Chess Gambits- Harking back to the 19th century!
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The Göring Gambit

The Göring Gambit is a 19th-century style gambit beginning with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.c3!? (or 2.d4 exd4 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.c3).

Introduction

White can of course recapture with 4.Nxd4, the Scotch Game, but in the Göring Gambit White instead offers the d-pawn as a gambit - this opening is essentially a Danish Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3) with Nf3 and ...Nc6 inserted.  After 4...dxc3 White can settle for sacrificing one pawn with 5.Nxc3, or sacrifice a second pawn at b2 with 5.Bc4, which is more dangerous but riskier.
The idea is to open up lines for the white pieces and increase the white lead in development, which will typically be used as a basis for launching a quick attack on the black king.

The gambit was first played at high levels by Howard Staunton in the 1840s, but Carl Theodor Göring, who was the first player to introduce it into master play, got it named after him.  Although the Göring Gambit has never gained much popularity at the highest levels of play, some players rated in the 2300-2600 Elo bracket have used it frequently at some point, e.g. Jonathan Penrose, Ljubomir Ljubojević, Douglas Bryson, Igor Dolgov and Dimitrios Mastrovasilis.  There was a rare GM outing in the gambit in 2011, when Yu Yangyi used it successfully against Rimat Jumabayev.   Alexander Alekhine often played 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 in casual games, which often transposed after a subsequent ...Nc6 and Nf3.

The most common objection to playing this gambit is that 4.c3 does not contribute directly to the development of white's pieces and so Black can equalise by declining the gambit and undermining White's e4-pawn, which is currently undefended.  4...d5 is the most reliable way of doing so, while 4...Nf6 is also quite good.  4...Nge7 intending 5...d5 is also tricky, but I think 5.Bc4 d5 6.exd5 Nxd5 7.0-0 gives White good chances of getting an advantage out of the opening, and "pushing past" with 4...d3 tends to consign Black to passive positions.

My feeling is that this gambit is "just about sound", but less definitely sound than the Scotch Gambit (4.Bc4), with White either having full compensation for the sacrificed pawn(s) or coming very close, regardless of whether 5.Nxc3 or 5.Bc4 is played, but as the resulting positions (especially after 5.Bc4 cxb2 6.Bxb2) are hard to assess, Black might be able to come out on top with very precise defence.  But even so, White scores a very respectable 57% with 4.c3 in practice - the same as White scores with the Ruy Lopez - and scores 62% with 4...dxc3 5.Bc4.

An interesting pronunciation quirk is that (in Britain and North America at least) this opening is most often pronounced in a way that rhymes with "boring", as if the name Göring didn't contain an umlaut.  I am guessing that this is probably to distance it from risk of being tarnished by association with the infamous Hermann Göring, who had nothing to do with this gambit.

Repertoire/transposition issues

If White uses the move-order 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.c3, then White has to be ready for the Petroff Defence (2...Nf6) and the Philidor Defence (2...d6) and the dubious but tricky Elephant (2...d5) and Latvian (2...f5) gambits.  

After 2...Nc6 3.d4, however, Black has no good way to maintain the strong-point on e5.  3...d6 is well met by 4.dxe5, or 4.Bb5 (transposing into the Steinitz variation of the Ruy Lopez, which is quite passive for Black), or 4.Bc4 which tends to lead into the Hungarian Defence.

If White tries 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.c3, then Black has no particularly strong alternative to 2...exd4, although 2...Nc6 (transposing to a line of the Nimzowitsch Defence, 1.e4 Nc6 2.d4 e5) is playable.  2...d6 as mentioned earlier can lead to a Philidor Defence after 3.Nf3, when Black's most reliable is probably 3...exd4 after all, as 3...Nf6 4.dxe5 Nxe4 5.Qd5 gives White a persistent initiative.  Instead 3.dxe5 dxe5 4.Qxd8+ Kxd8 leaves White with some initiative in the queenless middlegame but White does not score as well as in the similar lines arising from 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 Nf6 4.dxe5.  Black can bring the king to comparative safety with ...c6 and ...Kc7.  Thus I am inclined to recommend 2...d6 3.Nf3.

