As we have seen in the previous post, here we have the "Open Italian Four Knights Jerome Gambit", otherwise known as the "Noa Gambit", otherwise not known as the "Zoltowski Gambit", otherwise known as the "Monck Gambit".
So, who was Monck?
A quick trip to Dr. Tim Harding's website reveals that he has a page on William Henry Stanley Monck (1839 - 1915), an Irish amateur chess player. Monck wrote a chess and logic column in Our School Times (Derry), from 1878 to 1884.
There is also on the site a downloadable PGN file of Monck's games, although only one showcases "his" gambit.
Monck, WH Stanley (IRL) - Patterson, T (IRL)
FLS correspondence tourney division 8, 1905
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nc6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe4 h6 7.d4 d6
8.dxe5 Nxe5 9.Nxe5+ dxe5 10.Qxd8 Bb4+ 11.Qd2 Bxd2+ 12.Bxd2 Bf5
13.Ng3 g6 14.Nxf5 gxf5 15.Bc3 f4 16.O-O-O Black resigned
Since I introduced the Monck Gambit with a game by William Henry Krause Pollock, let me finish this post with another one, also from Pollock Memories - this time with WHKP defending.
Blanchard - Pollock, WHK
Chicago, 1890
notes (converted from descriptive to algebraic notation) from Pollock Memories
A bright little game played at Chicago.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nxe4 5.Bxf7+
These moves give Black a chance to free his game through a slight counter attack.
5...Kxf7 6.Nxe4 d5 7.Neg5+ Kg8 8.d4 h6 9.Nh3 Bg4
9...Bxh3 10.gxh3 exd4 11.Nxd4 Qf6 is rather preferable.
10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.Nhg1
For here White can improve matters by 11.Nf4.
11...Bc5 12.Bf4 Ng6 13.Bg3 Kh7 14.Qd3 Re8+ 15.Kf1 Re4
Insidious, as threatening ...Bf5 in some cases, and also preventing Ne5
16.Re1 Qe7 17.Qxd5
Black's coveted opportunity
17...Rxe1+ 18.Nxe1 Rd8 19.Qc4
Black mates in two moves.
We will finish up our look at William Henry Stanley Monck in the next post, which features a Jerome-ish Evans Gambit Declined.
[to be continued]
