Opening name: King's Gambit Accepted
Opening line: 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4
Lichess Board
Wikibooks Page
Winning percentages
White: 835 (27.35%)
Black: 1156 (37.86%)
Draws: 1062 (34.79%)
King's Gambit Accepted
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.
How should White deal with that threat?
The most obvious approach is to control the h4 square herself, with the natural developing move 3. Nf3.
The only reasonable alternative to that is to create an empty square for the king to run to after the check on h4. 3. Bc4 accomplishes this while also developing a piece to a square where it will threaten Black's weak f7 point. This is statistically White's best approach against the King's Gambit Accepted, in that White wins only slightly fewer games than Black does. Since in most openings White wins rather more games than Black by virtue of going first, this is a considerable fall from grace for the King's Gambit since the "romantic" era of chess in the 19th century.
Most popular responses
3. Nf3 (Unnamed) There is a huge variety of possible approaches for Black here. Those are the three mainstream options, then there are another four somewhat respectable options: Minor lines include 3...f5 and 3...h5. Lichess Analysis - Wikibooks (29888076 games)
3. Bc4 (King's Gambit Accepted) With this move, white develops the bishop. This move, common in the nineteenth century, is now less popular than 3. Nf3. Lichess Analysis - Wikibooks (2216516 games)
3. Kf2 (King's Own Gambit) This allows 3...Qh4+ 4.g3 fxg3+ 5.Kg2. It seems that White has given up two pawns for nothing, but Black must proceed cautiously, or White can use the many open lines with surprising effectiveness. Lichess Analysis - Wikibooks (5419 games)
Engine Evaluation
Depth: 37
Score: -0.32
Best Move: Nf3
PV Line: 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d6 4. Bc4 h6 5. h4 Nf6 6. Nc3 Nc6 7. d4 Nh5
Historical games for Unnamed
| Game | Result | Year |
| Carlsen, M. (2876) vs Aronian, L. (2780) | 1/2-1/2 | 2015 |
| Carlsen, Magnus (2863) vs Ding, Liren (2791) | 0-1 | 2020 |
| Nepomniachtchi, I. (2776) vs Ding Liren (2811) | 0-1 | 2019 |
| Kasparov, G. (2812) vs Karjakin, Sergey (2773) | 1/2-1/2 | 2017 |
| Nepomniachtchi, I.. (2789) vs Aronian, L.. (2781) | 0-1 | 2021 |
| Short, Nigel D (2698) vs Kasparov, Garry (2812) | 1-0 | 2011 |
| Nakamura, Hikaru (2758) vs Adams, Michael (2734) | 1-0 | 2011 |
| Ivanchuk, V. (2731) vs Karjakin, Sergey (2757) | 1-0 | 2015 |
| Nakamura, Hikaru (2733) vs Ivanchuk, Vassily (2754) | 1/2-1/2 | 2010 |
| Ivanchuk, V. (2710) vs Ding Liren (2766) | 1-0 | 2016 |