Why is the Queen's Gambit the Most Popular Gambit in Chess?
Hello and welcome to this late blog! January has been very busy for me so I couldn't write as often. I won't waste your time, let's get right into it -
There are hundreds of different openings and variations in chess, but a few stick out the most. Some of the most commonly played openings are Four Knights Game, Italian Game, London System, Two Bishop's Opening, the Queen's Gambit, and its variations. Many players like to play safe openings like the Italian or London System but some like to play it risky - that's where gambits come in.
What is a gambit? A chess gambit is an opening where one player sacrifices pieces or material for a chance at a material or space advantage. You could say it's like gambling (don't gamble irl, chess is a game.) Well, I guess in professional tournaments where you could win money it is like gambling.... Moving on, there are plenty of chess gambits, including the Queen's Gambit, King's Gambit, Englund Gambit, and the Intercontinential Ballistic Missile Gambit. But the Queen's Gambit reigns superior among beginners and masters alike. It skyrocketed in popularity since the release of the Netflix show called "The Queen's Gambit".
The Queen's Gambit is one of the oldest known openings in chess and was invented in 1490! It was played way more than its rival the King's Gambit, but why is that so? According to some grandmasters and high players, many say the Queen's Gambit is better because the King's Gambit just weakens your king and it's hard to gain an advantage as white in high level play. While the Queen's Gambit you give up a wing pawn for control or the center, and depending on how your opponent plays you may even get that pawn back later on in the game.
The King's Gambit has the opposite results, it fell fast. "Who would even play such an outrageous opening like that!? Why does it even have/deserve a name??!" It's called the King's Gambit because black gives up their King Bishop Pawn. Gioachino Greco invented the King's Gambit in the 1600s. Although the oldest record of the King's Gambit was in a 1650s game between Ruy Lopez de Segura and Giovani Leonardo Da Cutri. (information from Chess.com opening history).
Why the Queen's Gambit Stood When Others Fell
The Englund Gambit, King's Gambit, and the infamous Intercontinential Ballistic Missile Gambit - played often but none as prominent as the Queen's Gambit - why is this???
You've probably seen people (usually beginners) play the Englund Gambit, invented by the Swedish player Fritz Englund in mostly blitz games. (If you don't know what the Englund Gambit is check out my blog on it linked here: https://www.chess.com/blog/JennicatPari11/dominate-with-the-englund-gambit-tips-and-tricks-for-quick-easy-wins) Here's a simple screenshot of the first two opening moves of the Englund Gambit
The goal of this gambit is to get an early back rank checkmate, win a rook, or a bishop and have a better position. This gambit is very risky, I've played this in at least 10 - 15 games, rapid and blitz, but it only worked 2 or 3 times. When it does though, you've pretty much already won.
Most Grandmasters don't play risky gambits like this often, that's why the Queen's Gambit stood out, because it wasn't too risky for either player and it's very versatile. All of the gambits are still played don't get me wrong, but the Queen's Gambit stuck out to many players including myself. It's among the top openings!
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Notes/credits: In NO part of this blog I said any other openings are bad. Play whatever you choose : ). Thank you @Lilyana_714 for the idea of comparing things in chess! Let me know in the comments if I should do more blogs like this, maybe turn it into a series? See y'all in.... Mid Febuary!
