The Halloween Gambit

I know some of you simply live for this opening.

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Posted by IM Andrew Martin 3½ hours ago.

A Chess friend of mine plays this even in real OTB games. Not just Blitz. He managed to get 2133 FIDE by playing this insane opening. It produced some really interesting games. I´ll see whether I can find some of his games or not.

EDIT:
I happened to find one of his insane games in a hurry in th HZT (Vlissingen). Enjoy.

I played once v an IM.....and lost.

Personally cannot see what all the fuss is about.
If Black wants to he can go into a French Exchange type set up.

I always had the understanding that "French players" didn't like the exchange variation. Am I wrong on that one?

If you play the French then you have to learn to like the Exchange Variation.

But we are not talking French Defence players.
We are talking 1...e5 players who want to avoid a ton of theory and a maniac.

Originally posted by greenpawn34
I played once v an IM.....and lost.

Personally cannot see what all the fuss is about.
If Black wants to he can go into a French Exchange type set up.

Isn't it possible for the 'real' Halloween player to play 6. h3 and continue the insanity?
He isn't committed to go to French Exchange.
I wouldn't mind a full analysis of this opening, it is lots of fun!

Originally posted by yashin
Isn't it possible for the 'real' Halloween player to play 6. h3 and continue the insanity?
He isn't committed to go to French Exchange.
I wouldn't mind a full analysis of this opening, it is lots of fun!

Well then black can just sac his knight on f2 and then play ...d5.

This doesn't seem to bad to me (although I always underestimate a weak king as a king's gambit player).
After Ne4 Nxe4 you even have a positional advantage in my opinion with the isolated black pawn. Shouldn't the black player be ahead after the opening is black plays correctly vs the Halloween?


Fritz gives +0.38 here. But hey! Never trust an engine!

Originally posted by yashin
[pgn]1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nxe5 Nxe5 5. d4 Neg4 6. h3 Nxf2 7. Kxf2 d5 8. e5[/pgn]

This doesn't seem to bad to me (although I always underestimate a weak king as a king's gambit player).
After Ne4 Nxe4 you even have a positional advantage in my opinion with the isolated black pawn. Shouldn't the black player be ahead after the opening is black ...[text shortened]... P/PPP2KP1/R1BQ1B1R w kq - 0 10[/fen]
Fritz gives +0.38 here. But hey! Never trust an engine!

Thats a rather even eval. But I'd take black simply because he can still castle.

Originally posted by yashin
[pgn]1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nxe5 Nxe5 5. d4 Neg4 6. h3 Nxf2 7. Kxf2 d5 8. e5[/pgn]

This doesn't seem to bad to me (although I always underestimate a weak king as a king's gambit player).
After Ne4 Nxe4 you even have a positional advantage in my opinion with the isolated black pawn. Shouldn't the black player be ahead after the opening is black ...[text shortened]... P/PPP2KP1/R1BQ1B1R w kq - 0 10[/fen]
Fritz gives +0.38 here. But hey! Never trust an engine!

what about this position?

I'm trying to say that it is a rather weak end when you have been a piece up. Isn't there a better way to counter this?

Also that position is impossible because of 9 ... Qh4+?? 10. Ng3!

Originally posted by yashin
I'm trying to say that it is a rather weak end when you have been a piece up. Isn't there a better way to counter this?

Well, there is a difference between winning a piece and accepting a gambit piece... I'd take the safe route especially since I don't want to study the opening too much and even if I did the person who initiates it probably still knows much more about it than I do.

hmm I missed that... let me see here. What about 8...Ng8?

Originally posted by yashin
[pgn][Event "14th Hogeschool Zeeland Tournament"] [Site "Vlissingen"] [Date "2010.08.13"] [Round "8"] [White "Go, Benjamin"] [Black "Van Midde, Jon"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C47"] [WhiteElo "2128"] [BlackElo "2022"] [PlyCount "43"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nxe5 Nxe5 5. d4 Ng6 6. e5 Ng8 7. Bc4 Bb4 8. Qf3 Qe7 9. h4 Nh6 10. h5 Nxe5 11. dxe5 Qxe5+ 12. Kf1 B ...[text shortened]... 1 f6 18. Rg3+ Kf7 19. Qf5 Rh8 20. Rge3 d6 21. Re7+ Kf8 22. Qxf6+ 1-0[/pgn]

That's not some sappy Merkin "Halloween Gambit", that's the old, boring Müller-und-Schultze. It should catch out OTB players, not correspondence players.
And someone didn't read his "Theorie der schaakopeningen" at move 7.

Richard

Hi Shallow Blue.

Yes OTB the gambit is playable and in C.C. play it's very dodgy.

But have reached the conclussion C.C. and Internet Play differ vastly.
Correspondence Chess is where you study the postion carefully before
sending your reply.

With Internet Chess you make the first move that appears in your head,
click a mouse and move onto the next game.
20 seconds later you have made 4 moves in 4 different games.

You have more chance of getting away with unsound play on here
than you do OTB. The lads on here move far too fast.

If they all cut it down to one move per day and then cherish that move....
...I would have nothing to write about. 😉

The two chief exponents of this opening are:
Matic User 94576 and junnujannu User 340999.

Matic played 38 Won.18 Drawn 4 Lost 16

junnujannu played 58 won 27 Drawn 4 Lost 27

Pretty even stevens for both players.

One game that came close to rubbing out a Matic win and replacing
it with a draw was Game 1301036 which went down to the wire.

An example of an Internet blunder.

Here Black to play his 56th move.


He played 56...Nf3+ 57.Kf6 and the Knight could not stop the pawn. 1-0.

Correct was 56...Ne6+ 57.Kf6 Nf4


Black will play Nxg6 next move and if 58.g7 Nh5+ ½ - ½

Originally posted by greenpawn34
With Internet Chess you make the first move that appears in your head, click a mouse and move onto the next game.
20 seconds later you have made 4 moves in 4 different games.

You have more chance of getting away with unsound play on here
than you do OTB. The lads on here move far too fast.

This is true. I drop pieces that way all the time 🙁.

Richard