Chess Gambit
Do you want to gain an advantage over your opponent early in a chess game? If you do, you need to know about gambits. Here is what is important to know:
What Is A Gambit?
A gambit is a move or series of moves in chess during the opening when a player gives up material to obtain an advantage. Gambits usually involve the sacrifice of at least one pawn and sometimes more than one. In some gambits, even a more valuable piece is sacrificed. Both White and Black can initiate a gambit.
A hanging pawn may be a sign that your opponent is using a gambit to test your chess knowledge.
When a player offers a gambit, the opponent can accept or decline it. If the opponent accepts, they take the material offered. If they decline, they ignore the material that is being offered.
Why Use Gambits In A Chess Game?
Popular gambits, such as the Queen’s Gambit, can help you gain a strong center. In addition to gaining a strong center, gambits can create other advantages. They can help you gain a lead in development, create a space advantage, increase your piece activity, gain tempo or tempi, and create structural weaknesses for your opponent.
Be careful of using unsound gambits, such as the once-popular King’s Gambit, where you can give up material without gaining sufficient compensation for the lost material.
Some Popular Gambits
Because several gambits are popular, you should anticipate that an opponent may play a gambit to test your knowledge. Be ready to respond safely. You may also want to initiate a gambit to see if you can gain an advantage over your opponent. Here are several well-known gambits:
Queen’s Gambit
A famous opening for White is the Queen’s Gambit. This gambit has been made even more famous recently by Netflix series The Queen Gambit. In this opening, both White and Black move their queen pawns two spaces forward as their first moves. Then White plays 2.c4 to offer the exchange of a wing pawn (the c-pawn) for a center pawn (Black’s d-pawn) in order to dominate the center by later moving e2-e4.
Although it appears that White is sacrificing the c-pawn, Black cannot retain the pawn without suffering a disadvantage.
This gambit is divided into two major categories: Queen’s Gambit Accepted and Queen’s Gambit Declined. In the first, Black plays 2…dxc and temporarily gives up the center to focus on piece development. In the second, Black avoids capturing White’s c-pawn and instead prepares a defense to hold the d5-square.
Englund Gambit
The Englund Gambit, named for the Swedish player Fritz Carl Anton Englund (1871–1933), is an unusual Queen’s Pawn Opening. After White’s initial move of 1.d4, Black responds with 1…e5 as a pawn sacrifice to avoid traditional closed queen’s pawn games.
This pawn sacrifice is fundamentally unsound for Black because White has a good chance of remaining a pawn up by playing soundly. Next White should definitely play 2.dxe. After Black’s second move, White can easily defend the pawn with 3.Nf3. However, even with a pawn loss, Black does create an open game with tactical chances.
King's Gambit
The King’s Gambit, once a popular opening, is a sharp attack by White against Black’s kingside. To gain a lead in development, White offers to sacrifice their e-pawn. In this opening, both White and Black move their king pawns two spaces forward as their first moves. Then White plays 2.f4 to offer the exchange of a wing pawn (the f-pawn) for a center pawn (Black’s e-pawn) in order to dominate the center by later moving d2-d4.
Black usually accepts the gambit pawn but can also decline, such as by moving 2…Bc5. Although this gambit is very aggressive for White, it is no longer as popular as it once was because it exposes White’s kingside and Black has several options to gain equality. As former world champion Anatoly Karpov observes, “It doesn’t require much for misfortune to strike in the King’s Gambit — one incautious move and Black can be on the edge of the abyss.”
It doesn't require much for misfortune to strike in the King's Gambit.
—GM Anatoly Karpov, former world champion
Botez Gambit
The Botez Gambit is actually a misnomer because it is not a gambit. It is a chess meme evoked when a player accidentally blunders their queen.
The name refers to WGM Alexandra Botez, a popular chess streamer and the founder of BotezLive, a Twitch channel. When she repeatedly blundered her queen on her streams, her viewers nicknamed the blunder the Botez Gambit, and its use has become popular even though it is not a gambit in the traditional sense. The loss of the queen is not intentional and occurs without any adequate compensation.
WGM Alexandra Botez is the namesake for an infamous blunder.
The term is very popular among chess streamers who participate in online tournaments, and its use has become part of their vernacular.
Wrapping Up
Playing a gambit can often be a useful way to gain an advantage early in a chess game. If you like to attack quickly and don’t mind being down a little in material, then you may be interested in trying a gambit. To learn more, watch the ChessKid video “Gambits.”