anand, Linares (4) 1994; Adams - Xu Jun, Cap d'Agde 1994; Murshed - Babu, Sakthi 1996; Flaisigova - Krivec, World Junior Ch 1998; Yegiazarian - Estrada, Linares 1999; De la Riva - Fernandez, Barcelona 1993; Vorotnikov - Kuzmin, Orel 1997; Bauer - Heidenfeld, Zell 1991; Lehtivaara - Flear, Lenk 1992; Mallahi - Quintero, World Junior Ch 1999; Bronstein - Malaniuk, Hastings 1995; Polasek - Vrana, Prague 1992; Biolek - Mokry, Olomouc 1997; Seret - Spassky, French Ch 1990; Kunte - Garbisu, World Junior Ch 1995; Gruettner - Kraus, Giessen 1991; Kimenko - Navabi, World Junior Ch 1999; Antal - Lengyel, Budapest 1998; Depasquale - Charles, Australian Open 1999; Koeniger - Maier, Munich 1993; Paglilla - Blatny, Buenos Aires 1998; and Maslachenko - Skatchkov, Orel 1996.
Play the Open Games as Black by John Emms, Gambit (2000): 30-35.
Emms offers a very good repertoire for Black and good analysis to support it. His treatment of the Vienna, while naturally biased toward Black, is worth examining. Sample games include Vorotnikov - Kapengut, USSR 1975; Hromadka - Lasker, Mahrisch Ostrau 1923; Vulfson - Lilienthal, Kuibyshev 1942; Hromadka - Bogoljubow, Mahrisch-Ostrau 1923; Hon - Van der Sterren, London 1992; Sax - Plaskett, Lugano 1986; Ljubojevic - Ciocaltea, Skopje OL 1972; L'Hoste - Boudre, Val Maubuee 1990; Sorensen - Flear, Hastings 1988; Swanson - Fernandez Garcia, Lucerne OL 1982; Uritzky - Kogan, Tel Aviv 1996; Janosevic - Baretic, Yugoslavia 1977; and Boog - Godena, Geneva 1993.
"The English in Exile?" by Gary Lane, Opening Lanes #7 at ChessCafe (July 1999)
Looks at 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 f5?! But the best answer is 3.Nf3!
The Complete Vienna by Mikhail Tseitlin and I. B. Glazkov, Batsford (1995). A little dated, though some analysis in various lines is interesting. Considers 5.Qe2 (Paulsen's move, which is not so inspiring), 5.Qf3 (where discussion of the line 5...Nc6! 6.Bb5 Nxc3 is still focused around 7.bxc3?! even though the authors note that 7.dxc3 is forced), 5.d3 when 5...Bb4!? and 5...Nxc3 6.bxc3 d4 are given deep treatment, and 5.Nf3 where the authors look at a wide range of Black responses but definitely show 5...Bc5! to spell trouble for White.
Die Wiener Partie by Laszlo Jakobetz and Laszlo Somlai, Reinhold Dreier Verlag (1994)
Vienna Game and Gambit, Part 1 by Colin Leach (1993)
Part of a three-part series of pamphlets, with the first covering 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4.
"Vienna Game: Hector vs Hector" by René Olthof with notes by Alexander Bangiev, New in Chess Yearbook #30 (1993): 75-80. Features the Classical Main Line 4.fxe5 Nxe4 5.Nf3 Be7 6.Qe2. Rollig - Hector, Berlin 1993; Spielmann - Kaufmann, Vienna 1917; Florian - Lilienthal, Budapest - Moscow 1949; Euwe - Reti, Bad Pistyan 1922; Spielmann - Maroczy, Teplitz - Schonau 1922; Spielmann - Reti, Vienna 1922; Spielmann - Yates, Marienbad 1925; Konstantinopolsky - Keres, Moscow 1940; Hector - Schmid, Metz 1988; Hector - Brull, Lagnisko 1988; Hector - Blauert, Berlin 1988; Hector - Kakageldiev, Manilla 1992; Hector - Brinck, Naestved 1988; Hector - Campora, Royan 1988; Hector - Chiburdanidze, Berlin 1988; Hector - Z. Polgar, Val Maubuee 1988; Hector - Ivkov, Cannes 1989; Hector - Inkiov, Kobenhavn 1990; Westerinen - Matanovic, Forssa 1972; Westerinen - Lengyel, San Feliu 1973; Gurieli - Akmilovskaya, Frunze 1975; Ekebjaerg - Kramer, Correspondence 1988; Hellers - Karpov, Haninge 1990; Bangiev - Kunze, Berlin 1993; Blackburne - Judd, New York 1889; Janosevic - Gligoric, Beograd 1964; Janosevic - Reshevsky, Maribor 1967; Janosevic - Baretic, Yugoslavia 1977; and Bangiev - Howell, Biel 1993.
The Vienna Game and Gambit, Revised 2nd edition, by A.E. Santasiere and Ken Smith, Chess Digest (1992)
"Vienna Game: Oxford Variation" by A.C Van der Tak, New in Chess Yearbook #19 (1991): 60-63. A survey of games with the Classical Main Line 4.fxe5 Nxe4 5.d3 with useful notes on the game Seret - Spassky, Angers 1990, and then a collection of very lightly annotated games, including Znosko-Borovsky - Cohn, St. Petersburg 1909; Hromadka - Spielmann, Prague 1924; Heidenfeld - Roele, Amsterdam 1954; Milner-Barry - Hanninen, Moscow ol 1956; Beckers - Denckens, Correspondence Belgium 1961; Kirby - Wilken, Correspondence South Africa 1961; Noskov - Stoliar, Leningrad 1966; Sax - Ciocaltea, Vrnjacka Banja 1974; and Iskov - Donner, Swendborg 1981, among others.
Der Wiener Partie by Jerzy Konikowski, Münster Verlag (1990)
Vienna Game by Alexander Konstantinopolsky Vladimir Lepeshkin, Batsford (1986)
Accomplishes significantly less in 119 pages than Harding does in 104, with only 11 pages devoted to the Vienna Gambit and a mere mention of 5.Qf3 when 5...f5 is said to equalize, which Harding had already shown to be in doubt.
Vienna Opening, Tim Harding, Batsford (1976)
The Vienna Gambit sections focus most on 5.Nf3 and 5.d3, both of which receive their own chapters, while analysis of 5.Qf3 f5!? offers some depth thanks to the discussion of a series of articles in the Soviet journal 64. A useful historical reference, with very good discussion of historical developments. In English Descriptive notation.
The Vienna Game and Gambit by A. E. Santasiere, Chess Digest Books (1974): 51-66. Relatively little of the pamphlet is devoted to the Vienna Gambit, with the majority of attention devoted to Weaver Adams's favorite lines of the Bishop's Opening, including the Frankenstein-Dracula variation. In this section, game references include Christiansen - Schulz, Roskilde 1968; Sultan Khan - Weenimk, Liege 1930; Spielman - Kaufmann, Vienna 1917; Florian - Lilienthal, Budapest 1949; Spielmann - Teichmann, Teplitz - Schoner 1922; Janosevic - Wade, Solingen 1968; Janosevic - Lengyel, Maribor 1967; Janosevic - Reshevsky, Maribor 1965; Janosevic - Gligoric, Belgrade 1964; Spielmann - Loman, Schevenigen 1923; Spielmann - Reti, Vienna 1922; Konstantinopolsky - Keres, Moscow 1940; Mattison - Rubinstein, Prague 1931; Kan - Botvinnik, Moscow 1935; Chartinonaschuilli - Agschamov, Kaluga 1968; Westerinen - Camilleri, Raach 1969; van der Weide - Horne, Hastings 1967; Spielmann - Yates, Prague 1931; Spielmann - Vidmar, Semmering 1926; Mieses - Rubinstein, Match 1909; Wolf - Vidmar, Carlsbad 1907; Euwe - Yates, Hague 1921; Spielmann - Flamberg, Mannheim 1914; Nikitin - Zeschkovsky, Alma - Alta 1968 (!); Spielmann - Marshall, New York 1927; Ivaschin - Boriseenko, Kuilyschev 1948; Spielmann - Romanovsky, Moscow 1925; Boros - Lilienthal, Budapest 1933; Hromadka - Lasker, Mahrisch - Ostran 1923; Hromadka - Spielmann, Trentscher - Teplitz 1926; Hromadka - Johner, Pistyan 1922; Hromadka - Bogolyubov, Mahrisch - Ostram 1923; Horseman - Gligoric, Hastings 1956/1957; Steinitz - Blackburne, Match 1876; and Baretic - Nikolic, Hastings 1961 among others.
500 Master Games of Chess by S. Tartakower and J. Du Mont (1952). Gives the games Hromadka - Schreiber, Munich 1936; Spielmann - Maroczy, Teplitz - Schonau 1922; and Kan - Botvinnik, Moscow 1935.
"Wienerisch," Die Hypermoderne Schachpartie by S. G. Tartakower, Wiener Schachzeitung (1924): 208-212. Gives the game Spielmann - Maroczy, Teplitz - Schonau 1922.
