Tennison Gambit

The Tennison Gambit is a chess opening in which White gambits a pawn.^[1][2][3][4] The opening moves begin with either the Zukertort Opening:^[5]

1. Nf3 d5
2. e4

Tennison Gambit

a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h
Moves	1.Nf3 d5 2.e4 or 1.e4 d5 2.Nf3
ECO	A06
Named after	Otto Mandrup Tennison
Parent	Zukertort Opening
Synonym(s)	Abonyi Gambit Black Rook's Gambit Lemberg Gambit Lviv Gambit Polish Gambit Zukertort Gambit ICBM Gambit ICBM Variation

or the Scandinavian Defense:

1. e4 d5
2. Nf3

The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings code for the Tennison Gambit is A06.

History

The first person to significantly research this opening was chess amateur Otto Mandrup Tennison (1834–1909).^[6][7] Tennison was born in Denmark, studied in Germany and moved to the United States in 1854. There, he played in the chess clubs of New Orleans. Many strong players picked up the idea from the first half of the 20th century.

After 2...dxe4 3.Ng5

• After 4.Bc4 e6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Ngxe4 Nxe4 7.Nxe4 b5 8.Be2 Bb7 9.Bf3 White had the advantage in Ermenkov–Bonchev, Bulgaria 1970.
• 3...e5! 4.Nxe4 f5! favors Black.^[8]
• 3...Bf5 and Black has the better position. A continuation might be 4.Nc3 Nf6 and Black keeps the advantage in a solid position.

Notable games

Otto M. Tennison vs. NN, New Orleans 1891:
1. Nf3 d5 2. e4 dxe4 3. Ng5 f5 4. Bc4 Nh6 5. Nxh7 Rxh7 6. Qh5+ Kd7 7. Qg6 Rh8 8. Be6+ Kc6 9. Bxc8+ Qd6 10. Qe8+ Kb6 11. Qa4 1–0 If 11...Qc6 then 12.Qb3+ Ka6 13.Nc3 any 14.Bxb7+; 11...e6 12.a3, etc. (Tennison)

See also

• List of chess gambits