Gambits...which to take and which to decline

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ThrillerFan
DaBabysBurner wrote:

I'll just name some gambits off of the top of my head

Englund Gambit: Accept, then develop normally with nf3 and nc3

Queen's gambit: Decline with c6 or e6 if you don't want to learn Queen's Gambit accepted theory

Evans Gambit: Accept, then drop the bishop back after c3

Budapest Gambit: Always accept

Benko Gambit: Accepting or declining is fine, but decline it in the right way

King's Gambit: I would accept and then give the pawn back with 3. d5, but there's so many variations of KG accepted

Milner-Barry gambit: Don't take

Danish + Goring gambits: Accept the first pawn on d4, then decline the second pawn with d5 after white plays c3

All I can think of as of this moment

 

 

I have to beg to differ with one of them.  The Milner-Barry Gambit should be accepted!

 

After 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Qb6 (4...Nc6 is also possible, but developing the Queen first avoids the 5.Be3 line) 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bd3?! (Yes, it really is dubious - 6.a3! Is best) 6...cxd4 (6...Bd7? 7.dxc5! With advantage to White) 7.cxd4 Bd7! (7...Nxd4? 8.Nxd4 Qxd4?? 9.Bb5+ +-) 8.O-O (8.Bc2?! Nb4! Is also better for Black) 8...Nxd4! 9.Nxd4 (9.Ng5 and 9.Nbd2 can be tricky if Black does not know then, but both are better for Black with correct play) 9...Qxd4 10.Nc3 a6! With a slight advantage to Black!

DasBurner
ThrillerFan wrote:
DaBabysBurner wrote:

I'll just name some gambits off of the top of my head

Englund Gambit: Accept, then develop normally with nf3 and nc3

Queen's gambit: Decline with c6 or e6 if you don't want to learn Queen's Gambit accepted theory

Evans Gambit: Accept, then drop the bishop back after c3

Budapest Gambit: Always accept

Benko Gambit: Accepting or declining is fine, but decline it in the right way

King's Gambit: I would accept and then give the pawn back with 3. d5, but there's so many variations of KG accepted

Milner-Barry gambit: Don't take

Danish + Goring gambits: Accept the first pawn on d4, then decline the second pawn with d5 after white plays c3

All I can think of as of this moment

 

 

I have to beg to differ with one of them.  The Milner-Barry Gambit should be accepted!

 

After 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Qb6 (4...Nc6 is also possible, but developing the Queen first avoids the 5.Be3 line) 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bd3?! (Yes, it really is dubious - 6.a3! Is best) 6...cxd4 (6...Bd7? 7.dxc5! With advantage to White) 7.cxd4 Bd7! (7...Nxd4? 8.Nxd4 Qxd4?? 9.Bb5+ +-) 8.O-O (8.Bc2?! Nb4! Is also better for Black) 8...Nxd4! 9.Nxd4 (9.Ng5 and 9.Nbd2 can be tricky if Black does not know then, but both are better for Black with correct play) 9...Qxd4 10.Nc3 a6! With a slight advantage to Black!

8. be2 keeps the pawn though no? Seems equal after that instead of castling

ThrillerFan
DaBabysBurner wrote:
ThrillerFan wrote:
DaBabysBurner wrote:

I'll just name some gambits off of the top of my head

Englund Gambit: Accept, then develop normally with nf3 and nc3

Queen's gambit: Decline with c6 or e6 if you don't want to learn Queen's Gambit accepted theory

Evans Gambit: Accept, then drop the bishop back after c3

Budapest Gambit: Always accept

Benko Gambit: Accepting or declining is fine, but decline it in the right way

King's Gambit: I would accept and then give the pawn back with 3. d5, but there's so many variations of KG accepted

Milner-Barry gambit: Don't take

Danish + Goring gambits: Accept the first pawn on d4, then decline the second pawn with d5 after white plays c3

All I can think of as of this moment

 

 

I have to beg to differ with one of them.  The Milner-Barry Gambit should be accepted!

