Tennison Gambit

Tennison Gambit
abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
e7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
d5 black pawn
e4 white pawn
f3 white knight
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
f1 white bishop
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Moves1.Nf3 d5 2.e4
or
1.e4 d5 2.Nf3
ECOA06
Named afterOtto Mandrup Tennison
ParentZukertort Opening
Synonyms

The Tennison Gambit is a chess opening in which White gambits a pawn.

The opening moves begin with either the Zukertort Opening:

1. Nf3 d5
2. e4

or the Scandinavian Defense:

1. e4 d5
2. Nf3

The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings code for the Tennison Gambit is A06.

This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

History

The first person to significantly research this opening was chess amateur Otto Mandrup Tennison (1834–1909). Tennison was born in Denmark, studied in Germany and moved to the United States in 1854. There, he played in the chess clubs of New Orleans. Many strong players picked up the idea from the first half of the 20th century.

Analysis

The Tennison Gambit is considered theoretically unsound, as White sacrifices a pawn immediately with no solid positional compensation. Without precise counterplay, however, Black can easily fall into a number of tactical traps that leave White ahead.

After 2...dxe4 3.Ng5:

Notable games

Otto M. Tennison vs. NN, New Orleans 1891:
1. Nf3 d5 2. e4 dxe4 3. Ng5 f5 4. Bc4 Nh6 5. Nxh7 Rxh7 6. Qh5+ Kd7 7. Qg6 Rh8 8. Be6+ Kc6 9. Bxc8+ Qd6 10. Qe8+ Kb6 11. Qa4 If 11...Qc6, then 12.Qb3+ Ka6 13.Nc3 any 14.Bxb7+; if 11...e6, then 12.a3 etc. (Tennison) 1–0

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Hooper, David; Whyld, Kenneth (1996) [First pub. 1992]. "Tennison Gambit". The Oxford Companion to Chess (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 416. ISBN 0-19-280049-3.
  2. ↑ Schiller, Eric (1998). "Tennison Gambit". Gambit Opening Repertoire for White. Cardoza Publishing. pp. 171–178. ISBN 978-0-940685-78-9.
  3. ↑ Tejler, Andy (1998). "Tennison Gambit" (PDF). The Gambiteer. Virginia Newsletter (2). Virginia Chess Federation: 13–15.
  4. ↑ "A06: Tennison (Lemberg, Zukertort) gambit". 365.com.
  5. ↑ "Tennison gambit Collection". Chessgames.com.
  6. ↑ "Reti Opening A06". Chessgames.com.
  7. ↑ Wall, Bill. Tennison Gambit.
  8. ↑ "Otto M. Tennison". Chessgames.com.
  9. ↑ Raidmax21 (2018). "Dirty Chess Tricks in Tennison Gambit: The Opening". Studies. Lichess.
  10. ↑ Benjamin, Joel; Schiller, Eric (1987). "Tennison Gambit". Unorthodox Openings. Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 79. ISBN 0-02-016590-0.

Bibliography