A new opening book on the fascinating Blackmar Diemer gambit.

By Guido De Bouver.

The Blackmar Diemer gambit is an interesting gambit in which white trades his f
pawn for development in a closed position.

This new and exciting book covers those lines in the Blackmar Diemer gambit
where black chooses to play active and quickly develop his queen's bishop to
either g4 ( Teichmann defenses ) or f5 ( Gunderam, O'Kelly and Vienna
defenses ). Specific attention is given to the O'Kelly lines, that used to be
considered as the gambit's refutation.

Each position is heavily analysed using a silicon assistant based on white's

best play. The bottomline is that white gets sufficient dynamic compensation for
the pawn. White often gets a crushing attack and decides the game in the first
20 moves.
This book brings a detailed overview of some of the sharpest opening
strategies and contributes to the growing opening theory of the famous
Blackmar Diemer gambit. Packed with 160 pages of razor sharp analysed lines,
this book can be ordered by sending a mail to guido.de.bouver@telenet.be at a
cost of 14 + shipping.
Alternatively, an electronic copy can be obtained for 8 or 10 US$ through the
secured Drumlin environment.
Following extracts are available for your preview :
Content
Extract from section 1.1 : Overview
Extract from section 1.3 : Isn't this refuted ?
Extract from section 2.3 : Bennett's temptation
Extract from section 5.5 : The power of the Blackmar Diemer

Content
1. Introduction
1.1. The Blackmar Diemer gambit
1.2. About this series and book
1.3. Isn't this refuted ?
1.4. The Teichmann defense
1.5. The Teichmann Exchange defense
1.6. The Gunderam defense
1.7. The O'Kelly defense
1.8. The Vienna defense
1.9. Blackmar Diemer versus Smith Morra
1.10. Does the Blackmar Diemer win by force ?
2. Teichmann defense
2.1. The main line
2.2. Variations from main line on move 9
2.3. Bennett's temptation
2.4. Variations from main line on move 8
3. Teichmann Exchange defense
3.1. 7th move variations
3.2. A delayed Ryder gambit
3.3. The normal development
3.4. Limiting the scope of the g pawn
4. Gunderam defense
4.1. 6th move variations
4.2. Caro Kann reply
4.3. Teichmann transpositions
4.4. 7th move variations
5. O'Kelly defense
5.1. Alternate main line
5.2. Main line
5.3. Critical O'Kelly position
5.4. 7th moves variations
5.5. The power of the Blackmar Diemer
6. Vienna variation
6.1. Capturing with the knight
6.2. Unzicker variation
6.3. Capturing with the bishop
7. Summary

5
5
11
13
20
22
25
27
31
32
34
36
37
51
58
61
67
68
70
72
83
85
86
88
97
112
117
118
131
141
144
146
149
150
151
154

