A question about the Centre Counter

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HawthornCircle

Hi everyone!

A friend and I enjoy playing chess frequently, but a while back we decided that playing the same two openings (and nearly the same two games) was getting boring. So we agreed to try some new ones.

Now, my only reference for openings is a book from the 1950s, which includes a brief mention of 1 e4 d5 2 e4xd5, but it only considers two lines from there: 2 ... d8xd5 or 2 ... g8-c6. I decided to try 2 ... e5.

It worked really well, since after the en passant I was able to develop my bishop and play a very good game. I'm now wondering whether there is an obvious counter that I'm missing, or whether the book just didn't cover it. Can anyonew help?

Nytik

Surprisingly, this opening does have a name- the Boehnke Gambit.

Unfortunately, as gambits go, it's pretty poor. You've sacrificed one of your centre pawns for what is effectively a half-tempo advantage (exactly the same advantage as if you were playing white!).

Would you tell your opponent that if he lets you play white, you'll drop off your e-pawn before you start? It simply wouldn't work out for you overall.

HawthornCircle

What's this Icelandic Gambit?