foxychess.comJoin free

FoxyChess › Gambits › Englund Gambit Declined

Englund Gambit Declined

Gambit30 linesYou play Black

Black's answers when White doesn't take the pawn after 1.d4 e5: 2.d5, 2.e4, 2.Nf3, 2.c3, 2.c4, 2.g3 and others. Black gets open lines and quick development.

Englund Gambit Declined after 1.d4 e5 2.Be3 exd4 3.Bxd4 d5

The idea

These lines cover White's answers that don't take the pawn after 1.d4 e5: 2.d5, 2.e4 (a Centre Game with colours reversed), 2.Nf3, 2.c3 and 2.e3. Black's idea is the same as in the main gambit: fast development and play against the centre, without losing the e-pawn at all.

What happens next

Against 2.d5 Black plays …Bc5 and …Nf6 with a comfortable game; against 2.e4 the position is a Centre Game where Black has the extra tempo; against 2.Nf3 e4 the knight must move and Black gains space. In all of them Black develops naturally and castles.

How to play against it

Declining is reasonable for White with 2.d5, keeping a space advantage, or with 2.e4, accepting a reversed Centre Game. Against 2…e4 after 2.Nf3, retreat to d2 or g1 rather than e5 and the centre pawn becomes a target later.

A key line

1.d4 e5 2.Be3 exd4 3.Bxd4 d5 4.Nc3 c5 5.Be5 d4 6.Ne4 Nc6 7.Bg3 Bf5 8.Nd2 Qe7 9.Ngf3 Nf6 10.e3 O-O-O

More lines

2...exd4 3.Qxd4 d5 4.Nc3 …
1.d4 e5 2.Be3 exd4 3.Qxd4 d5 4.Nc3 Be6 5.O-O-O Nc6 6.Qd2 Bb4 7.f3 Qe7 8.a3 Bxa3 9.bxa3 d4 10.Bxd4 O-O-O 11.e3 Qxa3+ 12.Kb1 Nxd4
1...e5 2.Bf4 exf4 3.e3 …
1.d4 e5 2.Bf4 exf4 3.e3 fxe3 4.fxe3 Qh4+ 5.g3 Qe4 6.Nf3 Qxe3+ 7.Qe2 Qxe2+ 8.Bxe2 Nf6
1...e5 2.Nc3 exd4 3.Qxd4 …
1.d4 e5 2.Nc3 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qd1 Nf6 5.Bf4 Bb4 6.e3 Ne4 7.Ne2 Qh4 8.g3 Qf6 9.Bg2 Nxc3 10.Nxc3 Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 Qxc3+ 12.Kf1 d6 13.e4 Bg4 14.Qxg4 Qxa1+ 15.Ke2 Qxa2
Learn the Englund Gambit Declined on FoxyChess

Learn it move by move on the board, then try it against Foxy, the bot who plays these tricks for real. Free to join, no card needed.

or

By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. You must be 13 or over.

All 30 lines in this gambit

More gambits