The Wing Gambit against the Sicilian is not very popular nowadays, but it may well be worth a revival. After all there are MANY openings where a Pawn is pitched, even early in the game, and with a little imagination, the battle is in full swing. In the Wing Gambit, White tosses a Queenside wing Pawn and goes for good central control and development. Think about Black in the Benko Gambit; again a wing Pawn and – well – the development is not a lot at the beginning, but the central control coupled with the Rook pressure down the ‘a’ and ‘b’ files gives good results – and that opening is “respected”.
Frank James Marshall was the U.S. Champion from 1909 – 1936; count ’em – that’s 27 years – and he retired undefeated. He said that although this gambit did have the “honor” of being held respectable/sound in his day, he had “satisfactory results” with it. SATISFACTORY? – you bet. He played the gambit 7 times in his lifetime (that I have been able to find in several databases) and in theses he has scored 6 wins (below) against strong and in many cases international competition.
Top Left: Marshall versus Taylor (1915) White has a devastating fork which allows the demolition of Black’s Kingside.
Top Middle: Marshall versus Haida (1925) White has an irritating pin that reaps material rewards downstream.
Top Right: Marshall versus Saemisch (1925) White has a beautifully developed position with central control. Time to charge forward.
Bottom Left: Marshall versus Verlinsky (1925) – Black has back row problems.
Bottom Middle: Marshall versus Sussman (1941) – Black had been trying for a diagonal battery against Frank’s King; to no avail. He is now caught in a horizontal pin and loses quickly.
Bottom Right: Marshall versus Rogosin (1940) – White “breaks the rules” of opening development by moving ONLY PANWS for the first 14 moves. Alas – Black is busted.
Enjoy !
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |