Chess Gambits- Harking back to the 19th century!
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Sources
  • Open Games (1.e4 e5)
    • Goring Gambit >
      • goring gambit accepted games
      • Goring Gambit Accepted Nxc3
      • Goring Gambit Accepted Bc4
      • Goring Gambit Declined
    • Scotch Gambit >
      • Scotch Gambit sidelines
      • Scotch Gambit 4...Bc5
      • Scotch Gambit 4...Nf6 5.e5
      • Scotch Gambit 4...Nf6 5.0-0
    • Danish Gambit >
      • Danish Gambit Declined
      • Danish Gambit Accepted
    • Urusov Gambit >
      • Urusov Gambit Accepted
      • Urusov Gambit Declined
    • 1.e4 e5 2.d4 others
    • Italian Gambit
    • King's Gambit >
      • King's Gambit Modern Defence
      • King's Gambit 3.Nf3 g5
      • King's Gambit 3.Nf3 d6 and h6
      • King's Gambit, Vienna Gambit lines
      • King's Gambit 3.Nf3 others
      • King's Gambit Bishop Gambit
      • King's Gambit Mason Gambit
      • King's Gambit Falkbeer Counter Gambit
      • King's Gambit Declined
    • Evans Gambit >
      • Evans Gambit Accepted
      • Evans Gambit Declined
    • Two Knights Defence >
      • Two Knights Defence 4.Ng5 sidelines
      • Two Knights Defence 4.Ng5 main line
      • Two Knights Defence 4.d3 4.Nc3
    • Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit
    • Cochrane Gambit
    • Halloween Gambit
    • Latvian Gambit
  • Semi-Open Games
    • Scandinavian Gambits >
      • Icelandic Gambit
      • Portuguese Gambit
      • 3rd-move alternatives for White
    • Morra Gambit >
      • Morra Gambit Accepted
      • Morra Gambit Declined
    • Alekhine-Chatard Attack
  • 1.d4
    • Blackmar-Diemer Gambit
    • Staunton Gambit
    • Albin Counter-Gambit >
      • Albin Counter-Gambit with a3, e3 and g3
      • Albin Counter-Gambit a3 and Nbd2
    • Englund Gambit >
      • Englund Gambit d6 and f6 lines
      • Englund Gambit Qe7 and Nge7 lines
  • Flank openings
    • From's Gambit

PDF articles

I am planning to come up with a series of PDF articles over time that can be downloaded and used at your leisure, as

Index of Lines after 1.e4 e5 2.d4

Göring Gambit - 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.c3

Scotch Gambit - 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Bc4
4...Nf6 5.0-0 Bc5 6.e5 - Max Lange Attack (Note: 6.c3!? transposes to 4...Bc5 5.c3 Nf6 6.0-0, though I think 6.e5 is stronger)
4...Nf6 5.0-0 Nxe4 - "Anti Max Lange"


Danish Gambit - 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 (focusing on lines that are independent of the Göring Gambit)

Urusov Gambit - 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nf3 or 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Bc4 (Note: here 4...Nc6 transposes to the Two Knights Defence; see Scotch Gambit lines with 4...Nf6)

Misc. move order issues:

Index of lines after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4

Two Knights Defence: 3...Nf6 (here 4.d4 exd4 transposes into Scotch Gambit lines with 4...Nf6)

Italian Gambit: 3...Bc5 4.d4!? (4...exd4 transposes to the Scotch Gambit with 4...Bc5)

Evans Gambit: 3...Bc5 4.b4!?

Note: White can also try the Max Lange Gambit, 3...Bc5 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d4!?, which will lead to a Max Lange Attack after 5...exd4 6.e5 or, after 5...Bxd4 6.Nxd4 Nxd4, transpose into Italian Gambit lines following 4...Bxd4 5.Nxd4 Nxd4 6.0-0 Nf6.  The main snag with this move-order is that Black can avoid the Max Lange Gambit with 4...d6.  Then as Stefan Bücker and Lev Gutman pointed out in Kaissiber magazine, the immediate attacks with 5.d4 don't work very well, so White does best to go for a slow positional approach with c3, d3 and b4.

Also note: the old line 3...Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4, which is one that beginners often tend to learn, is covered via the Scotch Gambit with 4...Bc5 5.c3 Nf6.

