The Gambit – Sacrificing a Pawn for Control of the Center Chess Board

Gambits are played from White as an strategical opening. The most popular gambit openings are the King’s Gambit, the Queens' Gambit and the Evans' Gambit, which is a little more deceptive Because there are more moves prior to the gambit offering. (Personally I like the Evans' gambit a lot) It is important to view the board from both white and black as you look at the various gambits prior to attempting one of them in a match. Thinking about the various positions Black might take helps White think about major piece development after the acceptance or the declination of a gambit. One important thing to keep in mind playing from White is if the offered gambit is declined; push the gambit Pawn forward-attack.

King’s Gambit

White moves king’s Pawn to e4. Black responds by moving black king’s Pawn to e5. The next move from White is the gambit offering; knight’s Pawn to f4. If Black takes the gambit, his Pawn will be positioned at f4, weakening black Pawn play by doubling black Pawns on f and removing the protection of a Pawn on e. The black Pawn at e5 can be captured by White almost any time; for instance, after the gambit is accepted, White moves queen’s Pawn to d4, which sets up the capture by White’s queen’s Bishop. If Black declines the gambit, he must move queen’s Pawn to d6 or king’s bishop’s Pawn to f6 to protect the Pawn at e5. These defensive responses slow down Black’s ability to castle. It may sound a bit complicated, but if you set it up on a board, you will see right away what a powerful play it can be.

Let’s look at the Evans Gambit next, because within it there is a nice alternate strategy for the Queen’s Gambit offering that we’ll explore a bit later.

Evans Gambit

White moves king’s Pawn to e4 and Black responds with his kings’ Pawn to e5. White then moves king’s Knight to f3, and in a defensive response Black moves queen’s Knight to c6. White’s next move the King’s Bishop to c4. The natural defensive response from Black is to move king’s Bishop to c5.White is more developed than Black at this point of play -- for instance, White could castle on the next move, or continue development, which for this example, is the Evans Gambit. Whites moves queen’s knight Pawn to b4. Black has several options; to decline the gambit which means immediate withdrawal of the Bishop at c5, a capture executed by the black Knight at c6 which would totally isolate the black Pawn at e5, or the obvious gambit acceptance taken by the black Bishop at c5 resulting in the black Bishop being positioned at b4 after the Pawn capture. No matter what option Black selects, White’s queen’s Bishop can move to b2 and attack across the entire diagonal of the board. Again, if you set this up on a real board, you will see the beauty of this gambit.

Queen's Gambit

Queen’s Gambit is elegant, too. White moves queens’ Pawn to d4 with Black responding with a Pawn move to d5. White’s next move is the gambit offering: Pawn to c4. The play opportunities are essentially identical to the Evan’s Gambit, simply switched from right to left. One clear distinction in the gambits is the direct nature of early Queen’s involvement. The Queen’s Gambit brings the most powerful pieces on the board into immediate play -- the Queens. The concept of early Queen involvement brings us to the next strategy.

Often we play against someone who has a strong tendency to play his Queen early. Usually the tendency comes from a lack of skill in utilizing the other major pieces or the lack of understanding basic Pawn development. A strong Queen player often does not play Knights at all which can be exploited with excellent results late in the match. Examine the Queen’s gambit accepted and how that affects black Queen position and play options. After the Queen’s gambit is accepted, White has a Pawn at d4 and Black has a Pawn at c4. White’s next move is king’s Pawn to e4. This move exposes Black’s Queen to attack Because there is no Pawn in front of her and she is blocked. The only option to protect the black Queen is to move black queen’s Bishop to d7 which provides protection, but completely blocks the Queen. Another defensive option is to move black queen’s Knight to d7. The latter move provides protection, but blocks the black Queen and her Bishop. These defensive moves delay a black castling, and offer an opportunity to for white to develop strength at center board. Try the Queen’s Gambit against an active early game Queen player and the results will be rewarding.

Love the Gambits!! Excellent straegies!!!

P.S. : The easiest gambip, in my opinion is the Danish Gambit. Danish Gambit was invented by a Danish chess player in the 19th century. It belongs to the Open Game openings. The main feature of Danish Gambit is the following: White offers pawns sacrified to get a quick and overwhelming development...

Danish Gambit is similar to Center Game, but Danish Gambit is a separate chess opening. If to know how, Black can neutralize the White quick development. Because of this, Danish Gambit is not popular at the top-level chess. But for chess beginners, it is very nice opening...

It may a good idea to play Danish Gambit against an unprepared opponent-beginner... You are not recommended to play Danish Gambit as White party against a chess master, if feasible. In this case, you may find later on that the greatest part of your game was only a great beginning...