Extract from section 1.1 : Overview

The Blackmar gambit was invented by an American player, Armand Edward Blackmar, who
was born on May 30th, 1826 in Vermont. From 1852 to 1855 he was professor of music in
Jackson, Louisiana. Armand was a very good violinist and pianist, a chess expert, and a
member of the Chess, Checkers and Whist Club of New Orleans. Blackmar arranged and/or
published a number of famous songs of the Confederacy. One of his own compositions later
became a part of the musical score to the famous movie Gone with the Wind1 starring Clark
Gable and Vivien Leigh.
In 1882, in the July issue of Brentanos Chess Monthly, he introduced his gambit 1.d4 d5
2.e4 dxe4 3.f32 to the chess world. In that issue he commented that he had been playing
the gambit for more than a year, that he had never found it in any book or published game,
and that white's second and third moves constituted the new gambit. Armand Blackmar died
in 1888.
However, the counter move 3...e5 was quickly found by Oskar Cordel ( 1843 Germany )
and buried the line.
In 1889, dr Ryder decided to play 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.c3 f6 4.f3 exf3 5.xf3.
This move sequence remained unknown until Diemer discovered it in the 1930's.
Ignatz Von Popiel ( 1863 ) from Lvov ( Poland, now , Ukraine ) published in 1893
some pages on 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.c3. His main line 3...f6 4.g5 f5 5.f3 bd7
6.xf6 stirred some controversy.
Emil Joseph Diemer was born in 1908 in Radolfzell, Germany, and learnt chess at the age of
12. From 1932 onwards, he developed the Ryder sequence into a playable opening in his
book Vom Ersten Zug an auf Matt !. Lateron, he switched to the more traditional 5.xf33. His
efforts and imagination made sure that the Blackmar Diemer gambit is one of the most
famous openings in the chess world.
Diemer was a great admirer of Morphy4 and credited him as the inspiration for his own love
of gambits and the development of his combinational skills. Diemer was no ordinary player.
His nazi ideas5 lead him to develop a particular Sturm und Drang system where the direct
king attack was glorified, neglecting material and emphasising development.
As an ardent admirer of Hitler, Diemer was also a very important anti-Semitic chess player 6 :
German chess was said to be romantic and good, while Jewish chess was riskfree,
defensive and evil. As a Nazi party member, Diemer however remained on good personal
terms with several Jewish masters, such as Nimzovitch.

1 According to the Chess Digest publication Blackmar-Diemer Gambit by K. Smith and J. Jacobs (Dallas,
1977), pages 8-9.
2 The original Blackmar gambit.
3 The Blackmar Diemer stems from the Blackmar gambit when the moves c3 and f6 are included.
4 Morphy lived in New Orleans the hometown of Armand Blackmar. Morphy died in 1884, so it might be
possible that Blackmar played Morphy.
5 He became the chess reporter of the Great German Reich, was present at all important international chess
events and sang the praise of Kampfschach - chess as a struggle, in the Nazi newspapers and magazines.
6 Cfr Anti-Semitism in Chess by Jeremy P. Spinrad, published on chesscafe.com.

Extract from section 1.3 : Isn't this refuted ?

I guess this is a question that you will hear a lot when you play the Blackmar Diemer on a
regular basis. People know about the sacrifice, know that it is dangerous, know that the
defender should be better, but very few really know the answer...
Throughout history, several refutations have been suggested
the efforts by Gerhard Gunderam
a line in the Euwe defense by world champion GM Max Euwe
a line in the Bogoljubow defense, published in New In Chess
the O'Kelly defense, named after GM Albric O'Kelly de Galway.
Gerhard Gunderam probably played more than 100 postal games with Diemer, playing
various lines, trying to find the refutation of the gambit. The line starting with 5...f5 were
named after him but are no refutation at all of the Blackmar Diemer gambit.
Euwe suggested to challenge white's centre immediately with 6...c5 after 1.d4 d5 2.e4
dxe4 3.c3 f6 4.f3 exf3 5.xf3 e6 6.g5. However, the refutation was quickly refuted
as the sequence 6...c5 7.xf6 xf6 8.b5+ is actually winning for white.

New In Chess featured the 1996 correspondence game Borwell-Luers in the Bogoljubow
variation. Black easily refutes white's attack and many players around the world saw this as
a refutation of the gambit.
White has just initiated the Studier attack 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.c3 f6 4.f3 exf3
5.xf3 g6 6.c4 g7 7.00 00 8.e1 c6 9.h4 followed by the popular 9...f5 10.h3.
Black now grabs a second pawn with 10...xc2 followed by the thematic 11.h6. With two
pawns up, black wins easily after 11...xh6 12.xh6 xd4 ( three pawns up ! ) 13.g5 f5
14.xf5 ( three pawns and an exchange ) gxf5 15.d5 f4
However, the splendid move 11.f2 makes the whole line playable, as 11...f5 12.h6
xh6 13.xh6 leaves black no room for any inaccuracies.

