The opening we are going to study is so sharp that it was the favorite opening in the romantic era (before 1900), giving us some unforgettable games. At that time, players were looking for the attack almost at any cost, and thus playing very aggressive openings: the King’s gambit was at its peak. Then, the game of Chess evolved and players learnt to defend better against this opening and the success of the King’s gambit faded away.
Still, the attacking player can find in the King’s gambit many sharp, attacking lines that can confuse almost any player with Black. That is why the King’s gambit remains an excellent practical choice.
The purpose of this article is to give you an overview of the various lines . As for the other articles on openings, my goal is to give you an overall understanding on the opening rather than a comprehensive knowledge on every line. Just remember that other moves are possible.
This is the King's gambit's starting position.
The first question is to understand why has White pushed the f-pawn ? Indeed, Black can capture this pawn immediately and be one pawn ahead...
However, White is buying time with this move and has compensations. If Black capture on f4:
- the black pawn no longer has a dominant position in e5 and White is dominating the center
- White can develop his pieces easily and try to build an attack on the black King.
To start with this opening, let’s check the main dynamics of the King’s gambit together.
Obvious things first: Black has accepted the gambit and is now one pawn up.
In the mid term, White should try to get to this setup: the Bishop is targeting f7, the f3-Knight is well placed, and the f1-Rook is putting pressure on the f-file (a very important idea in the King's gambit).
At the same time, Black has a lot of defending possibilities. The first key point is that the f4 move has weakened the White King, and now the black Queen can deliver a nasty check on h4.
Black can also support the pawn on f4 with g5.
And in some lines, Black can attack the e4 pawn with the move d5.
Anyway, in general, Black’s plan is to defend against White’s attack to try to get the advantage at the end of the opening. We have seen the main ideas, now let’s see the main lines. First, we will see what can happen if Black accepts the sacrifice and captures on f4.
Black accepts the King’s Gambit
3… g5: Classical Line
This is historically the most popular line of the King’s gambit when the opening was at its peak. Thus it deserves a specific attention as it contains dozens of interesting (and sometime dubious !) gambits. We are only going to show the two main ones for now, leaving the other ones for more specific articles than this one.
The Kieseritzky Gambit
White to play.
This position is very unclear and there are a lot of possibilities for both sides. Let's have a look to this position from White's point of view.
In this position, White is one pawn down, but probably has a better control on the center. Here are the main points:
- first, the black pawns in f4 and g4 could become very powerful if nothing is done. The priority number one is therefore to control their activity.
- White can develop more easily in the center than Black.
- the Knight on e5 will probably be attacked by Black soon, it should have a safe square to retreat.
- A Bishop on c4 will help reinforce the pressure on f7. White should consider this move.
On top of that, the King’s gambit is an opening where strategic principles do not matter as much as concrete tactical lines, that is why each move should be considered from a tactical point of view first.
From Black's point of view now,
- Black should capture the e4-pawn if possible.
- The d-pawn can attack the white Knight after d7-d6...
- ... or White's c4 Bishop after d7-d5 !
- Last, it is usually safer to castle long for Black from this position
All in all, there are many possibilities for both sides, which promises an exciting fight !
The Muzio Gambit
If you found the Kieseritzky Gambit too mild (!), the Muzio Gambit may be more suited to your style. If we are completely honest with ourselves, this line is probably dubious for White. However, it places Black under a considerable amount of pressure, with many chances to go wrong.
In the resulting position, White is pushing hard to attack f7, but the amount of material invested to reach this position favors Black.
In this position, Black's most precise move to defend f7 is certainly Qd8-f6, whereas White usually sacrifices one more pawn with e4-e5 to attract the black Queen on a square that does not protect f7.
This is only the start of the line. Needless to say, having to find the right defending moves on the board is a very difficult task for Black from a practical standpoint.
3… d6: Fischer Defense
This defense, although known before Bobby Fischer, has been advocated by the World Chess Champion. Indeed, he wanted to make the point that the King’s gambit “loses by force”, and thus searched the best move to counter it !
Thus he came up with 3... d6, a "high-class waiting move".
What is the idea ? Do you remember the Kieseritzky Gambit line in which the Knight jumpts to e5 ? It is not possible now !
