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Artikelnummer
LOLUTTG

Tennison Gambit

1. Nf3 d5 2. e4

102 Seiten, kartoniert, Chess Enterprises, 1. Auflage 1995

14,25 €
Inkl. MwSt., zzgl. Versandkosten
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The Tennison Gambit is a direct precursor of the Budapest Defense, and shares many of its characteristics. The Gambit: 1 Nf3 d5 2 e4 is one of the lesser known and analyzed unusual openings. While present theory seems to indicate that many lines slightly favor Black, today's theory is quite often reversed by tomorrow's practice. The gambit is itself fascinating and a most promising weapon of surprise in blitz games.
Author John Lutes has produced another thorough piece of research which will be a rich mine of resources for the gambiteer! Following the extensive introduction to the development and variations of the gambit, there are 168 "ECO" type columns, abundantly footnoted with analysis and evaluations. The book provides insight into related positions such as the Budapest, Elephant Gambit, Inverted Fajarowicz Gambit, French Flank Gambit, and other variations. The book includes a brief biography of the Civil War veteran who introduced the gambit.


Louisiana, and in particular the parishes in and around New Orleans, seems always to have inspired men to individual thought and action. There is a colorful legend in the Gulf of Mexico that the infamous privateer Jean Laffite (c. 1780, c. 1825) is said to have kept a sea-chest crammed with the flags of sundry nations - and hoisting the appropriate standard, attempted to mask his nefarious intentions, when plying the pirate trade against Spanish commerce. While the modern chess pirate may not be able to conceal his intentions nearly as well as the "Master of Barataria," it is often of great practical value to have on hand at least the knowledge of other nations when brandishing the more swashbuckling chess openings.
Of all the buccaneer openings invented in the past century, one of the strangest and least analyzed is the direct precursor of the Budapest Defense, the unique 1. Nf3 d5 2. e4, known as the Tennison Gambit. Rarely adopted, its variations often mimic its better known off-spring; and although it broadly appears to slightly favor Black, its sporadic appearance in tournament practice attests to its continued perpetuity.
Adherents of the gambit rely upon their easy familiarity with the many complex lines and multitude of traps to produce, if not absolute equality, then "...equal chances." Perhaps its advocates, those rugged highwaymen of the chessboard who so favor the Budapest Defense, support the view of the late British antiquarian Harold Bayley (Archaic England, 1919, p. iv) that: "...what Authority maintains to-day it generally contradicts tomorrow."
The last author to examine this opening idea, Josef Staker (The Budapest Defence and the Tennison Gambit, 1982, p. 53), translated a passage by the late well-known Austrian master Albert Becker (b. 1896, d. 1984):
A comparison with the Budapest Defence is entirely appropriate, since the basis of the two openings is the same; the only difference, the omitted c-Pawn two-step. The omission of c7-c5 here means, however, that Black falls behind a tempo: to his advantage! A Pawn at c5 would hinder the development of the King's Bishop and weaken d5, possibly b5 as well.
Variously known by other names within this century, what we now call the Tennison Gambit appeared in a chess column of The New Orleans Times-Democrat for 26 July 1891. Its discoverer, a Confederate Civil War veteran, Otto M. Tennison (b. 1834, d. 1909), introduced it with the comment:
[Our] game demonstrates the soundness of the opening or gambit - which by the way, I have never seen anybody else play. I send you below a variation of that opening, a gamelet played with our friend B..., at the New Orleans Chess, Checkers, and Whist Club. This opening might, perhaps, be called the "Black Rook's Gambit."
Although the gambit has never attracted the attention of many first-class masters, it has, quite curiously enough, often been "rediscovered" innumerable times and was, and presently is, the object of a study by several notable German chess journals including Randsprinqer and Gambit Revue.
Modern texts, when discussing this opening at all, neglect the older or more bizarre lines of analysis and, in not a few cases, ideas have been lost or lain aside for newer moves. This small book is an attempt to reinvestigate the opening using the wealth of many authors, both old and new. For regardless of its theoretical value, the Tennison Gambit remains a fascinating study where White sacrifices both time and material for the initiative. Although it is obvious that this text will not be the final word on this tenuous opening idea, we have tried to present an unbiased study of the gambit and its games.
While the reader may be amused at considering this an opening for tournament or correspondence conditions, it is indeed one of surprise value and certainly ideal for the blitzpartie where the clock has always been the sweetheart of the gambiteer.
A short biography of Captain Otto M. Tennison has also been included, with the assistance of many generous library facilities and Civil War research organizations, to assist the reader in better understanding this interesting New Orleans chess expert and citizen-soldier of the Confederacy.

