Chapter 50: The Evans Gambit
Evans Gambit.
This opening was named after the Welsh sea captain, William Davies Evans, the first player known to have played it. He pulled this shenanigan for the first time in 1827 during his game against an Irish chess master named Alexander McDonnell in London. Or so that was what Wikipedia said.
In his heyday, this opening was pretty popular among top players, with the legendary Dutch Grandmaster Paul van der Sterren describing the Evans Gambit as ’unreal’ and ’fairylike’. Hell, even the prominent players in history like Adolf Anderssen and Paul Morphy took it up and won some of their most important games in their lives with this opening. Unfortunately, unlike the old classical openings, such as the Italian or Ruy Lopez, the popularity of the Evans Gambit declined over time.
Even though there were a few attempts to revive this opening, such as the legendary Garry Kasparov’s match against the young Vishwanathan Anand in 1995, it was a futile attempt, especially when computers became more advanced in providing players with advice on how to deal with it. Advances in chess theory and the power of computer engines had revealed critical defensive lines for Black, neutralizing the gambit’s sharpest attacking ideas.
In the end, after surviving for almost two centuries, this opening started to get forgotten, with not even a single serious player batting an eye at this.
At first, Sheva himself also didn’t have any idea about this opening. He just knew that his system gave him this particular knowledge, but the boy had never thought that he would use it at any time in his career. Hell, he even still thought the same before the game started, and the only reason why he suddenly pulled the Italian opening was because he just got a few variations of it from the system in the last couple of days. He just went with it to catch his opponent off guard, especially since he had never used anything like this before. The thought of using this gambit only came to his mind once his opponent initiated the Giuoco Piano variation, and just for that, Sheva, with his impulsiveness, went with the flow, striking back with the forgotten Evans gambit.
True enough, almost all the people around who watched this game furrowed their brows, feeling unfamiliar with Sheva’s approach. Hell, some of them even thought that he made a mistake, while the others just sneered at him, thinking that he was being arrogant here. Only a few had an idea of what kind of opening this was, and one of them was Irfan, who could be seen shaking his head in awe and disbelief.
’Damn, you sure know how to be entertaining, aren’t you?’ His eyes shone at Sheva. ’Master Susanto will have a field day seeing this game.’
True enough, Master Susanto, who got roped into the commentary booth, also paused for a moment, staring at the chessboard on the screen in disbelief. "Damn... I don’t know if Sheva is planning for this or if it is just another moment of madness for him, but I have never expected that I would see this opening in my career again." He whispered lowly. Unfortunately, there was a little mic in front of his mouth, so everyone could hear what the master was saying.
Ancika77: Hey, I am still new here, and I don’t know what is going on. Can anyone give me an explanation?
Bajikari234: Probably just the idiot boy coming with another one of his madness moments again. Not worth your time.
Hilda99: At this point, you are just hating here.
Si_Putih: Well, I mean, he deserves the hate, right? *Shrug*
Bajikari234: Also, if not one of his madness moments, can you explain what kind of idiocy he is going to do here?
Hilda99: This....
Well, it was understandable for Bagas’s audiences not to know about this opening. After all, Evans gambit was long forgotten in the stream of chess history. It was Bagas’s job as the host to guide Master Susanto so that the man could explain it more, and he delivered it quickly.
"Is there anything special about this opening, Master Susanto?" The fat boy asked.
"Well, you can say that..." The man huffed, leaning against his chair while also crossing his arms so that he could concentrate better. "The name is Evans Gambit, and honestly, I forgot that it even exists until I saw Sheva play it on the board. The last time I saw this opening was when I was just seven, in a classic game between the legendary Gary Kasparov and Vishwanathan Anand in the Tal Memorial in 1995. After that, not a single soul dares to pull this opening in a real game."
"Oh?" Bagas crooked one of his eyebrows a little. He didn’t expect that Sheva would pull this kind of forgotten spell in such an important game like this. However, if anything, this was just like Sheva whom he knew, always unpredictable. "Can you explain more about why no one plays this, Master?" He asked politely.
"Well... How should I put it..." Master Susanto pondered for a moment. "This opening was good and aggressive, but as time goes by, the computer engines are also getting better, and they have found so many ways to force a draw in this gambit. Not only that, the user also has to be exceptionally gifted in tactical approach, and one mistake could cost them the entire game. So, Evans gambit is the kind of high-risk, low-return opening, and as more variations of the Italian opening are developed, people also started to leave it slowly, going for a more stable approach."
Bagas nodded thoughtfully, yet his expression couldn’t hide his worry about Sheva. "Then, should we be worried about our dear friend at table one?" He tried to make a joke to hide his uncertainty.
Unexpectedly, though, unlike him, Master Susanto didn’t look worried at all. No, the man shook his head firmly, a small smile forming on his face. "No, if anything, you can expect a great game from him here. Just wait, this will be another amazing battle with a lot of fireworks from your friend’s side. That, I guarantee."