The Complete Chess Course From Beginning To Winning Chess! (2016)

Book Eight

How to Play the d-pawn Openings

Blumenfeld Counter Gambit

As we have seen earlier, counter gambits, being attempts to wrest the initiative out of White’s hands, have slight chance to succeed. This reasoning applies to the Blumenfeld line.

Blumenfeld Counter Gambit

White - Black

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 b5?! (D)

Position after 4…b5

Risky - and unnecessary as well, as the simple 4…exd5 transposes into the Benoni line described on page 281. Black hopes for the speculative continuation 5.dxe6 fxe6 6.cxb5 d5 which gives him a strong center and open lines for his pieces in return for a relatively unimportant wing pawn.

5.Bg5! exd5

Another way, just as disadvantageous, is 5…Qa5+ 6.Qd2 Qxd2+ 7.Nbxd2 exd5 8.Bxf6 gxf6 9.cxd5 Bb7 10.e4 a6 11.Nh4 with considerable positional advantage for White.

6.cxd5 h6 7.Bxf6 Qxf6 8.Qc2 d6 9.e4 a6 10.a4 b4 11.h3!

With his last move, White has hemmed in Black’s light-square bishop. After 11…Be7 12.Nbd2 0-0 13.Be2 Nd7 14.Nc4 White has considerably greater freedom of action. Black’s two bishops can accomplish little.