At move 3, 3...Nf6 transposes into the Old Petroff (here White can consider heading into the Urusov Gambit with 4.Bc4, which is actually how I have most commonly reached it in practice).  3...Bb4+ leaves both sides with nothing better than to head into one of the main accepted lines of the Göring with 4.c3 dxc3 5.Nxc3 Nc6 (transposing to 4...dxc3 5.Nxc3 Bb4).

Common ideas

When putting pressure on Black's f7-pawn with Bc4 and Qb3, White must beware of the ...Nc6-a5 "fork", which can force the exchange of White's light-squared bishop (an important attacking piece in the Göring Gambit) for the black knight on c6.  The position on the left can arise from the common sequence 4.c3 dxc3 5.Bc4 d6 6.Nxc3 (or 5.Nxc3 d6 6.Bc4) Nf6 7.Qb3 Qd7.  The queen move looks awkward, blocking in the bishop on c8, but as well as defending f7, it blocks possible checks on the a4-e8 diagonal and so prepares ...Nc6-a5. 

In that line White should increase the pressure on the f7-pawn with 8.Ng5, which typically leads to board-wide chaos, but instead White has rather naively castled, 8.0-0?, allowing 8...Na5.
Another common motif is that White must often complicate matters to maintain the initiative.  The position on the left arises from 4.c3 dxc3 5.Nxc3 Bb4 6.Bc4 d6 7.Ng5 Ne5 8.Bb3 h6.  Black gets this h-pawn push in just in time, because otherwise White is threatening 9.f4, kicking the knight away from e5 and then crashing through on f7.

Black is hoping for 9.Nf3, which allows Black a relatively comfortable game, but here White can complicate matters by pressing forward with 9.f4 anyway, attacking the knight on e5.  This sort of sequence is very common in the accepted lines of the Göring Gambit in which White plays Bc4 and Ng5 without playing Qb3 first.  It can lead to an exchange of knights, but it also opens up more lines and makes the position more crazy. 
Black has to be wary of playing ...Nf6 without preparing it with ...d6 first, because White's initiative often accelerates after hitting the knight on f6 with the e4-e5 pawn push.  This position is a particularly bad version for Black, arising from 4.c3 dxc3 5.Nxc3 Be7?! 6.Bc4 Nf6?!.  After 7.e5, Black can lash out with ...d7-d5 in some situations, counterattacking against the bishop on c4, but then lines open up and the position becomes messy and generally favourable for White.

Probably the best version of this sort of line for Black is 4.c3 dxc3 5.Nxc3 Bb4 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.e5, when after 7...d5!, White has nothing better than to head into a queenless middlegame with 8.exf6 dxc4 9.Qxd8+, but even here, the black king tends to get stuck in the centre, and it is not clear if Black can reach equality.  In any case, White tends to score well.
If Black declines the gambit, White often ends up with an isolated pawn on d4.  The diagram on the left results from the 4...d5 declining variation, which initially gives Black the more active piece play, but if Black is not careful, the white pieces can become very active into the early middlegame. 

Black will typically aim to play against the potentially weak pawn on d4, and exchanges of pieces generally help Black because the pawn would prove to be a weakness in the endgame.  Black can also consider castling queenside and launching a kingside attack, although this leaves the black king exposed to attack down the half-open c-file.

White will generally strive to keep pieces on the board and, after completing development, set about generating piece activity. The half-open c-file is also a useful avenue of attack for White, especially if Black boldly castles to the queenside.  White will also hope to get in the d4-d5 push at some stage.

Theory and Illustrative Games

Accepted I: 4...dxc3 5.Nxc3

White settles for sacrificing just one pawn, and develops a piece in the process.  In return for giving up a centre pawn, White has an extra developing move and additional open lines, which will typically be used as a basis for launching an attack against the black king.  White also has a lot of control over the important d5-square.

An important justification for this gambit is that Black has difficulty with kingside development.  Black ideally wants to castle kingside in this gambit, as castling queenside is dangerous because of White's half-open c-file.  However, …Ng8-f6 is often hit by e4-e5, and so Black tends to have to play …d7-d6 before …Nf6, and this gives White more time to try and catch the black king in the centre. 

