Traps, Tricks & Mistakes: Greco’s Legacy. King’s Gambit -I-

Gioacchino Greco (1600-1634) was an Italian chess player who recorded some of the oldest known chess games in their entirety. In his games never appears the opponent’s name, which led historians to conclude that they are in fact his constructs to demonstrate opening traps and mating patterns.

We know little about his life and all the information available comes only from his manuscripts.

Greco was the strongest player of his time. He played chess for money against anyone who challenged him and because of that, Greco is considered the first professional player in the history of chess.

To his legacy belong to have discovered various tactical concepts and traps. Greco recorded and sold them in small manuscripts. After his death some of them appeared published in books like “The Royall Game of Chesse-Play (1656)” or “Le Jeu des Echets (1669)”. Those books contain short games, each of them demonstrating an important tactical pattern. Thanks to those books, Greco’s work reached a large audience of chess fans.

Today’s post brings some of those patterns in the King’s Gambit. This opening was very popular in the period after Greco’s death. We know that period as the Romantic Era of chess. Games from that period feature strong attacks against the opponent’s king and beautiful combinations.

If you enjoyed these patterns, stay tuned because more posts about Greco’s legacy will appear soon.

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