Some Popular Gambits

A gambit is when one side offers the other the opportunity to obtain a material advantage in return for some kind of compensation. Very often the compensation is short term and comes in the form of superior piece activity, better piece coordination, or simply better development. If you are the one gambiting the material then you need to make sure that you make immediate use of the compensation you have obtained. Attack now, or forever grovel in pawn-down-endgames! If the compensation is structural or long-term in some other way then you need to keep it safe and make sure that you opponent cannot simplify or liquidate the position to an extent which would make your compensation less valuable. If you are the one playing against a gambit then the first rule is to avoid being too greedy. If you grab all the material on offer and let your development lag behind you are likely to get crushed. The key is to give back the material in such a way as to nullify the compensation you gave up when you captured it. This is easier said than done, but if you practice against gambiteers enough you’ll get the hang of it in time.

Here we take a look at some of the more well known gambits. There are hundreds of gambits, some of which are very obscure, and as we have only limited room we will examine only sixteen. We hope however that becoming acquainted with this small collection of gambits will encourage you to research them further, to dig up others, or even to invent completely new gambits of your own! We have divided the gambits into those arising from King’s pawn openings and those arising from Queen’s pawn openings.

Gambits Arising from King’s Pawn Openings

Key points to notice in gambits arising from king's pawn openings:

1. The f7 pawn is frequently White's main target.
2. Open files are used for immediate attacks.
3. Development is the most common form of compensation for the gambited material.
4. Black can often equalise with a well timed ... d5.
5. Often a counter-attack is a better plan than building a solid position and trying to keep the material.

Obviously, these generalisations do not apply to all gambits arising from king's pawn openings, but it is often useful to bear them in mind as rough rules of thumb.

The King’s Gambit: 1. e4 e5, 2. f4
This is one of the most famous gambits of all. It has been played a great deal and so a great deal of theory has built up on it. White’s idea is to gambit his f-pawn in order to grab the centre, get ahead in development, and begin a quick attack. The f-file is usually opened and so White can often make use of it in order to pressure the sensitive f7 square. The greatest disadvantage of the King’s Gambit is that White weakens his own king’s position and can sometimes find that it is his own king that is in jeopardy.

Falkabeer Counter Gambit: 1. e4 e5, 2. f4 d5,
This is one of the more interesting responses to the King’s Gambit. The idea is to blast open the position in order to take immediate advantage of the weaknesses White has created by moving his f-pawn so early. Obviously White should not capture on e5 because of the reply Qh4+ which would leave Black better. After 3. ed Black plays 3. … e4 hindering White’s development. The position is unclear.

Vienna Gambit: 1. e4 e5, 2. Nc3 Nf6, 3. f4
This is an attempt to improve on the King’s Gambit by delaying the sacrifice of the f-pawn for one move. In fact, black would do well to decline this gambit because after 3. … ef, White can play the annoying 4. e5 after which Black will find himself very cramped (the f6 knight will have to retreat either now or after 4. … Qe7, 5. Qe2). The correct reply is 3. … d5, which should remind you of the Falkabeer Counter Gambit above. After 4. fe Nxe4 the position is probably equal.

Latvian Gambit: 1. e4 e5, 2. Nf3 f5,
This looks a bit like a King’s Gambit reversed. Unfortunately, it is not nearly as good as the King’s Gambit, because the e5 pawn is en pris! After 3. Nxe5 Qf6, 4. Nc4 fe, 5. Nc3 Qf7, 6. Ne3 White is doing rather well, e.g. 6. … Nf6, 7. Bc4 Qg6, 8. d3 when White has a substantial lead in development. Basically, black does not have enough comp for the weaknesses he has created and the loss of time he has incurred.

Scotch Gambit: 1. e4 e5, 2. Nf3 Nc6, 3. d4 ed, 4. Bc4 Bc5, 5. c3
This is a great opening for juniors. White’s idea is simply to achieve a lead in development and superior control of the centre. If Black accepts the gambit with 5. … dc, then after 6. Nxc3 White has some useful threats. For example; 6. ... Nf6 (?!) 7. e5 Ng4, 8. Bxf7+ KxB, 9. Qd5+ Kf8, 10. Qxc5+ when White is doing quite well. Black can decline the gambit with 5. ... Nf6, but after 6. e5 he probably needs to find the move 6. ... d5, in order to retain a comfortable position.

Göring Gambit: 1. e4 e5, 2. Nf3 Nc6, 3. d4 ed, 4. c3
This is quite a lot like the Scotch Gambit and indeed can sometimes transpose to it. If Black accepts the pawn with 4. … dc, then White can Gambit a second pawn with 5. Bc4 cb, 6. Bxb2. One of the best ways of declining the gambit is to play 4. … d5.

