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King's Gambit




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Opening name: King's Gambit
Opening line: 1. e4 e5 2. f4
Lichess Board
Wikibooks Page

Winning percentages

White: 1388 (30.25%)
Black: 1642 (35.78%)
Draws: 1559 (33.97%)

King's Gambit

White's pawn on f4 is attacked, which is the whole point of the King's Gambit. A gambit - which is not the same thing as an opening - involves a sacrifice of material (chess pieces, usually pawns) for positional gain. In this case, White wants to tempt Black's pawn away from the centre onto f4, which would allow White the freedom to play d4 and e5. The move d4 will then uncover an attack by the c1-bishop on Black's f4-pawn, and Black will have to make further non-developing moves to save it.

Unfortunately for White, after Black accepts the gambit with

King's Gambit
a b c d e f g h
8{{{square}}} black rook{{{square}}} black knight{{{square}}} black bishop{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black bishop{{{square}}} black knight{{{square}}} black rook8
7{{{square}}} black pawn{{{square}}} black pawn{{{square}}} black pawn{{{square}}} black pawn{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black pawn{{{square}}} black pawn{{{square}}} black pawn7
6{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king6
5{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king5
4{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} white pawn{{{square}}} white pawn{{{square}}} black pawn{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black queen4
3{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king3
2{{{square}}} white pawn{{{square}}} white pawn{{{square}}} white pawn{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} black king{{{square}}} white pawn{{{square}}} white pawn2
1{{{square}}} white rook{{{square}}} white knight{{{square}}} white bishop{{{square}}} white queen{{{square}}} white king{{{square}}} white bishop{{{square}}} white knight{{{square}}} white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Ouch.

White can't just triumphantly play 3.d4. This is because the move 2.f4 also weakened the diagonal e1-h4, which has White's king on it, and then 2...exf4 weakened it further by controlling the g3 square. So Black can respond with 3...Qh4+! and since blocking with g2-g3 is hopeless thanks to the Black pawn that's now on f4, White's king is forced out to the second rank in the opening, which is not usually where you want it (diagram left).

That pesky queen check on h4 is the main reason the King's Gambit doesn't just win the game for White after two moves. On the contrary, the reply 2...exf4 has virtually banished the once extremely popular King's Gambit from high-level chess, to the disappointment of many a swashbuckling attacker.

It's also possible for Black to decline the gambit.

  • 2...Bc5 is the usual way of doing so, taking advantage of the fact that Black's e-pawn isn't really threatened (3.fxe5? gets hit by 3...Qh4+! again). Black makes sure that White won't be able to play d4 or to castle kingside without going to some considerable effort to shift the bishop from its new diagonal.
  • 2...d5 gives the position a different flavour. Normally Black only manages to get in one of the moves ...e5 and ...d5 this early in the opening, but since 2.f4 did nothing to prevent ...d5, why not play it now? Since it attacks the undefended e-pawn, Black will still get to take one of White's pawns if she wants to.
  • Black could also reasonably play 2...Nc6, a variation that is rarely explored.
Most popular responses

  • 2...exf4 (Unnamed) If Black could make a free move in this position, it would undoubtedly be ...Qh4+. White can't block with the g-pawn thanks to the Black pawn on f4, so she would have to make an awkward king advance instead. Lichess Analysis - Wikibooks (34097099 games)

  • 2...d6 (King's Gambit Declined) This is one way to decline the King's Gambit. This can arise from many different positions, but this transposition to the King's Gmabit Declined is most common. Lichess Analysis - Wikibooks (11376864 games)

  • 2...d5 (Falkbeer Countergambit) With 2...d5 Black signals an intent to maintain an active position. White challenges the center with options of developing quickly. Lichess Analysis - Wikibooks (7502077 games)

  • 2...Bc5 (King's Gambit Declined) Black declines the gambit the so called "Classical" way by developing his king's bishop to c5. On c5, it prevents white from castling without having to spend multiple tempos to shift the bishop or block its diagonal (for example, white will have to play Nc3 followed by Na4 or c3 followed by d4). Lichess Analysis - Wikibooks (3009124 games)

  • 2...f5 (Panteldakis Countergambit) Among the oldest countergambits in the King's Gambit Declined is the Panteldakis Countergambit, 1.e4 e5 2.f4 f5?!, known from a game played in 1625 in which Gioachino Greco used it to win with the Black pieces. It is nonetheless considered dubious because 3. exf5 with the threat of Qh5+ gives White a good game. Lichess Analysis - Wikibooks (622508 games)

    Engine Evaluation

    Depth: 48
    Score: -0.45
    Best Move: exf4
    PV Line: 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d6 4. Bc4 h6 5. h4 Nf6 6. Nc3 Nc6 7. d4
    Historical games for Unnamed

    GameResultYear
    Carlsen, M. (2876) vs Aronian, L. (2780)1/2-1/22015
    Carlsen, Magnus (2863) vs Ding, Liren (2791)0-12020
    Nepomniachtchi, I. (2776) vs Ding Liren (2811)0-12019
    Kasparov, G. (2812) vs Karjakin, Sergey (2773)1/2-1/22017
    Nepomniachtchi, I.. (2789) vs Aronian, L.. (2781)0-12021
    Carlsen, Magnus (2813) vs Wang, Yue (2752)1-02010
    Nakamura, Hikaru (2775) vs Tomashevsky, Evgeny (2738)1/2-1/22012
    Short, Nigel D (2698) vs Kasparov, Garry (2812)1-02011
    Nakamura, Hikaru (2758) vs Adams, Michael (2734)1-02011
    Ivanchuk, V. (2731) vs Karjakin, Sergey (2757)1-02015
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