 

After 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Qb6 (4...Nc6 is also possible, but developing the Queen first avoids the 5.Be3 line) 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bd3?! (Yes, it really is dubious - 6.a3! Is best) 6...cxd4 (6...Bd7? 7.dxc5! With advantage to White) 7.cxd4 Bd7! (7...Nxd4? 8.Nxd4 Qxd4?? 9.Bb5+ +-) 8.O-O (8.Bc2?! Nb4! Is also better for Black) 8...Nxd4! 9.Nxd4 (9.Ng5 and 9.Nbd2 can be tricky if Black does not know then, but both are better for Black with correct play) 9...Qxd4 10.Nc3 a6! With a slight advantage to Black!

8. be2 keeps the pawn though no? Seems equal after that instead of castling

 

8.Be2 is a complete waste of time for White.  Why did you play 6.Bd3 in the first place?  You are now a full tempo down compared to the 6.Be2 line!  Black is better!  At least after 6.Be2, you maintain equality.  Not as good as 6.a3!, but better than wasting time with 6.Bd3 just to then play 8.Be2.

adityasaxena4

This is a new gambit I'm trying out

DerekDHarvey

Always accept if you want to refute. How can being a pawn up be wrong as long as you are not greedy. The advantage of being material up is that you can give it back at any time.

DasBurner
adityasaxena4 wrote:

This is a new gambit I'm trying out

I don't see the compensation. Just bxb5 and how does black continue?

yuann
DerekDHarvey wrote:

Always accept if you want to refute. How can being a pawn up be wrong as long as you are not greedy. The advantage of being material up is that you can give it back at any time.

not always, sometimes your opponent makes an awkward position during a gambit, so sometimes if you decline, your opponent will still have a weird (and a bit worse) of a position while you didn't do anything. Additionally, you might be playing into your opponents prep if you accept. So, yeah

-BEES-

A good example is the Janzen-Korchnoi gambit in the Dutch. (h3 g4) Accepting the pawn is probably worse for Black than simply ignoring it and developing. Obviously other examples like the Blackburne-Shilling are widely known. The only way to refute is to decline the pawn and it is an easily refuted opening.

Jenium

Of course it depends on the position, but as a general rule you may want to:

- accept the gambit if you want to refute it or learn something new.

- decline the gambit if you don't know it.

-

 

assassin3752
Jenium wrote:

Of course it depends on the position, but as a general rule you may want to:

- accept the gambit if you want to refute it or learn something new.

- decline the gambit if you don't know it.

-

 

if you accept the vienna gambit then you're in a much worse position already

BlackKaweah
Always decline the Urusov Gambit. Always accept the King’s Gambit. Of course, if you don’t like chess, decline the KG.
MyNameIsNotBuddy
BlackKaweah wrote:
Always decline the Urusov Gambit. Always accept the King’s Gambit. Of course, if you don’t like chess, decline the KG.

Declining KG is fine, so long as you don't do anything weird like the Panteldakis Countergambit 

DasBurner
BlackKaweah wrote:
Always decline the Urusov Gambit. Always accept the King’s Gambit. Of course, if you don’t like chess, decline the KG.

Accepting the Urusov is fine

adityasaxena4

Gunderam Gambit !

jmpchess12

My general rule is accept all gambits except Queen's (which is not a true gambit), then triple your concentration looking for traps and exploits. Quickly develop your pieces. Most gambits are fundamentally unsound, so the best way to play against them is to accept them. 

adityasaxena4
This is the compensation after Bxb5!
DaBabysBurner wrote:
adityasaxena4 wrote:

This is a new gambit I'm trying out

I don't see the compensation. Just bxb5 and how does black continue?

 

adityasaxena4

My general rule don't accept the gambit but offer up a countergambit of your own when you can otherwise just decline  

adityasaxena4

e.g.

This is what that would look like against the KG!

adityasaxena4
adityasaxena4 wrote:

My general rule don't accept the gambit but offer up a countergambit of your own when you can otherwise just decline  

an exception would be against the Danish

 

adityasaxena4

This is how I would fight the Budapest!