The Budapest Gambit

Hello readers and welcome to my third Gambit post! I hope you enjoy!

The Queen's Gambit has sort of made a name for itself. Whether through the film or through the fact that nearly everyone plays it, you've probably heard the name. Maybe you play it. But a lesser-known gambit lurks in the shadows, waiting to pounce- and destroy the Queen's Gambit in just a few moves. It's basically the ICBM Gambit, for Black. Let's dive in!

The Budapest Gambit

As I mentioned earlier, yes, this is literally the ICBM for Black. It stems from the Queen's Gambit, seen below:

Typically, the Queen's Gambit would involve Black pushing the d-pawn, and White sacrificing the c-pawn, followed by Black capturing (aka the Queen's Gambit accepted). But this time, you will be the one doing the sacrificing. You play knight f6, declining the gambit. After c4, you sacrifice the e-pawn. From here, White will choose to either accept or decline the sacrifice.

Case 1: White Accepts the Sacrifice

 If White accepts, you will  play knight g4. Following Nf3, there's d6, offering a pawn trade. After captures, recapture with the bishop. Now, your knight on g4 is making White nervous. So they play the seemingly natural move, h3. However, by now it's too late. You play Nxf2, sacrificing the knight! But a mere one sacrifice is not enough. Now you play BISHOP G3, sacrificing another piece! After White captures, you can now capture their queen with yours.

Case 2: White Doesn't Accept the Sacrifice

If White doesn't capture on e5, you will play Bc5. At this rate, they can't resist the pin on g5. But you don't care. You sacrifice the queen with knight  e4! After Bxd8, Bxf2# is a checkmate.

Engine Analysis

(When playing gambits, it is generally well-advised to pay no heed to Stockfish's complaints, as the Gambit traps are based on the folly of your opponents, something Stockfish can't predict.)

The engine rates White's first move, d4, as a "solid" book move. Nf6 is also book, c4 as well. At this rate, the eval bar is pretty equal. e5 is a book move, but leaves White with a 0.79 advantage on the eval bar, a pretty significant change. From here, White can either accept or decline:

White Accepts

In this case, dxe5 and Ng4 are also book, and the eval bar stays equal. Nf3 is considered "the last book move" and moves the eval bar ever so slightly so that White is now +0.62 from +0.79. d6 is a mistake for Black, the eval bar swings further in favor of White, resting at +1.41. exd6 is, interestingly, an inaccuracy, with the engine favoring defending the pawn with a bishop. The eval bar sits at 0.8 in White's favor. Bxd6 is best, and the eval bar stays stable. h3 is a blunder for White (eval bar at 3.24 in Black's favor), because it allows the brilliant move Nxf2. Bg3+ is interestingly not the best option. The engine favors first playing Bc5+, and then sacrificing the bishop on f2, as opposed to g3. Black is now at 2.63, but still winning quite a bit. Qxd1 is best. Overall, the engine rated White's game as 1800 and the opening a blunder, with 74.7 accuracy. Black's game was rated at 2400 with an inaccuracy opening at 88.0 accuracy

White Doesn't Accept

If White instead plays d5, it is considered a miss, and now Black is up 0.3. Bc5 is an inaccuracy, and now White is up +0.1. Bg5 is a blunder, as it “loses a pawn” (or, in our case, the game, if White accepts the queen). Black is up 2.3. Ne4 is brilliant, however, interestingly, Black is now up only 0.9. Bxd8 is a blunder, as Black now has mate-in-one, and Bxf2# is best (obviously). Black's game had 90.6 accuracy, was rated 2450, and the opening was rated as good. White's play was at 25 accuracy, rated 1500, and the opening was rated as a blunder.

Conclusion

The Budapest Gambit is a solid response to the Queen's Gambit that's safe for Black but deadly for White, and fun to play in both casual and tournament games. I hope I taught you something with this post, and, as always, thank you for reading!