King’s Gambit is a powerful and very old opening, played in the 19th century. From that era until the 80s this opening was extremely popular and top players like Bronstein, Fischer, Spassky used this aggressive chess opening.
Basic Principles of the King’s Gambit
White sacrifices in his second move the ‘f’ file pawn, in order to achieve a fast opening and to clear the “f” file his Rook. Today, at champions level, we do not see the King’s Gambit often, since the science of defense has shown ways for Black to lead the game to a draw, even if he lets his additional pawn to be captured, in order to restore harmony in his pieces, when being in a critical position. However, as I wrote, it is important for practicing. This opening can be split into two different Variations, King’s Gambit Accepted and King’s Gambit Declined. Let’s study those two Variations.
King’s Gambit Accepted
[ECO "C34"]
[Opening "KGA: Schallop defense"]
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 {In King’s Gambit Accepted, Black captures the pawn.} 3. Nf3 {This particular opening is called Schallop Defense} 3...Nf6 4. e5 Nh5 5. Be2 d6 6. O-O dxe5 7. Nxe5 Qd4+ 8.
Kh1 Nf6 9. Nd3 Bd6 10. c3 {White has a slight advantage.} *
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King’s Gambit Declined
[ECO "C30"]
[Opening "KGD: classical variation"]
1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 {In King’s Gambit Declined, Black does not accept the ‘gift’ of capturing the pawn.} 3. Nf3 {That’s the Classical Variation of King’s Gambit Declined.} 3...d6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bc4 Nc6 6. d3 Bg4 7. h3 Bxf3 8. Qxf3
Nd4 9. Qg3 O-O 10. fxe5 dxe5 *
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Several chess players question the tactic to offer as a ‘gift’ the ‘f’ file pawn. The reasons for that are the following.
White can kick out Black’s ‘e’ pawn from the center of the board.
He can advance at d4 square, creating empty space for the other pieces.
White can perform a quick kingside castling. The ‘f’ file is empty and the Rook at f1 square can add pressure on the vulnerable for Black f7 square.
Illustrative games in King’s Gambit
King’s Gambit is a unique opening and it is required a lot of practice to be mastered. I have selected a few games played by World Champions that are beautiful and instructive. Also, I have written some comments to help you understand what is going on in the game.
Immortal Game of Chess
[Event "London"]
[Site "London ENG"]
[Date "1851.06.21"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Adolf Anderssen"]
[Black "Lionel Adalbert Bagration Felix Kieseritzky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C33"]
[Opening "KGA: bishop's gambit, Bryan counter-gambit"]
[PlyCount "45"]
{The immortal game of chess is one of the most spectacular games ever played.
Adolf Anderssen was one of the most powerful players of that era and a
professor of mathematics. He was an unofficial World Champion (this competition
was not created yet) because he won a famous tournament in London in 1851. His
opponent in the immortal game of chess was the Esthonian Lionel Kieseritzky
whose job was playing chess against clients of the famous ‘Cafe de la Regence’
in Paris. In this game of chess there are a lot of sacrifices.} 1. e4 e5 2. f4
exf4 3. Bc4 {[%xcpdao t]} 3... Qh4+ ({This check seems to be the right move
because the white King must move and castling cannot be performed later in the
game. However, Black is losing tempo and it was better to advance another piece.
Present day’s top players would have played} 3... Nf6) ({or} 3... d5) 4. Kf1 b5
$6 5. Bxb5 Nf6 6. Nf3 Qh6 7. d3 Nh5 8. Nh4 Qg5 9. Nf5 c6 10. g4 Nf6 11. Rg1 $1
cxb5 12. h4 $1 Qg6 13. h5 Qg5 14. Qf3 Ng8 15. Bxf4 Qf6 16. Nc3 Bc5 17. Nd5 Qxb2
18. Bd6 $3 {Adolf Anderssen made an amazing sacrifice because he would get a
great advantage against his opponent despite the fact that he lost valuable
material.} 18... Bxg1 19. e5 $3 {The pawn is blocking two important diagonals
and is threatening the Bishop.} 19... Qxa1+ 20. Ke2 Na6 21. Nxg7+ Kd8 22. Qf6+
$3 {Adolf Anderssen sacrificed his Queen in order to win in the next move.}
22... Nxf6 23. Be7# {It’s spectacular how two Knights and one Bishop so
elegantly performed a checkmate and Lionel Kieseritzky couldn’t respond
properly.} 1-0
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King’s Gambit Accepted, Modern Defense (Abbazia Defense)
[Event "USSR Championship"]
[Site "Leningrad URS"]
[Date "1960.02.20"]
[Round "16"]
[White "Boris Spassky"]
[Black "David Bronstein"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C36"]
[EventDate "1960.??.??"]
[Opening "KGA: modern defense (Abbazia defense)"]
[PlyCount "45"]
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d5 4. exd5 {[%xcpdao l]} 4... Bd6 ({A more common
move that he could play is} 4... Nf6) 5. Nc3 Ne7 6. d4 O-O 7. Bd3 Nd7 8. O-O
{[%xcpdao l]} 8... h6 $2 ({David Bronstein (Black) should have played} 8... Nf6)
9. Ne4 $1 {Boris Spassky (White) had a feeling that the pieces had been properly
advanced and his King had been positioned at a safe position. So, he decided to
advance the pawn in the c file.} 9... Nxd5 10. c4 Ne3 11. Bxe3 fxe3 12. c5 Be7
{Spassky (White) had the pawn at e3 square surrounded. On the other hand, David
Bronstein (Black) was aiming to further advance his pieces.} 13. Bc2 $1 Re8
{Bronstein tried to discard the Rook- defender of f7 square.} 14. Qd3 e2
{[%xcpdao l]} 15. Nd6 $5 {[%xcpdao t]} ({Another good move is} 15. Rf2) 15...
Nf8 $2 ({The last move is the critical move of the game. The only move that
could save Bronstein from defeat is} 15... Bxd6 $1) ({If he played} 15... e1=Q
16. Rfxe1 Nf6 17. Nxf7 Kxf7 18. Ne5+ Kg8 19. Qh7+ Nxh7 20. Bb3+ Kh8 21. Ng6# {he
would lose the game.}) 16. Nxf7 $1 exf1=Q+ 17. Rxf1 {[%xcpdao t]} 17... Bf5 ({By
analyzing this position, Black couldn’t have won} 17... Qd7 18. N3g5) (17... Qd5
18. Bb3 Qxf7 19. Bxf7+ Kxf7 20. Qc4+ Kg6 21. Qg8 Bf6 22. Nh4+ Bxh4 23. Qf7+ Kh7
24. Qxe8) 18. Qxf5 Qd7 19. Qf4 Bf6 20. N3e5 Qe7 21. Bb3 Bxe5 22. Nxe5+ Kh7 23.
Qe4+ {Bronstein lost because he had a defensive gap near the King and Spassky
was attacking with 4 pieces, the Queen, a Rook, a Bishop and a Knight. Garry
Kasparov has said that a player who is attacking with 4 pieces is forced to
win.} 1-0
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King’s Gambit Accepted, Bishop’s Gambit, Bogolyubov Variation
[Event "Active Chess Match"]
[Site "St Petersburg RUS"]
[Date "1999.03.31"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Boris Spassky"]
[Black "Viktor Korchnoi"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C33"]
[WhiteElo "2549"]
[BlackElo "2673"]
[EventDate "1999.??.??"]
[Opening "KGA: bishop's gambit, Bogolyubov variation"]
[PlyCount "68"]
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bb4 6. O-O O-O 7. e5 d5 8. Bb3
Ng4 9. d4 Bxc3 10. bxc3 Ne3 11. Bxe3 fxe3 12. Qd3 Na5 13. Rae1 c6 14. a4 Be6 15.
Qxe3 Qe7 16. Ng5 {Boris Spassky (White) was trying to exchange pieces in the
kingside. Viktor Korchnoi is not facing a serious problem and the Bishop in b3
square is neutralized.} 16... h6 17. Nh3 Bxh3 18. Qxh3 Qe6 19. Qh4 Rae8 20. h3
Kh7 21. Ba2 {[%xcpdao l]} 21... Qg6 $2 ({Viktor Korchnoi should have played}
21... Qe7 {It’s incredible that a chess legend made this error. Korchnoi was
playing in competitions until the age of 90 years.}) 22. Re3 Qg5 23. Qf2 f6 $6
24. Rf3 Kg8 {[%xcpdao t]} 25. Rf5 ({Spassky was a player who wasn’t afraid of
Bobby Fischer and he acted in a similar way in this game. He saw the black Queen
in the g5 square and he created a threat with his Rook. After the game, he admitted
that a better move was} 25. h4 Qg6 26. Rg3 {and he would easily win the game.})
({If Spassky played} 25. Rg3 {Korchnoi would easily respond with} 25... fxe5 $1
) 25... Qg6 26. Qf3 Kh8 27. h4 Re6 28. h5 Qe8 29. Qf4 Rf7 30. Qg4 Rf8 31. Qf3
Qe7 32. Qf4 a6 33. Qf2 Qa3 34. Bb3 {[%xcpdao l]} 34... Qe7 ({If Viktor Korchnoi
played} 34... Nxb3 35. cxb3 Qxb3 36. Qd2 Kh7 37. exf6 Rfxf6 38. Rxf6 Rxf6 39.