So what does Black do with the dark-squared bishop? 

5...Bb4 has tended to be regarded as the most critical reply, with the idea of exchanging off the knight on c3, reducing White's attacking potential.  White's best way to get compensation against this is 6.Bc4 intending 6...d6 7.Ng5, attacking f7 immediately.  7.Qb3 is less likely to give enough compensation after 7...Bxc3+! intending 8.Qxc3 Qf6 or 8.bxc3 Qe7 9.0-0 Nf6, and 7.0-0 is also well met by 7...Bxc3.  An interesting deviation is 6.Bg5 but this is less likely to give full compensation after 6...Nge7 or 6...Be7!?.
5...d6 intends to use the bishop on f8 to defend the kingside.  White again does best to hammer f7 immediately to disrupt Black's development: 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.Qb3 (7.Ng5 also attacks f7, though in view of the intricacies of the line 7...Ne5 8.Bb3 h6 9.f4 hxg5, I am not as confident that White can get enough compensation for a pawn here) 7...Qd7 8.Ng5 Ne5 9.Bb5 c6 10.f4 is the most common continuation, leading to board-wide chaos.

5...Bc5 has mostly been under-rated.  White's immediate attacks against f7 aren't as effective in this variation, for reasons that aren't immediately obvious (it's to do with Black's bishop on c5 controlling the d4-square, and some tactics against f2).  Instead White does better to follow up with 6.Bc4 d6 7.Bg5 (or 7.0-0 followed by 8.Bg5), attacking on the kingside dark squares.  Note that the line with 7.0-0 Nf6 can arise from a sideline of the Giuoco Piano: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.0-0 dxc3 7.Nxc3 d6.  The immediate 7.Bg5 leaves open the possibility of castling queenside and pushing the kingside pawns, but the 7.0-0 move order narrows down Black's range of good replies.

Accepted II: 4...dxc3 5.Bc4

With 5.Bc4 White offers a second pawn at b2.  In practice Black often declines the second pawn.  The most reliable way is 5...d6, leaving White with nothing better than 6.Nxc3 transposing into the 5.Nxc3 d6 6.Bc4 variation.  5...Nf6 6.Nxc3 d6 comes to the same thing.  Note that 5...Nf6 6.Nxc3 Bb4 is slightly inaccurate because of 7.e5.

If instead 5...Bc5, White can exploit Black's move-order with 6.Bxf7+ intending 6...Kxf7 7.Qd5+ and Qxc5.  If 5...Bb4, then White can persist in sacrificing a second pawn with 6.0-0, or play 6.bxc3 which leads to positions reminiscent of the Evans Gambit.

Most theoretically critical, but also dangerous (for both sides!) is to grab the second pawn with 5...cxb2 6.Bxb2.  Then Black can try 6...Bb4+ whereupon White can choose between a hyper-aggressive approach with Qc2, 0-0-0 and pushing the h-pawn, or a more positional approach with 0-0 and Nc3-d5, putting pressure on Black's f6-knight. 

Instead, 5...cxb2 6.Bxb2 d6 has been recommended for Black in various sources including John Watson's review of Danish Dynamite, John Emms's Play the Open Games as Black and in the older Batsford Chess Openings 2.  It is more passive, but more solid.  White then chooses between 7.Qb3 attacking f7 immediately, 7.0-0, and 7.Nc3 intending Qb3 and Nd5, and it is not clear which is best.
After 5...cxb2 6.Bxb2 Bb4+ and 6...d6 it is not clear if White has two pawns' worth of compensation- the resulting positions are, as John Emms pointed out, often very hard to assess.  But, especially at club level, they offer plenty of scope for either side to outplay the opponent.