Believe it or not, this is the main idea behind the move. Now see what happens if White tries a similar play.
Evaluating the previous position is hard: most articles assess it as “unclear”. Thus White can choose a different type of play, without the move h2-h4, and here as well the game is quite balanced:
Let's imagine that Black has answered your move 4. Bc4 with 4... g5. How would you react now ?
Thus, Black cannot really play g7-g5 after Bc4, and the game usually continues like this:
All these lines teach us that the King’s gambit is a tricky opening: wild tactical lines are everywhere and any wrong move on any side of the board can lose the game instantly !
3… Be7: The Cunningham Defense
In this line, Black wants to prevent White from castling.
We will only study one line of the Cunningham Defense, leaving the details for a dedicated article later !
From there, the game can develop quietly: there is no attack for Black, but White still has to justify the pawn sacrifice !
White does not play 3. Nf3
The main alternative to 3. Nf3 is 3. Bc4, the Bishop’s gambit. The main idea is that, like in the Cunningham’s defense, White is not afraid to move the King to f1, as it is a good and safe square for the King.
This position is crucial for the whole evaluation of the line, especially for White.
Actually, White will develop rapidly: Ng1-f3 is coming, attacking the Queen.
After this, White gets good and natural development moves, like d2-d4: this should be enough to claim that White is perfectly OK here.
Thus Black has other ways to play against this system.
The safer line is to play for the control of d5, with d7-d5, but only after having played Ng8-f6, and c7-c6.
This slow but solid setup is usually enough to give black equality.
And finally, Black has another, more direct option, also involving the move d7-d5.
I wanted to show you this idea of an early d7-d5 combined with Ng8-f6 next: first because this is a way for Black to give back the pawn in exchange of a good activity and development.
Second, because this idea is also found in another main line of the King’s Gambit we are going to study now: the Falkbeer Countergambit.
Black does not accept the gambit
2… d5: The Falkbeer Countergambit: Fighting The King’s Gambit With Fire
Instead of accepting the pawn offered by White, Black declines it and offers another pawn instead: this bold choice is the start of the Falkbeer Countergambit !
White has just played f2-f4. How will Black react ?
In this position, the white pawn is awkwardly placed on f4: Black wants to prove that it is enough to compensate the pawn lost.
However, White will play d2-d3, attacking the pawn on e4, and after Black plays Ng8-f6, White can claim a small advantage.
The move 2… d5 also asks the question of Black’s e5-pawn. Can White capture it ?
Here, White has just captured your e5-pawn. How do you react with Black ?
For this reason, White’s third move is almost forced: White has to capture on d5, and not e5 !
2… Bc5: the Classical Defense
This line is the last one we will present in this article. It is not a critical line and usually White gets a comfortable position out of the opening. That is why it is not as popular as accepting the gambit.
One important piece of advice: do not play 2… Bc5 hoping for the blunder 3. fxe5?? . Indeed, anyone playing the King’s Gambit with White is normally aware of this trap. Do play it if you feel comfortable with the resulting position, but keep in mind that White has an easier game.
Final Thoughts and Conclusion On The King’s Gambit
We have seen many lines of the King’s Gambit, that used to be the most popular opening in Chess, thanks to its sharp lines. All in all, many possibilities for both sides to force a line in which you are comfortable, but also, many tactical threats to be aware of. Certainly a unique opening !
To finish with, a small quiz about another option for White on the third move, that should be easy for you if you have read this article carefully.
Back to the position after 2... exf4. Do you think that pushing the pawn on d4 is a good move for White now ?
White should not play d2-d4. Here is why.
This is the King’s gambit: many possibilities to attack, but also a lot of traps and a sharp tactical game. This is one of the few openings where we can say that any little mistake can cost the game ! A very good choice of opening for those who are not afraid of complexity.
If you like the King’s gambit, you might be interested as well by similar sharp openings: the Vienna gambit, the Blackmar-Diemer gambit, the Smith-Morra gambit or the Wing gambit. With Black, the Budapest gambit and the two Knights defense may interest you. The truth is, there are many sharp lines playable and I only mentioned a subset of them.
Now, go try all these lines in your games and tell me how it went !