Rxf6 gxf6 40. Qf4 {the game would still end in a draw.}) 1/2-1/2
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King’s Gambit Accepted, Muzio Gambit
[Event "Budapest"]
[Site "Budapest AUH"]
[Date "1901.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Miklos Brody"]
[Black "L Banya"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C37"]
[EventDate "1901.??.??"]
[Opening "KGA: Muzio gambit"]
[PlyCount "37"]
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 g4 5. O-O gxf3 6. Qxf3 Qf6 7. e5 Qxe5 8. b3
{Miklos Brody sacrificed his Knight and he was willing to sacrifice his Rook in
order to trap the black Queen. Banya didn’t fall into the trap.} 8... Bh6 9. Nc3
Ne7 10. Bb2 O-O 11. Rae1 Qd4+ 12. Kh1 Ng6 13. Ba1 Qh8 $2 {Banya was forced to
play this move for defensive purposes.} 14. Nd5 Bg7 15. Qxf4 $1 Nc6 16. Qxf7+ $3
{Miklos Brody is sacrificing his Queen at an important square.} 16... Rxf7
{Moving the Rook in the seventh rank created weaknesses in the eighth rank.} 17.
Re8+ Nf8 18. Ne7+ $1 {With this move Brody won the game because Banya had to
make a forced move.} 18... Nxe7 19. Bxf7# {That was an incredible way to perform
a checkmate. Notice that Banya didn’t advance his pieces and quickly lost the
game.} 1-0
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King’s Gambit Declined, One of the Most Aggressive Chess Openings
[Event "Simul, 23b"]
[Site "Chicago, IL USA"]
[Date "1902.12.12"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Emanuel Lasker"]
[Black "C R McBride"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C30"]
[Opening "King's Gambit"]
[PlyCount "19"]
1. e4 e5 2. f4 Nc6 3. Nf3 f6 $2 {McBride (Black) didn’t properly open his pieces
and he was creating a weakness near the black King.} 4. Bc4 exf4 5. d4 {Emanuel
Lasker (White) is trying to capture the center of the chessboard.} 5... g5 $4
{Another bad move that didn’t help in the opening. The biggest problem with that
move is that the ‘h5-e8’ diagonal is unprotected.} 6. Nxg5 $1 {That’s a typical
sacrifice that destroys McBride’s pawn structure.[%xcpdao l]} 6... h6 ({Black
was in a very difficult situation and his best defense was the following one
that couldn’t save him.} 6... fxg5 7. Qh5+ Ke7 8. Qf7+ Kd6 9. e5+ Nxe5 10. Qd5+
Ke7 11. Qxe5#) 7. Qh5+ Ke7 8. Qf7+ Kd6 9. e5+ $1 fxe5 10. Ne4# {That’s a
beautiful checkmate performed by the World Champion Emanuel Lasker who kept his
title for 27 consecutive years!} 1-0
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Final Thoughts
In order to master this opening requires a lot of practice. However, this is one of the most unstructured and aggressive chess openings that will give you valuable lessons. I encourage you to use the King’s Gambit only in practice. In tournaments, I think the Queen’s Gambit is a better option and I have written two articles about the Accepted one and the Declined one . On this website, you can find reviews about chess sets that you can check them out .
If you found value in this article, please don’t hesitate to comment what you liked and share it with people that will find it interesting. Enjoy playing chess.
The King’s Gambit is one of the most important openings a player should know. The reason is that this opening exposes many weaknesses on both sides and players are obligated to play aggressively if they want to win. So, if a person plays too safely then, from all aggressive chess openings, King’s Gambit is the ideal one to practice.