Questions tagged [gambits]
A gambit is an opening where one player sacrifices material - usually a pawn, but sometimes multiple pawns or even a piece - in order to gain some positional advantage, e.g. a lead in development or more space.
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Two gambits in the Caro Kann
How do you face these two gambits in the Caro Kann. They cause a lot of headache and I would like to have an understanding of the strategy (if there is any) not just some engine lines how to reply to ...
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Alternative to the Sämisch gambit
[FEN ""]
[Startply "12"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Be3 c5
I recently started playing the KID and am not comfortable with the c5 gambit against the ...
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Boden–Kieseritzky Gambit vs. Morphy Gambit
I just got an ad for the book Taming Wild Chess Openings by Watson & Schiller. I'm not planning to buy the book, but I was intrigued by the table of contents, especially the two lines quoted below ...
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Cochrane Gambit book recommendations?
Are there any good books that explain how the Cochrane Gambit works from white's perspective?
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Who is the Hübsch gambit named after?
According to Lichess, the Hübsch gambit starts with 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. e4:
[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. e4
This article ...
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Which gambits do engines rate positively? [duplicate]
I often hear about "dubious" gambits - those that may be successful against mediocre opponents, but with correct preparation or against an engine are inaccurate.
Which gambits do the engines ...
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Walkover -- what is this?
I've never seen this before. I was playing a game on ChessArena.com, and I ended up getting something called a "Walkover".
My rating on ChessArena for that game was 1090, and my opponent's ...
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is there a name for the opening moves 1. e4 b5?
While this is a terrible opening which gives up a pawn for nothing I would like to know if it has a name.
Wikibooks state that it is called O'Neill Gambit but its citations lead nowhere. The only ...
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Why is sacrificing an extra pawn good for White in the Goring gambit but bad in the Smith-Morra gambit?
In both the Smith-Morra (accepted) and Goring gambit lines, white offers a pawn on c3. If Black takes the pawn on c3, White can play Bc4, offering a second pawn in exchange for rapid development with ...
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What is the difference between Blackmar Gambit and Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, or are they the same?
365Chess lists the move order 1. d4 d5 2. e4 as Blackmar Gambit But the same move order is named as Blackmar-Diemer Gambit on chesstempo.]2. Which of these is more reliable (or correct)?
The reason ...
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What are the most dangerous counters to 1.e4 .. 2. f4?
I have a bit of a habit of playing 1.e4 with the follow-up 2.f4 in lightning (1 0) games.
In response to 1..e5, it becomes the King's Gambit. Apparently, against 1..c5 it's known as the McDonnell ...
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Why is forking the king and rook a blunder in this Halloween Gambit line?
[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR"]
[Title "Halloween Gambit Game"]
[StartPly "22"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nxe5 Nxe5 5. d4 Nc6?! 6. d5 Ne5 7. ...
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Danish Gambit normal variation
I'm studying the Danish gambit lines and trying to understand a particular move:
The engine (depth 30 Stockfish 14.1), and theory (by that I mean GrandMasters talking about it) suggest Nc3 without ...
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Opening positions where declining a gambit is a blunder
Are there any gambit lines in which declining the gambit is a blunder or at least can be considered a misplay?
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How can you deal with gambits/traps opening, assuming you don't know the theory of the opening yet?
For example, the Danish opening:
[FEN ""]
1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Bc4 cxb2 5. Bxb2
where basically, White gives up two pawns for positional play. And if you don't know the theory, ...
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Does blitz change the relative value of position vs material?
The way I see it, true gambits trade material for position, which in turn could give you opportunities to regain more material. However, in blitz play, you are less likely to notice those ...
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Straightforward refutation of the Stafford gambit
I recently found the the following line that completely neutralizes the Stafford gambit, and lets white keep the pawn with a healthier structure and a calm game ahead with plenty of winning chances.
[...
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Who is the Ross Gambit named after?
Recently in an infamous online charity simul, against Vishy Anand's Zukertort opening 1. Nf3, Indian billionaire Nikhil Kamath played the dubious 1...e5?, the so-called "Ross Gambit" by ...
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How to proceed after declined Queen's Gambit?
I am a intermediate-level player. How can I proceed after a declined Queen's Gambit, as White?
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How to avoid falling into unfamiliar traps in the opening stage?
I will be playing with a player in a few days and his level (1400ish) is slightly lower than mine (1500ish). However, he is very familiar with dubious gambits and opening traps and I can easily lose ...
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Center Game: Von der Lasa Gambit
I am looking at this game and saw this opening.
[FEN ""]
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Qh5+ g6 6.Qd5+ Kg7 7.Qxc5
The 3.Bc4 is new to me. I think people usually play 3.Qxd4. So, ...
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Most Gambits Declined in a Single Game
Bit of an odd question that has arisen from a game that I played today. In the game it started of with the Queens Gambit (which appear to be the flavour of the month due to Netflix). I usually dont ...
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Is there an aggresive opening for black if white does not accept the Traxler's counterattack?
I want to play sharp, complicated Traxler games in bullet. To do this, I must play the Two Knights Defence. The problem is that rarely people go for the Fried Liver, and usually I play the Four ...
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Are there any gambits where I HAVE to decline?
I know popular openings like the Queen's Gambit can be accepted with an initiative for white. Is there any gambit where accepting it would lead to a forced mate for the player that accepted it?
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Pawn gambits "For The Win"
Possibly confirmation bias, but I often find a game I've won involved the loss (intentional or otherwise) of a pawn, which has opened up a file for rook attack, particularly on b/g files. Is there ...
