Tennison gambit

[Francesco Santelli]

I wonder whether there is anybody that can explain what Otto M. Tennison intended or alluded to when proposing to name his gambit “Black Rook’s Gambit”. Thanks for your attention. All the best, Francesco

[Matt Mackenzie]

For those who don't know, the opening in question goes 1 Nf3 d5 2 e4 - or alternately 1 e4 d5 2 Nf3.

International News section, though?

[Carl Hibbard]

International News section, though?

Not now.

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

This is the game included in Otto Tennison's letter to the Chess Editor of the Times-Democrat (New Orleans) newspaper in 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

See https://imgbox.com/nZc6Osbl

Of course none of this actually explains what "Black Rook's Gambit" alludes to!

[Paul Cooksey]

I try not to criticise the standard of play of games in the chess history section, because I know that is not the point.

But since this is in general chat...good grief, I think that is amongst the worst games I have ever seen.

[Geoff Chandler]

I was reading Otto's page at chessgames.com; https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=99715

He fought for both the Union and the Confederates in the Civil War and at one time was under sentence of death. Doubt we will ever find out why he called it the Black Rook Gambit.

rnbqkb2/ppp1p1pr/7n/5p1Q/2B1p3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNB1K2R b KQq -

Here instead of 6..Kd7 Black play 6...g6 7.Qxg6+ Rf7

rnbqkb2/ppp1pr2/6Qn/5p2/2B1p3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNB1K2R w KQq - 1 3

That is a unique Black Rook! (I cannot recall a Rook doing that before.)

I googled 'Black Rook + chess' and found a Chess Rook Puzzle. You have to open it and find the coin.

https://cruxpuzzles.co.uk/product/chess ... zle-black/

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

I googled 'Black Rook + chess' and found a Chess Rook Puzzle. You have to open it and find the coin.
https://cruxpuzzles.co.uk/product/chess ... zle-black/

Never mind about the hidden coin, if I bought that puzzle I'd be more concerned about the lost £25.95.

I thought the Tennison game was OK and I've seen many far worse, though that's perhaps not unrelated to the number of times I've been the controller of the bottom section of a tournament.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Was a bit surprised Black resigned that early tbh, they *are* lost but I suspect most would have made White play it out for a few more moves.

[Roger de Coverly]

That is a unique Black Rook! (I cannot recall a Rook doing that before.)

You may have miised Danny Gormally v Simon Williams from the 2006 EU Championship in Liverpool.

[SetUp "1"] [FEN "rnbqkbn1/pppppr2/7p/5ppQ/3PP2B/8/PPP2PPP/RN2KBNR w KQq - 3 6"]

[Event "ch-EU"] [Site "Liverpool ENG"] [Date "2006.09.15"] [Round "10"] [White "Gormally,D"] [Black "Williams,Si"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A80"] [WhiteElo "2513"] [BlackElo "2473"] 1.d4 f5 2.Bg5 h6 3.Bh4 g5 4.e4 Rh7 5.Qh5+ Rf7 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.Qg6 Nc6 8.Bxg5 fxe4 9.Ne5 Nxe5 10.dxe5 hxg5 11.exf6 exf6 12.Nc3 Bb4 13.O-O-O Bxc3 14.Bc4 Bxb2+ 15.Kxb2 Qe7 16.h4 d5 17.Bxd5 Qe5+ 18.c3 Be6 19.Bxe6 1-0

[Nick Ivell]

What a game. No wonder Danny describes the mid Noughties as his golden period.

[Geoff Chandler]

You may have miised Danny Gormally v Simon Williams from the 2006 EU Championship in Liverpool.

A good spot Roger, yes the Rook on f7 in the Schoolboy pattern.

r1bqk3/pppp1r2/5pQ1/6p1/2B1p3/2b5/PPP2PPP/2KR3R b q - 0 14

The Black Rook.
This is a very big if...Maybe it was a topical play on words referring to a musical 'The Black Crook' which was famous (or infamous ) around about then due to the fact it had 'Beautiful bare-legged girls...' and a review suggesting due to the indecency of the costumes and dancing it should have been called 'Sodom and Gomorrah' (I hope they run this one at the coming Edinburgh Festival.)

Mark Twain liked it, Dickens not so, but it was famous.'Both awe and outrage fueled the show's increasing popularity until "nobody could hold his own in conversation unless he had seen it" state it's own wiki-page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Crook
The follow up play was called, and I'm not making thus up; The White Fawn

Of course I'm most likely way off but a good thread. Finding about Tennison and the Civil War and The Black Crook.

It also brought back memories of gaffe No.607 (I keep a count of these things.) I once added a note to a dubious pawn sacrifice. 'I fired a pawn into the air...where it landed I know not where.' and then cited an apology to Tennyson. Only to be told a few days later that it was Longfellow.