Chess notes: From's Gambit
From Bird's Opening by Timothy Taylor. Everyman Chess. 2005.
From's Gambit is a blunt attempt to refute Bird's Opening.
After 1 f4 e5 2 fxe5 d6 3 fxd6 Bxd6, White's only good move is 4 Nf3. 4…g5 is the Lasker Variation and 4…Nf6 is the Mestel Variation.
Lasker Variation
According to Taylor, this variation is not sound. It's a succession of one move threats that leave holes in Black's position.
After 4…g5, White plays Bent Larsen's 5 g3, which meets the mate threat. 5…h5 is too slow with the knight out: 5…h5?! 6 d4 f6 7 Qd3 h4 8 Qg6+ Kf8 9 Kxg5! J. Horvath-P. Velvart, Hungarian Women's Championship 1993.
5…g4 is the usual move to remove the defending knight. The main line continues: 6 Nh4 Ne7 7 d4 Ng6 8 Nxg6 hxg6 9 Qd3! This defends against the threats and maintains White's advantage. The other main try for Black is 6…Be7 7 Ng2, which is better for White. The position is uncomfortable, but Black doesn't have enough compensation for the pawn.
Illustrative game: Timothy Taylor (2297) vs Julio J Becerra-Rivero (2552). HB Global Chess Challenge 2005. Bird Opening: From Gambit. Lasker Variation (A02). 1-0. http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1339115
Related tags: birds, froms-gambit, gambits