Die Wiener Partie by Curt von Bardeleben (1893). Available at Google Books.
6 comments:
That Jobava-Mamedyarov game is not very inspiring of course and I think 6...Bf2+ even more annoying. White tends to get behind in development.
5.d3 Nxc3 6.bxc3 d4 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.cxd4 Bb4+ (and Black is the one playing gambit) doesn't appeal to me either but 5.Qf3 (Spielmann) seems to be underrated. It's equal of course, but either White gets a dynamic middle game or an unbalanced endgame and that's not bad at all.
If you want something much sharper than the Four Knights you can take a look here
http://tws27.50webs.com/chess/kings_gambit/quaade.htm
games Nepustil-Gerard and Nepustil-Muri
and here
http://tws27.50webs.com/chess/kings_gambit/hamppe_allgaier.htm
There is some more stuff though; for instance 4...Be7 is a kind of Cunningham Gambit.
If White prefers a quieter life 3.g3 is worth considering, as this avoids the strong ...Nf6 and ...d5 variation.
Finally the Vienna Gambit can be used against the Alekhine Defence if White doesn't mind 2.Nc3 d5 3.e5. Unfortunately the Steinitz-Variation is very demanding; this addition would result in a coherent repertoire especially if White takes up the GPA (see my comment on the previous article).
I can see some players having a similar issue with the 1.e4 e5 2.f4 move-order into the Quaade/Hamppe-Allgaier lines- the Modern Defence (with 2...d5 3.exd5 exf4 being the most forcing route into it) seems to be holding up as well for Black as 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 d5 these days. I don't see the King's Gambit Declined setups with ...Bc5 (which I haven't yet covered at my site) as a major objection though in either case. I plan to revisit and update my analysis of these lines in the near future, especially after having examined John Shaw's mammoth effort on the King's Gambit.
As Black I have taken to meeting 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 with 2...Nc6 so that 3.f4 can be met by 3...exf4, again steering for those "true" gambit lines (of course 2...Nf6 3.f4 exf4? 4.e5 is poor for Black).
Thanks for the comments. I think it was your comment on my first Alrick H. Man post, MNb, that put me off that project for three years. I agree: from a purely objective viewpoint, White has no advantage after 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 d5 and Black has good chances with preparation. But, as Kasparov so succinctly put it when asked about Nakamura's experiments with 2.Qh5?!: "Chess is sport." The historical byways are still viable options -- especially when most of your opponents (especially at the amateur level) will not have a clue about the theory. There are lots of ways for Black to go wrong, most of which have been long known (including the simple mistake 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 exf4? 4.e5 as Ian points out), but which are not always known at the board.
I have been enjoying my exploration of the Vienna Gambit. There are some great classic games in that line that I had not really looked at before.
Ultimately, one of my interests is looking at chess history and seeing if that history can be brought back to life. Exploring historical chess openings is one way to do that, and I love sperlunking through the crypt of forgotten chess games in old newspapers and finding ways of reviving some of their ideas. I think of it as a very chess-positive adventure -- showing that there is a lot more to the game than the Catalan. I don't know why anyone would want to kill the complexity that this adds to the game, or drive a stake through the heart of these rare openings. The more we do that, the more we forget chess history and end up diminishing chess.
Well, I do think Spielmann's 5.Qf3 can be brought back to life. That pleases me, as he is my chess hero.
See my final article on the Alrick Man event where I offer links to all of the analysis and related articles:
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-complete-alrick-h-man-vienna-gambit.html
The final article can be found here:
http://www.kenilworthchessclub.org/games/java/2014/alrick-man-complete.htm
And the final PGN here:
http://www.kenilworthchessclub.org/kenilworth-pgn/alrick-man-complete.pgn
By the end of my journey, I came to the conclusion that Spielmann's Qf3 line is certainly the best for White and definitely makes the Vienna Gambit playable.
The Vienna Gambit for the Club Player by Colin Payne and Mike Read is a nicely presented book with lots of diagrams that covers all of the major lines of the Vienna Gambit from the White perspective. Besides the lines covered on this site, they also cover what they call "The Googly": 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 d5 4.exd5!? e4 where the main line (which can arise from the traditional Falkbeer Counter-Gambit) continues 5.d3 Bb4 6.Bd2 e3! 7.Bxe3 O-O! with sharp gambit play for Black that is not bad for White, while the line overall is generally in White's favor. A useful book with plenty of diagrams.
https://www.amazon.com/Vienna-Gambit-Club-Player/dp/B094TCDN6N
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