Editing Latvian Gambit (section)

==History==
The opening was originally known as the '''Greco Countergambit''', and some modern writers still refer to it as such.<ref>[[Larry Evans (chess grandmaster)|Larry Evans]], ''The Chess Opening for You'', RHM Press, 1975, p. 29. {{ISBN|0-89058-020-0}}.</ref> That name recognised the Italian player [[Gioachino Greco]] (1600–1634), who contributed to the early theory of the opening. In 19th century German chess literature, the opening was often referred to as ''"Gambit in der Rückhand"'' ("backhand gambit"), i.e. gambit played by Black. (The terms ''"Vorhand"'' and ''"Rückhand"'' were used before the standard that White moves first was adopted in the mid-19th century).

The name ''Latvian Gambit'' is a tribute to several [[Latvia]]n players who analysed it, [[Kārlis Bētiņš]] being the most prominent among them. The Austrian master [[Albert Becker (chess player)|Albert Becker]] once published an article that Bētiņš judged to be dismissive about the Latvian Gambit.{{cn|date=April 2024}} In response, Bētiņš published and analysed one of his own games in order to defend the gambit: Ilyin-Zhenevsky vs K Bētiņš, 1921.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

According to most, the opening's only advantage is its ostensible novelty value, since, irrespective of what level you play at, the chances of your opponent even knowing this opening, let alone knowing the best lines for White, are low. However, it has been used by [[Boris Spassky]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=J Muratov vs Boris Spassky (1959)|url=https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1128428|access-date=2021-09-24|website=www.chessgames.com}}</ref> and [[Mikhail Chigorin]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Schlezer vs Mikhail Chigorin (1878)|url=https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1036237|access-date=2021-09-24|website=www.chessgames.com}}</ref> amongst many others; albeit, usually in casual play. Most notably, even [[Bobby Fischer]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Robert James Fischer vs Viktors Pupols (1955) Pupols Becomes the Teacher|url=https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044024|access-date=2021-09-24|website=www.chessgames.com}}</ref> and [[José Raúl Capablanca]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jose Raul Capablanca vs Enrique Corzo (1901)|url=https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1271653|access-date=2021-09-24|website=www.chessgames.com}}</ref> have lost to it. Sweden's [[Jonny Hector]] is one of the few [[Grandmaster (chess)|grandmasters]] to play it in serious competition; he has argued that it is not as bad as its reputation and that even with best play White's advantage is not large.<ref>[[Nick de Firmian]], [[Modern Chess Openings]], 14th edition (1999), p140. {{ISBN|0-8129-3083-5}}</ref>