BlackmarDiemer Gambit
I must confess that I had assumed this Gambit to be only playable against l...d5, as after 1 d4 £}f6 2 £}c3 d5 3 e4 Black can simply play 3...£}xe4. When Gary Lane's recent book, The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (Batsford 1995) arrived the first thing I learnt was that this is called the Hubsch Gambit, while the second thing I learnt was that the Hubsch Gambit is not so bad and that Black can probably only obtain an equal game. As we are looking for more than this, the Blackmar-Diemer has to be accepted. After 3...dxe4 4 f3 exf3 5 £>xf3 Black has a wide choice but my vote goes to 5...e6, the solid Euwe Defence.
The material below is not in the usual complete game format as I have been unable to locate a game that suits my purposes. In Lane's book, for example, Blackmar, Die-mer and various others (of whom the most prominent is Diebert, who probably employed the Gambit so frequently as an attempt to have it renamed the Blackmar-Diebert Gambit perhaps, or more fittingly the Die-mer-Diebert Gambit) score crushing victories against all-comers. At first I was a little intimidated by this and the thought of being bogged down in my final chapter for weeks was not a pleasant one. I even wondered if I might have to abandon this whole project, bowing to the superiority of the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. Happily, this nightmare scenario was averted as a close examination of the fine print in Lane's book revealed a number of areas where Black could fight for the advantage.
1 d4 ijf6
3 e4 dxe4
4 f3 exf3
In return for his central pawn White has received a tempo for development and some vague attacking chances due to the semi-open f-file -not really enough compensation but Black must still take care as inaccuracies can be swiftly punished in the Blackmar-Diemer.
5 Wxf3, known as the Ryder Gambit, generously offers Black a second central pawn and he should not hesitate before snapping it up: 5...Wxd4 6 ±e3 Wg4! (gaining an important tempo; 6...Wb47! 7 0-0-0 ±g4? 8 £ib5!! should definitely be avoided) 7 lfl2 e5 (D) and now:
1) 8 JLe2 should be answered by 8..JPf5 and 9..JLb4 according to Lane.
2) 8 ±d3 ±b4 9 £ie2 e4 10 ±c4 ±e6 11 jLxe6 Wxe6 was fairly hopeless for White in Prins-Schneider, corr 1989.
3) 8 a3 (prevents the annoying ...Ab4, but if White is reduced to this...) 8...iic6 9 £}f3 Ad6 10 0-0-0. Lane makes a rather half-hearted attempt to claim compensation for White here but he obviously believes that Black is much better. His main game now concentrates on the ridiculous 10...a6; 10 ...We6, returning the queen from enemy territory looks more to the point as 11 £}g5 lfe7 12 ±c4 0-0 is nothing to worry about.
4) Hodgson suggests 8 ¿hf3 followed by 0-0-0 as being more in the spirit of the opening:
4a) 8...e4 is perhaps a little optimistic. After 9 fod4 (9 focS Wf5 10 Wxf5 Axf5 11 ±c4 Ae6 is good enough) 9...£>c6!? 10 Ae2 foxd4 11 Axg4? £ixg4 12 Wd2 £ixe3 13 Scl Qsdf5 White is lost but he should play 11 Axd4 with some compensation. Black can of course play something else on his 9th move.
4b) 8...£}c6 and 8..JLd6 are very playable but Black may end up a tempo down on variation '3\ Perhaps 8..JLb4 is best as after 9 £ixe5 !fe4 10 foc4 Axc3+ 11 bxc3 Ae6! (better than ll...£>g4 12 lff4! with some chances for White) White has nothing for the pawn. 9 0-0-0 is probably his best chance.
This seems to be the most reliable set-up. Black calmly develops his pieces before seeking counterplay in the centre with ...c5. It is true that this locks in the queen's bishop, but one can't have everything in life, not even against the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit.
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