ICBM Gambit

The trap

1. 1.e4 · White opens with the king's pawn, the usual start.
2. 1...d5 · The Scandinavian: Black strikes at e4 at once.
3. 2.Nf3?! · The Tennison Gambit. Instead of taking on d5, White lets the e4 pawn go.
4. 2...dxe4 · Black takes the free pawn, and the knight on f3 is attacked.
5. 3.Ng5 · The knight hops forward, eyeing f7 and the pawn on e4.
6. 3...Nf6 · Black guards the pawn with a natural developing move.
7. 4.d3 · White offers a second pawn to open lines for the bishop and the queen.
8. 4...exd3 · Black grabs that one too, and the bishop recaptures with a purpose.
9. 5.Bxd3 · The bishop lands on d3, aiming at g6. It is now the only piece between the two queens on the d-file.
10. 5...h6?? · It looks like it just kicks the knight. It is the blunder that launches the missile.
11. 6.Nxf7! · The knight crashes into f7, attacking the queen and the rook.
12. 6...Kxf7 · Black takes the knight and seems to have won a whole piece.
13. 7.Bg6+! · The bishop offers itself with check, and the d-file opens between the two queens.
14. 7...Kxg6 · Black grabs a second piece, but nothing stands between the queens anymore.
15. 8.Qxd8 · Launch! The queen flies from d1 to d8 and takes Black's queen. White comes out clearly ahead.

How to beat it

1. 5...Nc6! · Develop first. The knight on c6 guards d8, so the queen trick can never work.
2. 6.O-O · White tucks the king away and hopes Black will still slip.
3. 6...h6 · Now the kick is safe: after the sacrifices on f7 and g6, the knight on c6 would simply take the queen back.
4. 7.Nf3 · The knight retreats. Black keeps the extra pawn and has easy, natural development.

The story

The Tennison Gambit is a real, if rarely trusted, way to meet the Scandinavian: instead of taking on d5, White lets the e4 pawn go and sends a knight to g5. In October 2020 the YouTube channel Bosnian Ape Society posted a 3D cartoon of one of its lines under a grand title: the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Variation.

The joke is the finish. White gives up a knight on f7 and a bishop on g6, the d-file opens, and the queen on d1 swoops all the way to d8 to take Black's queen, like a missile fired across the board. The cartoon passed seven million views, IM Levy Rozman explained the trap in a video that December, and the gambit became a favorite of online chess meme forums.

Is it any good? Only if Black plays 5...h6, which looks so harmless. Put the knight on c6 first, so it guards d8, and the missile never leaves the ground. Then White is simply a pawn down, with a lot of explaining to do.

Sources: Know Your Meme: ICBM Gambit · Chess.com forums: The ICBM Gambit

Verdict

Dubious · one slip loses the queen

Gambit · Meme

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