Index of lines after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3

2...f5?! - Latvian Gambit
2...d5?! - Elephant Gambit

Index of lines after 1.e4 e5 2.f4 (King's Gambit)

2...Bc5 - King's Gambit Declined
2...d5- Falkbeer Counter-Gambit

2...exf4 3.Nc3!? - Mason Gambit (plus dubious 3rd move alternatives for White)
2...exf4 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4!? - Steinitz Gambit

2...exf4 3.Bc4 - Bishop's Gambit

2...exf4 3.Nf3 (King's Knight Gambit)

3...g5 4.h4 g4 5.Ne5 - Kieseritzky Gambit

3...g5 4.Nc3 - Quaade Gambit

Notes on the omission of the Vienna Gambit
I haven't covered the Vienna Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 intending 3.f4) because of the independent line 2...Nf6 3.f4 d5 (note that 3...exf4?! 4.e5 is bad for Black).  Instead if 2...Nc6 3.f4, play often continues 3...exf4 4.Nf3 g5 transposing into lines covered via the Quaade Gambit with 4...Nc6.  Instead 4.d4 is the Steinitz Gambit (covered via 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4).

Other Misc 1.e4 e5 lines

White sacs a piece at move four...
2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nxe5?! - Halloween Gambit
2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nxf7!? - Cochrane Gambit

There are a couple of Ruy Lopez lines that I intend to cover in the near future:
Ruy Lopez (2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5)
3...a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.0-0 Bg4 intending 6.h3 h5 - Yandemirov Gambit
3...a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c3 f5 - Siesta Variation

White goes for the Scholar's Mate

I am yet to look into these lines yet, but I am interested in covering them in the near future.  No doubt many players experimented with them when they first started out at chess, but didn't really know what they were doing beyond "try to checkmate on f7 with the bishop and queen".  I certainly did...  Also, Hikaru Nakamura famously experimented with 2.Qh5 at the grandmaster level.
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 followed by 3.Qh5
1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6
1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nf6!?
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Sources
  • Open Games (1.e4 e5)
    • Goring Gambit >
      • goring gambit accepted games
      • Goring Gambit Accepted Nxc3
      • Goring Gambit Accepted Bc4
      • Goring Gambit Declined
    • Scotch Gambit >
      • Scotch Gambit sidelines
      • Scotch Gambit 4...Bc5
      • Scotch Gambit 4...Nf6 5.e5
      • Scotch Gambit 4...Nf6 5.0-0
    • Danish Gambit >
      • Danish Gambit Declined
      • Danish Gambit Accepted
    • Urusov Gambit >
      • Urusov Gambit Accepted
      • Urusov Gambit Declined
    • 1.e4 e5 2.d4 others
    • Italian Gambit
    • King's Gambit >
      • King's Gambit Modern Defence
      • King's Gambit 3.Nf3 g5
      • King's Gambit 3.Nf3 d6 and h6
      • King's Gambit, Vienna Gambit lines
      • King's Gambit 3.Nf3 others
      • King's Gambit Bishop Gambit
      • King's Gambit Mason Gambit
      • King's Gambit Falkbeer Counter Gambit
      • King's Gambit Declined
    • Evans Gambit >
      • Evans Gambit Accepted
      • Evans Gambit Declined
    • Two Knights Defence >
      • Two Knights Defence 4.Ng5 sidelines
      • Two Knights Defence 4.Ng5 main line
      • Two Knights Defence 4.d3 4.Nc3
    • Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit
    • Cochrane Gambit
    • Halloween Gambit
    • Latvian Gambit
  • Semi-Open Games
    • Scandinavian Gambits >
      • Icelandic Gambit
      • Portuguese Gambit
      • 3rd-move alternatives for White
    • Morra Gambit >
      • Morra Gambit Accepted
      • Morra Gambit Declined
    • Alekhine-Chatard Attack
  • 1.d4
    • Blackmar-Diemer Gambit
    • Staunton Gambit
    • Albin Counter-Gambit >
      • Albin Counter-Gambit with a3, e3 and g3
      • Albin Counter-Gambit a3 and Nbd2
    • Englund Gambit >
      • Englund Gambit d6 and f6 lines
      • Englund Gambit Qe7 and Nge7 lines
  • Flank openings
    • From's Gambit