Declined I: 4...d5

4...d5 definitely equalises, and this is the response that puts a lot of people off from using the gambit.  Many players use it according to standard principles, concentrating on development rather than grabbing pawns.  However, particularly at higher levels of play, some use it with the specific aim of heading into the Capablanca Variation, which was first used in the game Marshall-Capablanca, Lake Hopatcong 1926.  5.exd5 Qxd5 6.cxd4 Bg4 7.Be2 Bb4+ 8.Nc3 Bxf3 9.Bxf3 Qc4! forces White to exchange queens or give up castling rights.  Black tends to score well in that line because it throws White into positions that are hardly appealing to most gambiteers. 

However, the line can be avoided by 7.Nc3, and if 7...Bb4 (7...Bxf3!? 8.Nxd5 Bxd1 9.Nxc7+ Kd7 10.Nxa8 leads to a tricky and tactical queenless middlegame), Mark Nieuweboer has pointed out 8.Be3, which steers the game into typical "isolated queen's pawn" channels.  At club level most players probably won't be aware of the most critical lines, and White tends to score well in practice when Black doesn't head for the Capablanca Variation, despite many lines being theoretically equal, as the white pieces can become active very quickly.

An interesting deviation is 5.Bd3, defending the e4-pawn and preparing kingside castling.  It's less definitely sound for White than 5.exd5, because the double-pawn sacrifice after 5...dxc3 6.exd5 cxb2 7.Bxb2 Qxd5 is again very difficult to assess, but in practice Black more often persists with the refusal to grab pawns, continuing with 5...dxe4 6.Bxe4 Nf6, whereupon 7.Bxc6+ bxc6 8.0-0 gives us another isolated queen's pawn position with equal chances.  5...Nf6 6.e5 Ne4 can be met by 7.0-0, offering the pawn on c3 again. 

Declined II: 4...Nf6, 4...Nge7, 4...d3

These lines are less likely to provide Black with full equality than 4...d5, but will be encountered at times.  4...Nf6 and 4...Nge7 can both be reached via the Ponziani Opening (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4, or 3...Nge7 4.d4 exd4). 

4...Nf6 5.e5 Nd5 is the most solid continuation, favoured by Tim Harding.  White's main options against it are 6.Qb3, 6.cxd4 and 6.Bb5.  The last two often transpose to each other, but I think 6.Bb5 may be the best practical choice as it gives further opportunities for offering the pawn at c3.  White generally gets a strong centre, but Black gets reasonable piece play. 

Black's most counterattacking way of declining is 4...Nf6 5.e5 Ne4!?.  White can get some advantage with best play after 6.Qe2, which leaves the knight on e4 unstable, but Black has decent hacking chances.  6...f5 7.exf6 d5 8.Nbd2 d3!? has scored well for Black in practice even though objectively it is quite good for White.  4...Nge7 has been recommended by Eric Schiller and John Watson, but I think Black can't quite equalise after 5.cxd4 d5 6.exd5 Nxd5 7.0-0, as played by Tartakower against Reti.

4...d3 is solid but consigns Black to a rather passive position, and White is slightly better with accurate play.  White simply recaptures with 5.Bxd3 and if 5...Bc5 White can gain time against the bishop with b4 and a4-a5, expanding on the queenside.  If Black instead plays 5...d6 with the idea of developing the bishop to e7 or g7, White can continue with Bf4, Qc2 and Nbd2 envisaging queenside castling, or castle short and strive for Nd4 and f4.  Other declining moves (e.g. 4...d6?!, 4...g6?!, 4...Bc5?!) tend to allow White to get a classical pawn centre with 5.cxd4.

Illustrative games

Accepted lines of the gambit
Declined lines (coming soon)

Sources and further reading

Internet articles

John Watson's book review #62, Danish Dynamite
Mark Morss, Hard Chess, The Importance of the Open Games, the Goering Gambit
Gary Good, The Goring Gambit- A Return to the Romantic
(ChessCafe.com links have been removed because the site went behind a paywall).
A special thanks also goes to Mark Nieuweboer for contributing a large number of ideas.

Books
Karsten Müller & Martin Voigt, Danish Dynamite, Russel Enterprises 2003.
John Emms, Play the Open Games as Black, Gambit 2000.
Jude Acers, George Laven, The Italian Gambit System and a Guiding Repertoire for White - E4!, Trafford Publishing 2006.

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