Uh sorry, I made the first 1 as a puzzle by mistake.
Icelandic Gambit options
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Jan 5, 2012
0
#3
They seem to be equal. The 2012 ChessBase Mega Database has 6...Bxd2+ played 107 times. The move 6...Qe7 has been played 163 times. Both seem to have the same win-loss-draw ratio. The strong chess engines seem to give it equal status, perhaps a more slight favorite for 6...Bxd2 to equalize.
Jan 6, 2012
0
#4
Perhaps but the d3 pawn becomes a weak and backwards after Nc6. Black should get a good game from this.
If you play agaisnt me this opening, I play 3. d4 it's better than 3.c4 no? I don't want a pawn, i want the iniciative when I play this.
The icelandic is a tad too speculative (5.Nf3!).
3...c6 with a likely transposition to a Panov is surely a better choice.
I once was interested in the icelandic gambit and "played" it for months. Zero people accepted the gambit and i got no interestning games. Anyone else had experiences like this?
As someone else pointed out, 5.Nf3 is what you will be encountering when playing experienced players. I'd bail on this gambit if I were you, it's not going to hold up for you in the long run. 3..c6 is much more solid and will transpose most likely to the Panov Botvinnik attack after 4.d4 cxd5. Knowing how to play against the Panov attack can be very helpful to further chess development for you. The Icelandic gambit is a dead end.
White can also play after 3...c6 4.Nc3 cd5 5.cd5 Nxd5 (I don't like the other possible moves) 6.Nf3, which is another Caro Kann variation.
Please can someone advise me why this isn't a/the line, and why the other is better than this one, in the Icelandic Gambit.
(I'm going through Fritz 11 openings book)
Here's the main line:
And here's what I play: