The best play against the Benko Gambit may well be the lines where white plays b6 instead of fully accepting the Gambit. Also best play against the Scotch Gambit is to decline and let white get his pawn back. However if your opponent offers you something unsound then yes, taking it is probably the refutation.
"The best way to refute a gambit is to accept it." - your opinion?
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Follow your intuition. If you feel uneasy accepting the gambit, don't.
ANOK, you can play the old Cunningham Gambit Be7 lines, or even try 2...Qh4!? to induce weaknesses in the camp.
I think it depends totally on the gambit. I know various gambits for both sides in the French Defense. When people play the Milner-Barry I just take the pawn (and wonder if that was a gambit or just a mistake). But when people play into my Albin-Chatard they do better declining than accepting, and I'd decline it if I somehow got that position as Black.
I have had two games go 1. d4 e6 2. c4 f5 3. g4 (same opponent, rated 300 points above me). The first time I was scared to take it. The second time I had done a *tiny* bit of preparation and knew that McDonald recommends taking, so I did. The first game ended in a reasonably even endgame, which I lost. In the second I got a totally winning position in the opening (though alas, the game was drawn due to terrible play on both sides). I was surprised in both cases how well I could do without prep.
Many gambits offer a path where you take the pawn and immediately return it in a way that closes lines; worth considering against an unfamiliar gambit.
ANOK1 wrote:
5 bg4 6 kne5 qd4? king forgoes castling goes d8 queen has a few counter checks that could prove a save for black in caro above just a thought
I don't think that works, unless I'm missing something:
In my game, this is what I played to attempt to refute this gambit:
I fail to see what White gets for his pawn here.
Gami, in that line, possible maybe to play Ne3 as well?
BirdBrain wrote:
Gami, in that line, possible maybe to play Ne3 as well?
That works too - well spotted. I just think that attempting to trade Queens is better for White since he is up material (although White does give up the castling rights in the process.)
I´m an expert in latvian gambit, i played this two games in the last 6 months, both players studied my games, they knew i played latvian gambit in slow chess , so they study the same critical line. But i ´m prepared in this line until the move 25, so they could not surprise me even if they play me the main lines in the Latvian. The second guy played me the right move in the move 15º , the first guy just got a drawish ending after that move. If you read a book about how to fight vs latvian gambit and another answers of black after 1..e5 , maybe they recommend you this line, until the move 16.b4 and then the books says " white is winning" and then you forget to study what´s happen later, black has some counter-play , you can see in the game nº 2.
If you like latvian gambit you can go to my forum http://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-openings/new-idea--the-quotkgb-variationquot-in-the-latvian-gambit-main-line-7f3 The "KGB" variation vs main line 7.f3
Perhaps both can be discussed depending on what White wants. Does he even need to castle there? Would have to take a good look.
Nov 5, 2015
0
#31
Well in my opinion not necessarily to ''refute'' it but accepting a gambit is nearly always considered the most critical test. I always accept gambits.
@Gamificast
I have played against your line as black.
I had a friend who loved playing Gambit line's exclusively against me lol.
You actually can play 2 different Gambit lines which the set up your going for.
However, The diagram you showed is in fact not correct with mainline move order.
The above diagram is called the Caro-Kann/Hill-Billy Attack.
It is not suppose to be very good.
However, It can be dangerious if you do not know what your doing as black.
White has 2 mainline options after black plays 2...d5.
Option 1 - 3.exd5
White exchanges the pawns and usually drops the bishop to b3 to maintain tension on the black center pawn.
This is one way of playing it.
Option 2 - 3.Bb3
In this line White gambits a pawn for some open lines.
The mainline move after 3...dxe4
is 4.Qh5 which is known as
Caro-Kann Defense/Hillbilly Attack/Schaeffer Gambit
White threatens a mate in 1 on f7.
Black has 2 ways of responding to this threat with either e6 or g6.
I love the move g6 personally and when my friend played this line against me that is exactly what I played g6.
Either move is very much playable.
I like fianchetto's so I went the g6 way.
Bascially the above moves usually get played.
White threats mate in 1
Black plays g6 to defend.
White moves the queen to hit e4 to try and retake the lost pawn.
Black develops knight to defend the e4 pawn.
White plays Nc3 to try and get another attack on e4.
Black defends with Bf5
White ends up having to play f3 to remove the pawn so he can continue development.
Bascially that is 1 way the line plays out.
If you go with that line.
Now I have another Gambit line to show you which also involves f3.
My friend played this line against me as well.
He liked both lines as white so I ended up having to study lol the black sides lol which is how I know some of it.
The other Gambit line which I will show you is called
Caro-Kann Defense/Rasa-Studier Gambit
Yeah this is another Gambit line which has been seen.
Hopefully between the 2 Gambits I showed you.
You can try and figure out which line yours is similar to.
The game against my friend who I was talking about.
Yeah I got crushed lol.
I have some other games like this in my Caro-Kann Forum.
I haven't added anything to it in a couple of months.
However, I still have the games there annotated.
http://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-openings/caro-kann-defence5
I always accept. Let's see what he has in mind. It could be pretty clever. It is good to see gambits because the game is less likely to be a tedious nightmare. I bail quickly when it looks like a snoozer of a game.
Better still is if you can counter gambit. I use the Falkbeer and Alipin a lot. Sometimes I get crushed but never bored.
If you want to enjoy the game then take it.
@X_PLAYER_J_X
Thank you very much for your games and feedback. c6 is one of my favourite replies to e4, so I appreciate you making me aware of the gambits you discussed!
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My comment on this matter is: It depends.
The first thing I would say is 'Excepting the queen's gambit, most times the answer is yes'. The QG, and any other gambit that allows for the pawn to be recaptured with almost no trouble, should scarcely be accepted, IF you try to hold onto the pawn. In fact, a lot of gambits that fall into trouble when accepted fall into problems only after you try to hold onto the pawn (In my experience: I am by no means an expert!). So a good way to 'refute' the gambit by accepting it, is take the pawn, then develope like your life depends on it.
A last comment: To all those that say 'accepting a played gambit is bad because they have studied accepting it' holds no merit. If they have studied accepting it, they sure as the sky is blue studied declining it. Its just as, if not more, likely to be declined, so playing a gambit without studying declined varations is as bad, if not worse, than doing the same with accepted.
5 bg4 6 kne5 qd4? king forgoes castling goes d8 queen has a few counter checks that could prove a save for black in caro above just a thought