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Chessville
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Dr. Björkqvist, world-renowned researcher and writer on the topic of aggression, has produced a chess book that gives his recommendations for an opening repertoire. Who is surprised that its backbone is the rambunctious Blackmar-Diemer Gambit? Romantic D-Openings (the title refers to the classical 1.d4, not some kind of friendly opening like the exchange Slav) offers the following repertoire:
Björkqvist introduces each gambit with a basic explanation of ideas and possible lines, and follows with related games, most (total of 113) with light notes. Much of the BDG Gemeinde is properly represented in the battles. The author gives the whole repertoire the proper setting, noting it is:
Björkqvist is an amateur chess player writing for amateur chess players, with no pretensions toward master strength. It is clear from his games (he includes 8) and his words that he enjoys his contests over-the-board with these openings, and he wants others to be able to do so, as well.
I think he has the wrong Lasker here – Edward Lasker wrote Chess for Fun and Chess for Blood – but you get the idea. Anyone writing on the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit inevitably points out that, sound or unsound, it is a whole lot of fun to play. It may be true that Gary Kasparov once responded to an unusual opening line by claiming that “Chess is not skittles,” but for many of us, chess is just that. Romantic D-Openings An Opening Repertoire for White is a barrel-full-of-monkeys look at how much fun chess can be. (Sure, you’d probably lose with that stuff against a master, but you’d lose with the Ruy Lopez or Catalan – or any other opening – as well.) How can you not like dust-ups like the following? (Play it through and analyze a bit – why does Black last only 10 moves??) Diemer - Holozar 1934
Is this book for you? In honor of Professor Björkqvist, I will give you a short pop quiz. Read the following excerpts (the first two from Björkqvist, the last from Diemer) and choose the responses that best fit your reaction. My recommendation is in the parentheses that follow.
In closing, I would note the interesting fact that Dr. Björkqvist has researched and written about aggression in girls and women, including the well-received Of Mice and Women: Aspects of Female Aggression. I wonder what he would have to say about the Polgar sisters? For those who would like to know what else is out there on the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, and other related lines in the repertoire, it is a pity that Romantic D-Openings does not contain a bibliography. No doubt the author wants to guard against players immersing themselves in too much analysis, trying to memorize it all, instead of learning the repertoire for themselves… What follows is a short selection I have pulled together. Bibliography There are many books on the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. I mention a few, but a more complete list can be found at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/4902/literature/books.html. Introduced to the BDG If they are still available, Anders Tejler’s four pamphlets (Discover the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit ) published by Chess Digest (1970-1973), could delight readers of Romantic D-Openings. Tejler wrote a later pamphlet, The Euwe Defense: Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (1979, 1995) that is a good companion to the Chess Digest pamphlets. Chess Digest’s pamphlet Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (1977) if it is still available, is another decent introduction. Bill Wall has pulled together 500 Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Miniatures (1999). Interested, want more BDG If you have studied the games in Romantic D-Openings, and analyzed your own efforts, you might want to compare your conclusion with what others have decided. Tim Harding’s Colle, London and Blackmar-Diemer Systems (1970) if you can find a copy, is a good place to start. Eric Schiller’s Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (1986) is broad but not overwhelming in its analysis. Tom Purser and Anders Tejler’s Blackmar, Diemer & Gedult (1991) is a nice collection of over 200 games, some with notes, by coffeehouse chessplayer extraordinaire, David Gedult. Ken Smith’s Winning with the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (1993) is a medium-deep look. Definitely hooked on the BDG If you have continued to analyze the opening and your games with it, and have found your true chess love, here are a few serious books to consider. Emil Josef Diemer’s Das moderne Blackmar-Diemer-Gambit (1983) is a reprint of his legendary Vom ersten Zug an auf Matt! funfundzwanzig Jahre Erfahrungen mit dem Blackmar-Diemer-Gambit (1957). Even if you don’t read German, you will be able to tell the difference between “??” and “!!!” Tim Sawyer’s The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Keybook (1992) is serious, but approachable book of games and analysis. Gary Lane’s The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit(1995) contains the International Master’s view of the opening. Liable to overdose on the BDG If you’re serious about the opening, and you want enough games and analysis to keep you busy for a long time, and you only want to spring for one (hefty) book, Tim Sawyer’s The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Keybook II (1999) is your tome. Other Openings Stefan Bucker, Englund Gambit (1988) German Rasmus Pape and Niels JorgenJensen, Das Gibbins-Weidenhagen-Gambit (1991) German Ken Smith and John Wall, Englund Gambit, Blackburne-Hartlaub Gambit Complex (1994) Tim Sawyer, Alapin French, (1995) Thomas Winckelmann, Das Winckelmann-Reimer-Gambit 1 (1995) German Thomas Winckelmann, Das Winckelmann-Reimer-Gambit 2 ( 1998) German Tim Harding , Four Gambits to beat the French (1998) covers the Alapin-Diemer Gambit and the Winckelmann-Reimer Gambit Jyrki Heikkinen, Diemer-Duhm Gambit website, http://www.funet.fi/pub/doc/games/chess/ddg/ Lev Zilbermints, Zilbermints Benoni website, http://www.gambitchess.com/gambitchess/lzd1.htm And here at Chessville,
The Tamarkin
Counter-Gambit in the Zilbermints Benoni by Lev Zilbermints
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