Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nf6/3. Nxe5/3...Nxe4/4. Qe2/4...Qe7/5. Qxe4/5...d6/6. d4/6...dxe5/7. dxe5

Kholmov gambit Kholmov gambit 7. dxe5 White retakes on e5. White has traded knights and is now up a pawn. The position is slightly better for White, but Black has some compensation and non-trivial practical chances. Black now intends to develop their queenside and castle long, and recover the pawn when convenient. After 7...Nc6, White's best line is to give the pawn back, since they cannot hold onto it without getting a worse position. There are several traps for greedy players. In rough order of likelihood: 8. Bb5 pins the knight to prevent ...Nxe5, but after 8...Bd7 White must give the pawn back in the end (9. Nc3 0-0-0 10. 0-0 Nxe5). Otherwise, 9. Bxc6?! Bxc6 and Black skewers the white queen and the g2 pawn. White can't move their queen and keep e5 and g2 defended. Or if 9. 0-0 0-0-0 10. Re1 thinking to hold onto the pawn, Black can capture it anyway, as 10...Nxe5 11. Bxd7+ Rxd7 12. Qxe5?? Qxe5 13. Rxe5?? allows back-rank mate. 13...Rd1+ 14. Re1 Rxe1# 8. Bf4, to defend the pawn, 8...g5 9. Bg3?? f5! traps White's bishop after e.g. 10. Qe2 f4. 8. f4 to defend the pawn weakens White's kingside while their king is still uncastled. After 8...Bg4 there are many ways to exploit it. 9. h3? runs afoul of ...Qh4+, exploiting the open e1-h4 diagonal. 9. Bb5? (intending Bxc6 bxc6 Qxc6 winning a pawn) O-O-O and Black threatens ...Rd1 (supported by the g4 bishop) winning a rook. 10. Nc3 (to guard d1) Nd4 threatens ...Nxb5, ...Nxc2, ...Bf5 attacking the queen and c2 pawn, and ...Qh4+ to induce g2?! and Bf3 forks the queen and the rook in the corner. 10. O-O? allows Qc5+ forking the bishop. 9. Nc3 O-O-O 10. Be3 is necessary to control both d1 and d4. Black can recover the pawn with the manoeuvre 10...Qb4 11. Qxb4 Nxb4 threatening ...Nxc2+. (12. Rc1 Bf5 13. Bc4 Nxc2+, Black gets the pawn back at last.) Therefore White is best advised to play 8. Nc3 and let the pawn go. 8...Qxe5 9. Qxe5+ Nxe5+. Theory table 0 7...Nc6 8. Nc3 Qxe5 9. Qxe5+ Nxe5 10. Nb5 Bb4+ 11. Bd2 Bxd2+ 12. Kxd2 Kd8 13. Re1 Kholmov gambit + 7. ... ... 8. Bb5!? Bd7 9. Nc3 O-O-O 10. O-O Nxe5 11. Re1 Ng6 7. ... ... 8. ... ... 9. Bxc6? Bxc6 10. Qe2 Bxg2 11. Rg1 Bc6 - 7. ... ... 8. Bf4 g5 9. Bg3? f5 10. Qe2 f4 -- 7. ... ... 8. f4?! Bg4 9. h3?? Qh4+ 10. Kd2 --- 7. ... ... 8. f4?! Bg4 9. Bb5? O-O-O 10. Nc3 Nd4 -- 7. ... ... 8. ... ... 9. Nc3 O-O-O 10. Be3 Qb4 11. Qxb4 Nxb4 12. Rc1 Bf5 13. Bc4 Nxc2+ References See also