King's Gambit Accepted
C39 · Played as white · Advanced · Romantic Gambits
The romantic era in one move — a pawn for the centre, the f-file and a fight
The main line
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.h4 g4 5.Ne5 Nf6 6.d4 d6 7.Nd3 Nxe4 8.Bxf4 Bg7 9.Nc3 Nxc3
Strategic ideas
- Give up the f-pawn to deflect Black's e5-pawn and take the whole centre with d4
- Open the f-file and put a rook behind it aiming at f7
- Meet the …g5 pawn chain with h4, prising it apart before it gets comfortable
- Accept that the king will feel airy — the initiative is the compensation
- Play the sharpest opening in chess, where a single slow move by either side is fatal
Key themes
- Attack — Everything is aimed at f7 and the black king; White plays for mate, not for the pawn back
- Dynamic — The pawn is gone for good and White's own king is loose — only the initiative holds it together
- Open Files — The f-file opens immediately and it's the road every white piece travels
Typical plans
The King's Gambit is nineteenth-century chess distilled: White hands over a pawn on move two to drag Black's e5-pawn off the centre, then takes the whole board with d4 and the f-file. Black clings to the extra pawn with …g5, and White chips away at it with h4 and Ne5. Modern engines are unimpressed and it's still enormous fun to play, because both kings end up drafty and every line is concrete. Fischer wrote an article claiming to have refuted it. He was, characteristically, overstating things.
Move by move
- e4 — White claims the centre.
- e5 — Black meets it symmetrically.
- f4 — White offers the gambit. The point isn't the pawn — it's dragging Black's e5-pawn off the centre so White can play d4 and own the board.
- exf4 — Black accepts. Declining is entirely respectable, but taking is the honest test.
- Nf3 — White develops and stops …Qh4+, which would otherwise be a permanent nuisance.
- g5 — Black hangs on to the extra pawn and builds a chain. It also weakens the black kingside for good.
- h4 — White strikes at the chain immediately, before Black gets …Bg7 and …h6 in.
- g4 — Black pushes past, kicking the knight — the Kieseritzky Gambit.
- Ne5 — White jumps to e5, where the knight is annoying and eyes both f7 and g4.
- Nf6 — Black develops with tempo, hitting e4.
- d4 — White grabs the entire centre. This is what the f-pawn bought.
- d6 — Black kicks the knight and opens the c8-bishop.
- Nd3 — White retreats to d3, defending f4 and keeping the knight active.
- Nxe4 — Black takes the pawn, going two up but falling further behind in development.
- Bxf4 — White recaptures on f4, finally regaining one pawn and freeing the pieces — the bishop now eyes the whole kingside.
- Bg7 — Black fianchettoes, defending the kingside and eyeing d4.
- Nc3 — White develops with tempo, hitting the e4-knight.
- Nxc3 — Black trades. White will recapture and reach a position a pawn down with a big centre, open lines and every piece pointing at the black king — a fair summary of the entire opening.