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Moves | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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ECO | D08–D09 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Origin | Salvioli vs. Cavallotti, Milan 1881 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Named after | Adolf Albin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parent | Queen's Gambit |
The Albin Countergambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
and the usual continuation is:
The opening is a gambit and an uncommon response to the Queen's Gambit. In exchange for the sacrificed pawn, Black has a central wedge at d4 and gets some chances for an attack. Often White will try to return the pawn at an opportune moment to gain a positional advantage.
In the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings the Albin Countergambit is assigned codes D08 and D09.
Although this opening was originally played by Cavallotti against Salvioli at the Milan tournament of 1881, [1] it takes its name from Adolf Albin, who played it against Emanuel Lasker in New York 1893. Though it is not played frequently at the master level, Russian grandmaster Alexander Morozevich made some successful use of it in the 2000s. [2]
a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | ||
8 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | 8 | |||||||
7 | 7 | ||||||||
6 | 6 | ||||||||
5 | 5 | ||||||||
4 | 4 | ||||||||
3 | 3 | ||||||||
2 | 2 | ||||||||
1 | 1 | ||||||||
a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h |
The main line continues 4.Nf3 Nc6 (4...c5 allows 5.e3 because Black no longer has the bishop check) and now White's primary options are 5.a3, 5.Nbd2, and 5.g3. Perhaps White's surest try for an advantage is to fianchetto their light-squared (king-side) bishop with 5.g3 followed by Bg2 and Nbd2. Black will often castle queenside . A typical continuation is 5.g3 Be6 6.Nbd2 Qd7 7.Bg2 0-0-0 8.0-0 Bh3.
The black pawn on d4 is stronger than it may appear. After 3.dxe5 d4 the careless move 4.e3? can lead to the Lasker Trap. After 4...Bb4+ 5.Bd2 dxe3!! (sacrificing the bishop) 6.Bxb4?? is a blunder—Black continues with 6...exf2+! 7.Ke2 (7.Kxf2 does not work because of 7...Qxd1) 7...fxg1=N+! 8.Rxg1 Bg4+! and Black wins the queen with a winning position. The Lasker Trap is notable because it features a rare instance of an underpromotion in practical play.
In the Spassky Variation, White avoids the Lasker Trap by advancing 4.e4. Although Black can capture en passant with 4...dxe3, the Lasker Trap depends on Black capturing the e-pawn after 4...Bb4+ 5.Bd2, which is not possible here. According to Minev, after 4.e4? Nc6! Black will have the better game. [3]
The opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established theory. The other phases are the middlegame and the endgame. Many opening sequences, known as openings, have standard names such as "Sicilian Defense". The Oxford Companion to Chess lists 1,327 named openings and variants, and there are many others with varying degrees of common usage.
In chess, a smothered mate is a checkmate delivered by a knight in which the mated king is unable to move because it is completely surrounded by its own pieces.
The Bogo-Indian Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
The Queen's Indian Defense (QID) is a chess opening defined by the moves:
The Philidor Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
Bird's Opening is a chess opening characterised by the move:
The Catalan Opening is a chess opening where White plays d4 and c4 and fianchettoes the white bishop on g2. A common opening sequence is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3, although various other openings can transpose into the Catalan. The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings (ECO) lists codes E01–E09 for lines with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2; other lines are part of E00.
Adolf Albin was a Romanian chess player. He is best known for the countergambit that bears his name and for authoring the first chess book written in Romanian.
The Budapest Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
The Elephant Gambit is a rarely played chess opening beginning with the moves:
The Marshall Defense is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
The Englund Gambit is a rarely played chess opening that starts with the moves:
The Lasker Trap is a chess opening trap in the Albin Countergambit. It is named after Emanuel Lasker, although it was first noted by Serafino Dubois. It is unusual in that it features an underpromotion as early as the seventh move.
The Rousseau Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
In chess, the Maróczy Bind is a term alternately used to refer to an opening or its associated pawn structure, named for the Hungarian grandmaster Géza Maróczy. When the Bind is discussed as an opening, it is defined as 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4. The Maróczy Bind opening is a continuation of the Sicilian Defence, Accelerated Dragon, where 5.c4 is the characteristic move.
In chess, the Cambridge Springs Defense is a variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined that begins with the moves:
The 1978 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi in Baguio, Philippines, from July 18 to October 18, 1978. Karpov won, thereby retaining the title.
Bibliography