Are you fearless in your approach to chess openings? Do you like to attack your opponents from the very beginning? Are you happy to take calculated risks? Are you a Gambiteer? If the answer to these questions is 'yes' then this is the book for you!

In this second volume of the Gambiteer series, opening expert Nigel Davies produces an ambitious and uncompromising repertoire for Black. His two main choices are the Albin Counter Gambit and the Schliemann Gambit. As gambits go they are the pick of the crop, having been tried and tested by some of the World's most inventive players. All of the opening lines Davies advocates lead to positions of open warfare, where sharp, tactical play completely dominates dreary, positional subtleties. Are you ready for the battle? Then cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!

• Includes an armoury of aggressive ideas for Black
• Features chess at its most bloodthirsty
• Ideal for the attack-minded player

Introduction

Let the only walls the foe shall scale

Be ramparts of the dead!

'Vicksburg', Paul Hamilton Hayne

In Gambiteer 1 I issued a warning that this wasn't a book for those who are afraid to be a pawn down. Now I must issue a further warning: gambiteering with Black is far trickier than it is with White. Black starts the game with a slight disadvan­tage by virtue of having the second move. And some very good books will tell you that an unjustified attempt to take the initiative with Black is therefore doomed to failure.

A complete repertoire of gambits as Black is therefore unrealistic and even foolhardy. Having said that, Black can hoist the pirate flag against two of White's strongest and most popular openings, the Queen's Gambit and the Ruy Lopez. He argues that neither (1 d4 d5) 2 c4 nor (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6) 3 Bb5 is optimal from a development perspective and that Black can take the initiative with the Albin Counter and Schliemann Gambits respectively.

As gambits go, these two are the pick of the crop. The Schliemann has received the patronage of such notables as David Bronstein, Boris Spassky, Viktor Korchnoi, Alexander Khalifman and Jonathan Speelman, whilst the Albin has the support of Frank James Marshall, Boris Spassky (again), Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Alexander Morozevich and many other strong grandmasters.

In this volume I will present a repertoire for Black in these two openings which should enable the reader to play them with confidence at any level. I've also given ways to meet 1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 (see Chapter Ten) plus aggressive ways to meet as­sorted stodge such as the English, 1 Nf3 and the Italian Game in Chapter Eleven.

My hope is that, armed with these lines, the reader will not only win more games but have more fun doing so.

Nigel Davies

Southport, UK

July 2007

Content:
004 Bibliography

005 Introduction

007 1 Schliemann Gambit: 4 Nc3 fxe4 5 Nxe4 Nf6 6 Qe2

042 2 Schliemann Gambit: 4 Nc3 fxe4 5 Nxe4 Nf6 6 Nxf6+ and 4...Bb4!?

058 3 Schliemann Gambit: 4 d4

076 4 Schliemann Gambit: 4 d3

06 5 Schliemann Gambit: 4 Bxc6, 4 Qe2 and 4 exf5

097 6 Albin Counter-Gambit: 5 g3 Nge7

123 7 Albin Counter-Gambit: 5 Nbd2, 5 a3 and Others

130 8 Albin Counter-Gambit: 4 e4, 4 a3 and 4 e3

141 9 Albin Counter-Gambit: 3 e3 and 3 cxd5

148 10 White Avoids the Albin with 2 Nf3

164 11 Fight the Stodge

191 Index of Complete Games