So I'm an (unranked, but ~1500 on lichess) amateur who's been working on developing my opening strategy for some time, and I've basically been using the King's Gambit for a variety of reasons:
- It is easy to play and fairly straightforward
- Castling opens my kingside rook, which I tend to use a lot
- Most casual players are unfamiliar with the technicalities of the gambit
While I may not be using the King's Gambit for the most optimal reasons, I am fairly comfortable with it and usually play the following:
- e4 e5
- f4 exf4
- Nf3
After this I pretty much know all the major strategy, and can also play against some of the more common defenses (classical defence, Falkbeer Counter Gambit, etc).
What really gets me, however, is when players just ignore the gambit altogether and do something like
- Nf3 Nc6
Now what am I supposed to do? I know that these are not good moves and will be appropriately penalized, but I often find it frustrating because all of a sudden I am placed in an unsure position. This particular case has happened to me several times in the past, but players often also play other strange moves like
- Nf3 d6
What would I attempt when players simply ignore the Gambit (i.e. neither accept nor defend?)