Defending against the Evans Gambit

The Evans gambit is named after Captain William Evans from the 19th century. The gambit is an aggressive line for white in the otherwise “quiet game” of the Giuoco Piano. Generally, it’s a gambit that needs to be accepted by black, as it’s worse to decline the gambit. However, for the capture of the pawn, white now has a potential lead in development and can immediately launch an attack for the centre. The goal for the player of the black pieces, me in this game, is to try to hold onto the material advantage – something that isn’t necessarily easy to do!

I don’t usually play Evans Gambit as when playing with the white pieces, as I prefer the Vienna game. However, it is fairly popular and have played against it a few times as black. I was happy with my performance in this game, and usually, I play Anderssen variation, also know as “Lasker’s Defence” after accepting the gambit by retreating the bishop to e7. This isn’t the most popular response to the Evans gambit accepted and as such, might catch some Evans gambit players off guard. The insight here is to try to learn one line that you can control well!

I hope you enjoyed the video, and thanks for watching!

Originally published: https://adventuresofachessnoob.com/2021/12/05/defending-against-the-evans-gambit/