How to fight against Kings Gambit as black?

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slaysicilian

Is there a simple line from black view against kings gambit?

1stKnight619

yes there are....being the Falkbeer Counter Gambit 2...d5 attacking whites pawn on e4.. but your best bet is to accept whites gambit and take the pawn however white will counter with 3.Nf3 preventing you from moving your queen to h4 and checking the white king... I love playing the Kings Gambit from both sides of the board... but consider it and experiment.

Strangemover

With Nc6, Bg4 and 0-0 the simplest plans. White can try g3 to break the pawn chain but there are obvious risks. As a general rule of thumb if you accept the gambit try to hold the pawn as if white can play Bxf4 he is a happy bunny.

In the case of 4.h4 you can try:


Of course there are many other lines as well!

Candidate35
I used to play the line as black 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3. Nf3 Be7- the idea being Bh4+ and the white king gets displaced. I never tried to hold the f4 pawn though if I accept the gambit, I just tried to gain some compensation for white doing the gambit.
Strangemover

Candidate35 did anyone play the 3 pawn gambit against you?



chesster3145

The Modern Defense with 2... d5 3. exd5 exf4 4. Nf3 Nf6 is an easy way to get at least equality.

pestebalcanica

http://chesstempo.com/gamedb/opening/1025

it's not that good for Black as defending the pawn, all variations that are dangerous for White are defending the pawn, from d6 ( Fischer ) to g5, to the Falkbeer Countergambit, and some lesser known. White has always some compensation for the pawn and the King on f1 is not that big of a problem.

http://chesstempo.com/gamedb/opening/1110

the charousek gambit is dubious

http://chesstempo.com/gamedb/opening/1118

you will also notice that in case of Qf3 Black is better to defend the pawn with Bd6

Candidate35
Yes I faced that pawn sacrifice line about half the time. I don't recall the exact lines I played but I didn't take on h2 I remember, I had created my own line against that. It's been years since then however.
Strangemover

Not taking on h2 in that line is very unsporting! Like when white plays b6 instead of bxa6 against the Benko :-)

Candidate35
Yes well I used to try to take my opponents into Tal's Forest often, warranted or not.. :p
how_do_you_castle

2. Be7 with idea 3. Bh4+ wins by force (joke but most people aren't fluent in that variation since it's no longer the 1800s) and white often finds himself helpless being unable to castle  

watch how it turns out white is the helpless one

 http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1027959

pestebalcanica

Yes, well, needless to say the White King is better placed on the queenside therefore travelling to d1 is sensible. Not that I have played it as White, ever.

Strangemover

Well it's true there are less risky choices for white! Whatever opening or variation gets played though the better player usually wins and Henry Bird was amongst the best of his time. Here he met an even stronger player and was less successful.

austern12

what opening do u recommend for beginner?

gbidari

Simple and good is 2.Bc5 the declined, classical variation.(Notice your e pawn is not really hanging as Qh4+ would be crushing.) Natural development after that should give you a reasonable position. As a bonus, playing 2.Bc5 deprives the King's Gambit player of the kind of game they're hoping for. When they see 2.Bc5, inwardly they sigh a little.

pestebalcanica
Strangemover wrote:

Well it's true there are less risky choices for white! Whatever opening or variation gets played though the better player usually wins and Henry Bird was amongst the best of his time. Here he met an even stronger player and was less successful.

 

 

Strangemover

With the idea if 4.Bh4+ 5.Nxh4 Qxh4+ 6.Qf2? This is a question I'm not adorning 6.Qf2 with a question mark :-) Looks pretty solid.

1stKnight619

Candidate35 wrote:

Yes well I used to try to take my opponents into Tal's Forest often, warranted or not.. :p

another Tal fan?!?!?! I love it!!!

ArchieBunker03

I agree with the NM. The declined is about as simple as it gets. I also like getting in peoples heads and kings gambit players seem to get annoyed by 2.Bc5 similar to how some French players get annoyed by the exchange. Don't play their game, make them play yours.

pestebalcanica

The queen moves to e2 for other reasons obviously, as I pointed out the king is rock solid on d1, and it will move again evantually to leave more room for the rook, only momentarily out of play.