 | It has been suggested that this article be merged into King's Knight Opening . ( Discuss ) Proposed since August 2025. |
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The Irish Gambit, [1] Chicago Gambit, [2] or Razzle Dazzle Gambit is a weak chess opening that begins:
The Chicago Gambit adds 3...Nxe5 4.d4.
White's pawns occupy the center , but the sacrifice of a knight for a pawn is a very high price to pay. The gambit is accordingly considered unsound, and is almost never seen in high-level play. Remarkably however, Harold Meyer Phillips used it in an 1899 game in a simultaneous exhibition in Chicago to beat Harry Nelson Pillsbury, one of the strongest players in the world at the time. The moves 3...Nxe5 followed by 4.d4 (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nxe5 Nxe5 4.d4) became known as the Chicago Gambit. [3]
An apocryphal tale is told of the anonymous inventor of the gambit. On his deathbed, when asked what subtle idea lay behind the gambit, his last words were reportedly: "I hadn't seen the king's pawn was defended." [1]
A similar line is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nxe5?!, the Halloween Gambit. It is also considered dubious, but is sounder than the Irish Gambit, because White can gain time by chasing both of Black's knights while occupying the center. White has won a number of short games with the Halloween Gambit.
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