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Danish Gambit

Gambit29 linesYou play White

1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3. White sacrifices one or two pawns for rapid development. Both bishops get open diagonals aimed at Black's king before Black can catch up.

Danish Gambit after 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3

The idea

After 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 White offers a second pawn, and after 3…dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 a third. In return the two bishops on c4 and b2 rake the board, aimed at f7 and g7, while Black has nothing developed. It is an opening for players who like open lines more than pawns.

What happens next

White develops fast: Nf3 or Nc3, Qb3 against f7, and often e5 to open the long diagonal for the b2 bishop. Castling early and bringing the rooks to the open d- and e-files keeps the pressure on; a slow move by Black lets the attack through.

How to play against it

The famous antidote is 5…d5!, giving a pawn back to open lines for Black: 6.Bxd5 Nf6 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qxd8 Bb4+ 9.Qd2 Bxd2+ 10.Nxd2 and Black has an easy endgame. Declining with 3…d5 or 3…d3 avoids the whole thing.

A key line

1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3

More lines

Danish Gambit Accepted
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2
Danish Gambit Accepted, 5...d5
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 d5 6.Bxd5
Danish Gambit Accepted, 5...Nf6
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 Nf6 6.e5
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All 29 lines in this gambit

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