King's GambitC30
1. e4 e5 2. f4. White offers the f-pawn on move two to pull Black's e-pawn away from the middle. A gambit is an opening where you give something away to get ahead in another way.
Move by move
2. f4: pawn to f 4
- White: e4, pawn to e 4.
- Black: e5, pawn to e 5.
- White: f4, pawn to f 4.
What each side wants
⚪ White: If Black takes, play Nf3 so the black queen can't check on h4, then build the middle with d4.
⚫ Black: You can take the pawn and try to keep it, or say no thanks with 2...d5 or 2...Bc5.
White made the last move, so after this it is Black's turn.
Three things every opening does
The King's Gambit follows the three ideas strong players use in every opening. Get a pawn or two into the middle of the board, because pieces in the middle can reach more squares. Bring out your knights and bishops before you move the queen a lot, so she is not chased around. And castle early, so your king is tucked behind a wall of pawns and your rook joins the game. When you forget the moves, those three ideas will still help you find a good one.
Try it
Play it against Peabody on Play, then solve today's puzzle. Openings that start the same way:
- Italian Game
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 - Giuoco Piano
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 - Two Knights Defense
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 - Fried Liver Attack
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. Nxf7 - Evans Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 - Scotch Game
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4
Name, code and moves from the Lichess openings list (CC0), checked . The words are Peabody's own, and every move on this page is checked by Peabody's chess engine.