Evans Gambit

Evans Gambit, named after the Welsh sea captain William Evans, is a fairly strong gambit in Giuco Piano (Italian Game) originating in the 1800s.  Morphy, Fischer, and Kasparov have all played famous games using the Evans Gambit.  Below, I have games from Morphy and Kasparov.  For a good Fischer game, look at Fischer vs. Fine (C52) in New York, 1963.  Enjoy!

The Evans Gambit begins with the Giuco Piano (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc4) and is characterized by the pawn sacrifice 4. b4.  From here, 4... Bxb4 and 4... Bb6 are the most common moves.

The Declined Version

Much less popular than the accepted version, with only 17.5% of the games in the chess.com database, the declined version is characterized by the move 4... Bb6.  Black often plays it to obtain a quieter game where positional play is more important than dynamic tactics.

Here is a more recent game between Kasparov and Piket in 1995.

The Accepted Version

Accepting the gambit is generally the way people play the gambit.  As long as black manages to stay alive, they can draw.  However, this is very difficult, giving white the impressive win percentage of 51.7% (!!) in the chess.com database.

Here is a game between Paul Morphy and Thomas Inglis Hampton.

Here is a game between Garry Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand.

And here are two of my own, Evans Gambit themed games!

I hoped this helped you!  Try out a few games of the Evans Gambit and tell me how you do!