The Dangerous Danish Gambit!
The Danish Gambit is an opening where white sacrifices two pawns for a development advantage and aggressive attacking chances.
This gambit can only be used against 1.e5 by black in the King's pawn opening. This article fill show the fully accepted variation, where white's best pieces are usually the bishop pair.
First let's take a brief look at what to do if your opponent declines the gambit. They have two main ways to decline- 2.d3 or 2.Nf6. I'll show what to play for both.
The d3 line is rather simple. All white has to do is capture the pawn with the bishop and continue from there.
Now for the danish gambit accepted. If your opponent accepts the c3 pawn, you just develop with bishop c4, putting pressure on f7. When they take on b2, you're forced to recapture with the bishop, but this develops your bishop on the long diagonal and can make g7 weak in some cases. This will be the starting position of many of the lines.
The first line is if black plays Nc6, followed by Nf6. If Nf6 is played, white can win back a pawn and strip black of castling rights.
The second line is another Nc6 line. But Qe2 instead of Nf6. Please note that this isn't the best way to play, but it's not too uncommon.
One of the stronger ways to play is Bb4+. Black tries to solve the problem of the weakened g7 pawn.
Last but not least d5. This is the most popular and considered to be the best response as black.
In summary, if you're playing with the white pieces there are four common themes/tactics.
In summary, if you're playing with the white pieces there are four common themes/tactics.
- If the black king is castled- Can you sacrifice on f7 to win material?
- Hanging pieces or pawns on the e file due to threats of winning material after Re1.(When castled)
- Queen b3 or d5 to fork pieces after sacrifices or further pressure f7/ make a queen bishop battery.
- If black plays Nc6 can you push e5?
I wish you great success with this opening and hope that this article was helpful.
Thanks for reading! Have an excellent rest of your day!
