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Evans Gambit

Gambit20 linesYou play White

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4. White offers the b-pawn to drive Black's bishop away and gain time for c3 and d4. The payoff is a big centre and a fast attack towards f7.

Evans Gambit after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4

The idea

In the Italian Game, 4.b4 offers a wing pawn to gain time: after 4…Bxb4 5.c3 the bishop must move again, and White builds a big centre with d4 while Black is still finding squares. Morphy and Anderssen won famous games with it, and Kasparov revived it in the 1990s.

What happens next

After 5…Ba5 6.d4 White gets the centre and open lines; Qb3 aimed at f7 and Ba3 stopping Black from castling are common. If Black retreats 5…Be7 White plays d4 and often ends up with a strong centre and the bishop pair against a cramped position. Accepting with 5…Bc5 6.d4 exd4 7.O-O leads to the sharpest play.

How to play against it

The simplest reply is to take the pawn and then give it back for development: 5…Ba5 6.d4 d6 7.Qb3 Qd7 or Lasker's 5…Be7 6.d4 Na5 hitting the bishop on c4. Declining with 4…Bb6 is solid too. Whatever you choose, get the king castled before the centre opens.

A key line

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4

More lines

Evans Gambit Accepted
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3
Evans Gambit Accepted, 5...Ba5
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4
Evans Gambit, Lasker Defense
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 d6 7.O-O Bb6 8.a4
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