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Are gambits a good way to improve tactical awareness (for strong amateurs)?
As gambits are all about activity, initiative, and attack, should I start playing gambits to increase my awareness and all these things?
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What defines the name of a gambit?
What defines the name of a gambit? To be obvious, if someone were to use a gambit often (of their own theory), you would name that gambit after them or so, right (like the Ruy Lopez opening)? How then ...
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The Ryder Gambit
I am learning the Ryder Gambit with a book by FM Eric Schiller called The Ryder Gambit Accepted updated in 2011: A Chess Works Publication so I can play it in tournaments. Is it worse than the Danish ...
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Why don't people play the Englund Gambit?
[FEN ""]
1. d4 e5
I have been playing this gambit for over 8 months with extensive analysis and have come to the conclusion that it is a very playable opening and, in many cases, black can ...
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Aggressive response to 1.d4? [duplicate]
As black, against 1.d4, which aggressive response do I have?
I looked at queen's gambit accepted, queen's gambit declined, king's Indian defence and the Slav defence. But all of this options appear to ...
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What is the most sound, yet still sharp, gambit?
I have played chess seriously for a little over a year and my style is an aggressive one. I started off playing really dubious gambits (at least in my opinion) like the King's Gambit and the Latvian ...
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What is the idea behind Schuhler Gambit?
The Schuhler Gambit is a line in the Sokolsky Opening.
[FEN ""]
1. b4 c6 2.Bb2 a5 3.b5 cxb5 4.e4
White gives away their b-pawn here. Stockfish claims this actually gives a small advantage ...
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Stafford Gambit Accepted - Qe2 - What to do?
Today I have been playing some new lines I haven't tried before. I am quite fond of the Petrov (Russian) Defense and I found some interesting lines particularly the Stafford Gambit seemed to peak my ...
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In the open Catalan, should Black hold onto their pawn?
In the open Catalan, Black can hold onto the c4-pawn with b7-b5 and a7-a6. If so, then the queenside will have to be severely weakened. I think that this approach is reasonable and playable, but many ...
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Lisitsin gambit vs From's gambit
The Lisitsin gambit usually involves a bishop on d3 and a knight on g5. From's gambit has only a bishop on d6, but the gambit-accepting side has less development than the Lisitsin. How would this ...
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Lisitsin Gambit Traps
I've started to play the Lisitsin Gambit (1.Nf3 f5 2.e4), and this opening works well for me. However, I have analysed my games and found I have neglected to take advantage of several traps. What are ...
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Double Grob-Coca-cola Gambit?
I was using the opening explorer on Chess.com when I came upon the following line
1.g4 g5 2. f4 (Coca-cola gambit)!?
How did this opening get its name? It sounds like Coca-cola walked up to Fide and ...
user24344
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Idea behind e-pawn sacrifice in Open Sicilian: Najdorf, Freak Attack (6. Rg1)?
There are 10 games in my database with this variation played on a high level and the White score is +6-2=2, almost always White is the elo-wise weaker player. The highest rated White player to employ ...
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What to play if someone ignores your King's Gambit?
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 ...
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The Mosquito Gambit
[FEN ""]
[startply "5"]
1. d4 e5 2. dxe5 Qh4 3. Nf3
I reached this position after following the line for the Englund Gambit. Lichess says that this is known as the Mosquito Gambit. Is it a joke ...
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Why 4... Nxb4 is not played in Evans gambit?
4... Nxb4 is never played on chesstempo database for +2200 players games, being Bxb4 the most popular move.
I don't find any significant change after capturing the pawn with the knight unless after 5....
user18196
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King's Gambit, Wagenbach Defense 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 h5
Has this gambit (6.Ng5!) been played? (I only found games with 6.Ne5.) Is it any good? Is it the refutation of Black's silly 3...h5 (the Wagenbach Defense)?
[FEN ""]
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 h5 4.d4 ...
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Gambits out of Nimzowitsch Defense
What are some aggressive gambits that White could use out of the Nimzowitsch Defense? 1. e4 Nc6 d4 d5
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Definition of Soundness
What exactly does it mean for a gambit to be unsound? I see this term being used a lot but I have yet to come across a precise definition.
Is it enough for white to lose the advantage that comes ...
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Are there any gambits which yield an advantage for the side down material?
For this question I'm interested only in gambits that:
Are real gambits. That is, the side that's risking the material actually ends up down material + cannot count on winning the material back. This,...
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How should I play after, or refute, the Tennison Gambit?
I played a game as Black in which I fell victim to a gambit trap and soon resigned. Stockfish labled it as the "Tennison Gambit."
[FEN ""]
1. Nf3 d5 2. e4 dxe4 3. Ng5 Nf6 4. d3 ...
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How can the Danish Gambit be exploited?
When dealing with gambits, especially ones where your opponent could have a lot more active pieces to pressure you. Is declining the best approach?
A friend of mine usually always wrecks me with the ...
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Why is this gambit also known as the Maltese Falcon Gambit?
Why is the Gibbins-Wiedehagen Gambit (1.d4 Nf6 2.g4) also known as the Maltese Falcon Attack (or Gambit)? Is there any specific reason for that?
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Is a gambit still a gambit if it's calculated through to the end?
I recently gambitted a knight (I call it a gambit as I gave away a knight without being able to take back).
However I had calculated through all the possibilities and five moves or so later I have an ...
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Are there any gambits involving sacrificing a piece?
My impression of the word "gambit" is the sacrifice of a pawn or several pawns at the opening stage of a chess game. However, based on the definition on Wikipedia, a gambit (from ancient ...
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