Extract from section 2.3 : Bennett's temptation

The position after 8...c6 could be simple if white were to exchange on c6, saddling black
with a double isolated pawn. Or even played 9.b5, both with an even game. However, a
BDG gambiteer always seeks the most complicated solution and that's how Randy Bennett
came up with the great 9.f3, disregarding 9...xd4 and following up with 10.xb7 with
terrible complications.

But it doesn't end there. It seemed that black could get the better play by not taking the
second bait ( 10...xc2+ ) and continue with the quiet 9...c6. However, Tim McGrew and
Donald Coward came up with a dazling queen sacrifice on chesscafe.com to continue the
attack.
However, after carefull analysis, it seems to me that the variation is not so good after all,
since the simple 10...c8 forces an exchange of queens after 11.b5+ c6 12.xc6+ xc6
13.xc6+ xc6 14.xc6 xc2, leaving black with a healthy extra pawn. So I guess the
simple 9.b5 is best after all.

a6 10.xc6+ bxc6 11.f3 d6 12.00

d6 10.f3
a6 11.xc6+ bxc6 12.f4
000 11.xc6 bxc6 12.xc6 e6+ 13.e5
e6 11.00
d7 10.xd7 xd7 11.d5 a6 12.a4
b5 13.xb5 axb5 14.xb5 a6 15.f3
h5 13.g5
e6 13.dxc6 xd1+ 14.xd1 b5 15.b3

Extract from section 5.5 : The power of the Blackmar Diemer

As indicated above, white's prospects in the Ziegler position occuring after 1.d4 d5 2.e4
dxe4 3.c3 f6 4.f3 c6 5.c4 exf3 6.xf3 f5 7.e5 e6 8.00 are not so good, as
black has the simple 8...g6 at his disposal. However, if you feel the urge to play this line
with the white pieces, there is an important chance that black will see an improvement
compared to 8...g6 and play the seemingly crushing 8...xc2 . Black seems to win yet
another pawn, as white looses his knight after 9.xc2 xd4+ 10.h1 xe5 .

However, black may face the surprise of his life after white's equally crushing reply : 9.xf7 !!
xf7 ( 9...xd1 10.xd8 xd8 11.xd1 ) and now yet another fantastic move 10.xe6+ !!
xe6 and only now 11.xc2 .

Black is one full piece ahead, but his king is in the middle of the action. Extremely wild
complications occur, but it is unlikely that black will be able to survive white's upcoming
attack. Elaborate analysis shows that black can obtain a draw if he avoids taking the d5
pawn. In addition, black has a potentially winning game after playing 11...d7, provided he
finds the right moves with the clock ticking away.
In addition to the suggested move, there is also the old continuation 9.xf7 xf7 10.g4,
and the magnificent sequence 9.xf7 xf7 10.xc2 xd4+ 11.e3 .

Black looses his queen after xc4 12.f4 xf4 13.xf4 or white gets a very strong attack
after xe3+ 12.h1 with the resulting lines analysed below.

d6 13.ae1
h6 14.g4
f8 15.e4
f4 15.xe6
xh2+ 15.xh2 xh2 16.g5
e8 15.g5
b5 15.g5
e7 15.xe6+
d4 14.e4 e5 15.g5 e7 16.xe6 e8 17.f3
e7 13.ae1
d4 14.e2 e8 15.xe6 d7 16.f7+ d8 17.d1
c5 14.e4
b4 13.ae1 c5 14.e4 d4 15.g5+
c5 13.ae1 d4 14.e4 e7 15.g5+
bd7 13.ae1 c5 14.xe6+ e7 15.b3
e8 13.ae1
h6 14.b3
c5 14.e4 xe4 15.xe4 d8 16.d1+
b6 14.xe6+ d8 15.exf6 gxf6 16.d1+ d6 17.xd6+
g5 14.b3
d4 14.xe6+

c5 13.e4
h6 13.b3
b6 13.f5
d4 13.e2
Guess this fantastic variation clearly shows the power of the Blackmar Diemer gambit one
slip and the game is over, often in less than 20 moves.