An Introduction to the Gajewski Gambit (Part 1)

I came across a nice little gambit for Black in the Ruy Lopez recently. Its called the Gajewski Gambit, after GM Gajewski, and was a recent innovation in 2005. Much like the Marshall Attack, B gambits a pawn for accelerated development and the initiative. The gambit's inception is below:


The quiet 7. ... d6 lures W into thinking all is well, having avoided the Marshall. Of course, the Marshall continues

7. ... O-O
8. c3 d4!

(see right)

Where Black plans to lose the e4 pawn but develop his bishops to hit h2, forcing weaknesses in W's castled position and taking advantage of his under development

Back to the Gajewski Gambit. After

7. ... d6
8. c3 O-O
9. h3 Na5

W's moves are all natural. W plays to his plan to strike on d4 with c3, and prevents the annoying Bg4 pin with h3. But with Na5, B takes advantage of the importance W attaches to its light squared bishop. After 9. ... Na5 10. Bc2 the usual c5 push is delayed in favour of d5. Previously c5 has been played, to gain space and put pressure on W's queen side. Instead, d5 gambits a pawn to take control of the e4 square, which is annoying for W. As the game above demonstrates, if W accepts the pawn, his underdeveloped pieces can become a liability. Whilst the B knight is temporarily displaced on a5, the c4 looks tempting for it. B also has compensation for the pawn in the chronic underdevelopment of W's pieces on the queenside.

It appears to me then that the key decision for W in the Gajewski is move 10. The important distinction between this and the Marshall, however, is the positioning of W's light-squared bishop, and B's queenside knight. Oh, and there's a pawn on h3.

This difference is significant as W no longer has to capture on e5 with his knight along the open e file. W's kingside is also weakened a little with the pawn on h3. The position of B's knight on a5 also has the effect of allowing B to play e4. With his knight no longer threatened by exd5, B's response can be a little bit more flexible.

W has other options than accepting the pawn, however. As examined below, W may play d5. Other options that may be playable by W include b4, a4, d3, Qe2, Ng5, g4 and d4. I'd like to examine each of these in detail in subsequent posts. But for the moment, here are my initial thoughts

• It seems to me that d3 might be the most solid response, but after dxe4 dxe4 Bb7, W may  have a bit of difficulty holding on to the e4 pawn.

• Kicking the knight with b4 pushes it to c4 or c6 (a knight on b7 doesn't seem right). c6 seems like the natural square, supporting a potential d4 push. However, c4 allows the c pawn to come into play for B. I think I like c4 better. Definitely  needs more thought though.

• The thematic Ruy Lopez a4 is an option which shouldn't be immediately dismissed, but potentially loses the light-squared bishop after dxe4. Perhaps Nxe5 might save it, given Bd6 could be met with d4.

• Qe2 suffers from the same difficulty of potentially losing the LSB, but similarly Nxe5 may prove the saving grace. The difference is after Bd6 d4 Bxe5 dxe5 there's no Queen trade available. Bg5 also becomes playable in both positions.

• I won't give much thought to Ng5 or g4 - they're options, but I don't think they're good ones!

• Here's a game looking at d4. 

A similar idea to the above was used with dxe4 Nxe5 being supported by the d4 pawn. c5 certainly makes the position dangerous for W!



Of course, the above games are anything but clear and incredibly complex. The main advantage, though, is that I hopefully would be more familiar with the position then my opponent, allowing me more time OTB to think of more complications! Some of the decisions above shouldn't be taken lightly (the queen for a rook and a piece!), but seem to be to be very exciting. The N + R v Q imbalance arising from the Gajewski is fascinating! All in all, it looks like a great gambit.

LINKS TO RESOURCES: 

All chess diagrams created using the WiseBoard Chess Board Editor: http://www.apronus.com/chess/wbeditor.php

Games inserted using the amazingly simple instructions of Nikolai Pilafov: http://chesstuff.blogspot.com.au/2008/11/how-to-publish-chess-game-on-your-blog.html 

http://chesstuff.blogspot.com.au/2009/04/html-code-generator-for-blogs.html