W. John Lutes Peoria, Illinois
The Tennison Gambit is a direct precursor of the Budapest Defense, and shares many of its characteristics. The Gambit: 1 Nf3 d5 2 e4 is one of the lesser known and analyzed unusual openings. While present theory seems to indicate that many lines slightly favor Black, today's theory is quite often reversed by tomorrow's practice. The gambit is itself fascinating and a most promising weapon of surprise in blitz games.
Author John Lutes has produced another thorough piece of research which will be a rich mine of resources for the gambiteer! Following the extensive introduction to the development and variations of the gambit, there are 168 "ECO" type columns, abundantly footnoted with analysis and evaluations. The book provides insight into related positions such as the Budapest, Elephant Gambit, Inverted Fajarowicz Gambit, French Flank Gambit, and other variations. The book includes a brief biography of the Civil War veteran who introduced the gambit.


Louisiana, and in particular the parishes in and around New Orleans, seems always to have inspired men to individual thought and action. There is a colorful legend in the Gulf of Mexico that the infamous privateer Jean Laffite (c. 1780, c. 1825) is said to have kept a sea-chest crammed with the flags of sundry nations - and hoisting the appropriate standard, attempted to mask his nefarious intentions, when plying the pirate trade against Spanish commerce. While the modern chess pirate may not be able to conceal his intentions nearly as well as the "Master of Barataria," it is often of great practical value to have on hand at least the knowledge of other nations when brandishing the more swashbuckling chess openings.
Of all the buccaneer openings invented in the past century, one of the strangest and least analyzed is the direct precursor of the Budapest Defense, the unique 1. Nf3 d5 2. e4, known as the Tennison Gambit. Rarely adopted, its variations often mimic its better known off-spring; and although it broadly appears to slightly favor Black, its sporadic appearance in tournament practice attests to its continued perpetuity.
Adherents of the gambit rely upon their easy familiarity with the many complex lines and multitude of traps to produce, if not absolute equality, then "...equal chances." Perhaps its advocates, those rugged highwaymen of the chessboard who so favor the Budapest Defense, support the view of the late British antiquarian Harold Bayley (Archaic England, 1919, p. iv) that: "...what Authority maintains to-day it generally contradicts tomorrow."
The last author to examine this opening idea, Josef Staker (The Budapest Defence and the Tennison Gambit, 1982, p. 53), translated a passage by the late well-known Austrian master Albert Becker (b. 1896, d. 1984):
A comparison with the Budapest Defence is entirely appropriate, since the basis of the two openings is the same; the only difference, the omitted c-Pawn two-step. The omission of c7-c5 here means, however, that Black falls behind a tempo: to his advantage! A Pawn at c5 would hinder the development of the King's Bishop and weaken d5, possibly b5 as well.
Variously known by other names within this century, what we now call the Tennison Gambit appeared in a chess column of The New Orleans Times-Democrat for 26 July 1891. Its discoverer, a Confederate Civil War veteran, Otto M. Tennison (b. 1834, d. 1909), introduced it with the comment:
[Our] game demonstrates the soundness of the opening or gambit - which by the way, I have never seen anybody else play. I send you below a variation of that opening, a gamelet played with our friend B..., at the New Orleans Chess, Checkers, and Whist Club. This opening might, perhaps, be called the "Black Rook's Gambit."
Although the gambit has never attracted the attention of many first-class masters, it has, quite curiously enough, often been "rediscovered" innumerable times and was, and presently is, the object of a study by several notable German chess journals including Randsprinqer and Gambit Revue.
Modern texts, when discussing this opening at all, neglect the older or more bizarre lines of analysis and, in not a few cases, ideas have been lost or lain aside for newer moves. This small book is an attempt to reinvestigate the opening using the wealth of many authors, both old and new. For regardless of its theoretical value, the Tennison Gambit remains a fascinating study where White sacrifices both time and material for the initiative. Although it is obvious that this text will not be the final word on this tenuous opening idea, we have tried to present an unbiased study of the gambit and its games.
While the reader may be amused at considering this an opening for tournament or correspondence conditions, it is indeed one of surprise value and certainly ideal for the blitzpartie where the clock has always been the sweetheart of the gambiteer.
A short biography of Captain Otto M. Tennison has also been included, with the assistance of many generous library facilities and Civil War research organizations, to assist the reader in better understanding this interesting New Orleans chess expert and citizen-soldier of the Confederacy.

W. John Lutes Peoria, Illinois
Weitere Informationen
EAN 094547055X
Gewicht 200 g
Hersteller Chess Enterprises
Breite 13,6 cm
Höhe 21,5 cm
Medium Buch
Erscheinungsjahr 1995
Autor W. John Lutes
Sprache Englisch
Auflage 1
ISBN-10 094547055X
Seiten 102
Einband kartoniert
01 Biography of Capitan Otto M. Tennison
06 Historical Introduction
18 Theoretical Introduction
34 Analytical Examination
vii Bibliography
xvii Index of Variations