Danish Gambit 1. e4 e5, 2. d4 ed, 3. c3
Look familiar?! It should! This is the poor cousin of the Göring Gambit which in turn is the poor cousin of the Scotch Gambit. After 3. … dc, 4. Nf3 cb, 5. Bxb2 Black might do well to flick in 5. … d5, offering back one of the pawns for some breathing room. Equally, Black could transpose to the Göring with 4. … Nc6.

Evan’s Gambit: 1. e4 e5, 2. Nf3 Nc6, 3. Bc4 Bc5, 4. b4
This one’s as old as the hills! After 4. … Bxb4, 5. c3 Ba5, 6. d4 ed, 7. O-O White will try to make quick use of his lead in development. There are plenty of ideas to try including Ng5 or Bg5, Qb3, and, if Black doesn't take on c3, simply cd obtaining a nice big centre.

Wing Gambit 1. e4 e6, 2. Nf3 d5, 3. e5 c5, 4. b4
There are other kinds of wing gambit but they all tend to be along these lines. White sac’s the b-pawn to divert Black’s c-pawn away from the centre and to gain some time. Play might continue 4. … cb, 5. a3 ba, 6. Nxa3. Arguably, White does not quite have enough for the pawn. Black can also try the simple 5. … Nc6, when, again, he seems to be doing rather well.

The Morra Gambit 1. e4 c5, 2. d4 cd, 3. c3
This is popular with juniors who do not want to have to learn a proper variation of the Sicilian. Black can either accept the gambit with 3. … dc, or decline with 3. … d3. Either way, the second player should be doing okay.

Gambits Arising from Queen’s Pawn Openings

Key points to notice in gambits arising from Queen's pawn openings:

1. Attacks tend to require more careful build-ups.
2. Open files are used for long term positional purposes as often as for immediate attacks.
3. The gambited material is sometimes quite difficult to hold on to, even in the short term.
4. Often the side accepting the gambit needs to concentrate more on building a solid position than on generating a counter-attack.

Obviously, these generalisations do not apply to all gambits arising from queen's pawn openings, but it is often useful to bear them in mind as rough rules of thumb.

Benko Gambit 1. d4 Nf6, 2. c4 c5, 3. d5 b5,
This is one of the classiest gambits around. Instead of offering a pawn for a quick attack Black is instead offering it for positional compensation in the form of the open a and b files. If White accepts the offered pawn with 4. cb a6, 5. ba BxP, he will come under pressure on the queenside. Black’s plan is to fianchetto his king’s bishop, castle, and then put his rooks on a8 and b8. White’s pieces will be tied up trying to defend his pawns on a2 and b2 and achieving the thematic e4-e5 break is not easy for White.

Blumenfeld Gambit 1. d4 Nf6, 2. c4 e6, 3. Nf3 c5, 4. d5 b5,
This one is a bit like the Benko, but it’s not quite as good. 5. Bg5 causes black some problems.

Queen’s Gambit 1. d4 d5, 2. c4
It has often been said that the Queen’s Gambit isn't a real gambit because Black cannot safely retain the extra pawn. This is true in the sense that after 2. … dc, 3. e3 b5, 4. a4 c6? 5. ab cb? 6. Qf3 White is just winning. However, White can make a true gambit of it after 2. … dc with 3. e4. The play is not nearly as exciting as is King’s pawn gambits, but it’s still interesting stuff. More often than not however, Black declines the gambit with 2. … e6, or 2. … c6.

Albin Counter Gambit 1. d4 d5, 2. c4 e5,
This is quite a tricky response to the Queen’s Gambit. It’s not quite sound, but it’s full of traps for the unwary. The most famous of these goes 3. de d4, 4. e3? Bb4+ 5. Bd2 de, 6. Bxb4 ef+ 7. Ke2 fg+=N, 8. RxN Bg4+, winning White’s queen. White should prefer a kingside fianchetto with 4. Nf3 Nc6, 5. g3 etc.

Blackmar-Diemer Gambit 1. d4 d5, 2. e4
The Blackmar-Diemer can be quite dangerous if Black is not prepared for it. The idea is that after 2. … de, 3. Nc3 Nf6, White will play 4. f3. If Black captures this with 4. … ef, then after 5. NxP White will be able to develop his pieces quickly and use the now open e and f files for a rapid attack. Black’s best is probably 4. … Bf5.

Staunton Gambit 1. d4 f5, 2. e4
This is not a very exciting gambit, but it is certainly sound. Black cannot safely keep the extra pawn as after 2. … fe, 3. Nc3 d5? loses to Qh5+ and 3. … Nf6, 4. Bg5 d5? loses to 5. BxN ef, 6. Qh5+. Black’s best tries are 4. … Nc6, and 4. … e6.

Have fun!