Key King of the Hill Openings: The King's Gambit
I know i made a post earlier about gambits but i felt like it needed a post just about it because of its importance. The king's gambit, when played incorrectly by black can be disastrous. In this post i will talk about variations of this tricky opening.
The king's Gambit will start with while playing e4.
After e5, white plays f4.
First we will talk about the complications of this gambit should black accept the free pawn. Normally after black accepts the free pawn white must move the knight to f3, but in king of the hill the situation is much different. White can play d4 right away instead of preparing it with knight to f3.
White will completely ignore Qh4+. If black plays this, white can simply move the king up to e2. Since this move does not help black as white gets the king 1 square closer to the already dominated center, black usually does not try this. However when black sees d4 often it is to much to resist playing what appears to be a great check, as white cannot castle. White is perfectly ok. Here is how the situation usually plays out.
These are the best moves for both players. However Black does not always play those exact moves. White should use common sense and develop pieces to the center.
Black does not always accept the gambit. Here are a recent games of mine where i played the kings gambit where it was not accepted.
@gocapitals (1586) vs @Cleavage (1658)
Link to game:
My opponent resigned because they could not prevent the win on the next turn.
When the king's gambit is declined black usually plays d5.
Here is a diagram showing how the game should play out.
Black has two main options: Capture the pawn on d5 right away or to play c6. c6 is better, but i have learned that black will almost always capture the pawn without waiting. Here is how the game plays out.
White can also threaten the queen right away.
White is winning in both positions. For this reason, black will sometimes try c6.
In this position, the game is nearly equal.
By studying these ideas behind the king's gambit, you will be ready to defend and play this dynamic opening.
To view more kings gambit games go to my archive. Thx for reading.
