How can I fight King's Gambit as Black

I used to defend the Petroff defence because it is my favorite defence against 1. e4.

But some of my opponents managed to sidestep away from my prepared defense by essaying the King's Gambit.

with me being uncomfortable after 3...g5 or 3...h6, I am left with no other choice but to decline the king's gambit

I can't seem to find any games with this move order against the King's Gambit.

Is my move order ok? I could use some of your suggestions against King's Gambit. Right now, I decided to give my Petroff defense a rest, essaying the Philidor using pirc move order while studying how to fight the king's gambit.

Thank you very much.

I love playing the Kings Gambit so it kills me to reveal what can work against it.  None of your examples work very well. The first one ruins your ability to castle, and is some cases, it continues 4. bc4 g4 5. 0-0  gxf3  6. qxf6.  Here, white sacs the knight to focus ALL of his power on f7!!!  Plus, by moving that pawn two to three times, you've neglected your development.  That's what gambits are all about, tempting your opponent with material so he will ignore developing his forces.  Your second example can lead to trouble as well: 4. bc4  nc6  5. nc3  exf4  6. d4  nxd4  7. ne5!?  bxd1?  8.  bxf7+!! ke7  9.nd5#  I believe it's call LaSalles Mate... or something like that. 

One common weapon is the Faulbeer Counter-Gambit...look that up, it'll help you combat the King Gambit.

Look me up, I'll be glad to explore the opening with you.

Good Luck!

I'm very grateful for your response. I think I will take a look on the Falkbeer Counter Gambit.

As of the move order,

I've had the same problem, not knowing what to do against the kings gambit. I also don't like ..g5 because (though it may be book) it weakens the kingside. Objectively it may be the right price for hanging on to the pawn, but for me it was too expensive.

I have found a very useful defense against the Kings Gambit in the Modern Defense, where the pawn is returned but with great play for  black. You basically get open play (instead of cramped) and white is the one clinging on (at least that is how it feels to me).

I've blogged my first game with this defense because I was so relieved I found something that suited my style:

Dealing with the KG as black

Also, if (read the article above first) white walks past the d pawn (..d5 e5) then ..Be7!? is a nice resource.

Isn't it 5...Bh4 a waste of time if white continued you game with 5.Bc4? It looks unclear to me, if black should decide to check the king, then white moves the king to f1 square?

Isn't this the Cunningham variation?

I totally agree with you, dude. that's why I shifted to 1...d6 for the time being. 

opticnerve, for black it is easier to decline the King's Gambit than to accept it.  While the success for black in the  KGA is good for master level players it is harder for club level players.

The Falkbeer blows. White gets the edge in all lines and it's why GM's don't play it very often.

I like to play the Fischer Defense against the King's Gambit. I used to fare badly against the KG until I took up Fischer's method. Since then I do pretty well.

check this out-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKJ6dSD3yj0&feature=related

You can also get to the Modern Defense with 1.e4 e5 2.f4 d5 3.exd5 exf4 (looks like the Falkbeer but isn't), when White will probably play 4.Nf3. That way you don't need to learn anything against the Bishop Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4).

I like this line, not many ppl know how to pay against it, its boring but it works (similar to te petroff :P)

this line looks interesting. could you post a game featuring it? thanks

thanks all!

right now I'm giving this line a try.

I chose this line because I also play the Philidor defense. The position that comes up with that line is somewhat similar to it. So, I'm back playing the Petroff, and very much happy to meet the King's Gambit.

i play fischer defence.

I think I will give that line a try. I'm playing the Vienna Game as White and I encounter a lot of "transposed" King Gambit declined positions

So you're saying that you would beat Fischer on the white side of a KG? Because that's what it sounds like... :-)

I think the best thing to do is decline the King's Gambit.  While perhaps not strictly the strongest objective response, it has the psycological advantage of ruining white's fun and denying him his wild attacks and sacrifices.  The limited opening book I have suggest both the 2. . Nf6 line above, as well as 2 Bc5.  There is a trap here, in that if white gets overexcited and playes 3 fxe5 you get 3 . . Qh4+ 4 g3 Qxe4+ 5 Qe2 Qxh1