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Rousseau Gambit

Gambit22 linesYou play Black

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 f5. Black strikes back at e4 at once. White must know the right replies, or Black gets fast development and tricks against White's king.

Rousseau Gambit after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 f5

The idea

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 f5 strikes at e4 at once, in the spirit of the Latvian Gambit but with the bishop on c4 already in Black's sights. Black wants an open f-file and a quick …Nf6 and …d5. It is risky, because the e8–h5 diagonal opens too.

What happens next

After 4.d3 Nf6 Black keeps the tension; after 4.exf5 Black should not recapture at once but develop with …Nf6 and …d5. Black's attack arrives down the f-file if White allows the centre to close.

How to play against it

4.d3 is the simplest, keeping the centre and preparing Nc3; the bishop on c4 and a queen check on h5 make Black's king nervous. 4.d4 is also strong. After 4.exf5 e4 5.Ng1 the knight retreats but Black's centre is overextended.

A key line

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 f5 4.Bxg8 Rxg8 5.exf5 e4 6.Ng1 d5 7.Qh5+ g6 8.fxg6 Rxg6 9.Qxh7 Qg5 10.g3 Rh6 11.Qxc7 Bd6

More lines

3...f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 …
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5
4...Bc5 5.Nc3 f4 6.O-O …
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 f5 4.d3 Bc5 5.Nc3 f4 6.O-O d6 7.a3 Bg4
5...f4 6.Bf7+ Kf8
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 f5 4.d3 Bc5 5.Ng5 f4 6.Bf7+ Kf8
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All 22 lines in this gambit

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