The Danish Gambit is one of the most brazen open games: after 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 White offers one pawn, and often two, for headlong development and a pair of bishops aimed at the kingside. The main branches are gathered here: the Double Gambit, the modest recapture and the Schlechter Defence. At each branching point, choose which line to play.
The dimmed moves are the rest of the main line, and the dots mark branching points. Click any move to jump to that position.
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The starting position. Choose your moves - at a branching point several continuations are available.
The Danish Gambit is a vivid representative of the romantic school. After 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 White offers a pawn, and after 3...dxc3 4.Bc4 a second one straight away. In return he gets a lead in development and two bishops raking the board along the diagonals to f7 and g7.
The idea is to develop as fast as possible and crash through against the king before the opponent finishes developing. At club level and in blitz it is a very dangerous weapon.
The drawback is purely material: if the attack does not come off, Black's extra pawns can decide the endgame. That is why modern theory has found reliable ways for Black to equalise.
The great secret of the defence is not to cling to the extra material but to return it in good time. After 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 the move 5...d5! defuses the attack: Black gives a pawn back, trades off the dangerous c4 bishop and finishes developing.
Safer still is not to take the second pawn, or to play 3...d5 at once (the Schlechter Defence), returning the material and equalising. If White plays the modest 4.Nxc3, he settles for one pawn in return for development, as in the Goering Gambit.
The Danish Gambit is romanticism in its purest form: after 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 White gives up two pawns for a pair of bishops aimed at f7 and g7 and a total lead in development.
The play runs one way: a quick Nf3 or Qb3, short castling, rooks to the open files and a direct attack. If Black does not know the precise defence, the game often ends before move twenty.
The honest verdict: against careful play by Black the compensation for two pawns is not enough. It is a weapon for fast games and for an unprepared opponent, not for a long-time-control tournament.
The most reliable answer is not to be greedy. Instead of taking the second pawn, play 4...d5!, returning the material and opening the position for your own pieces. After 5.Bxd5 Nf6 Black has normal development and faces no attack.
The second method is to accept only one pawn and finish developing quickly with ...Nf6, ...Be7 and ...0-0, giving the second back at a convenient moment. Material matters less than king safety.
What to avoid: trying to keep both pawns and playing without developing. That is exactly what the opening is built on - White is not counting on soundness, he is counting on greed.
The typical set-ups this opening leads to - learn them, and the plan follows by itself.
White has given up two pawns and got two bishops on diagonals aimed at the black king, plus a serious lead in development.
These are the main named variations. Click any one of them and it loads straight onto the board above, where you can play it out move by move. The trainer itself holds more lines than this: it also covers main-line continuations and transpositions that have no name of their own.
What to avoid, and what catches an unprepared opponent.
Formally Black wins two pawns, but in exchange he hands White both long diagonals. Many prefer to give the material back with 4...d5 and get a normal position.
Black's main mistake in this gambit is to keep taking when it is time to develop. White's attack works precisely as long as Black's pieces sit at home.
Traps in other openings - the 12 most common opening traps.
Up to two. After 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 White gives up both pawns for development and two powerful bishops. You can also settle for one pawn with 4.Nxc3.
At club level it is very dangerous, but at the top level theory has found reliable equality for Black - above all returning the material with ...d5 (the Schlechter Defence). It is rare in serious tournaments, yet it scores heavily in fast games.
The main rule is not to be greedy. Give the extra pawn back in good time with ...d5, trade off the dangerous c4 bishop and finish developing calmly. White's two bishops then lose their force and Black is left with a healthy position.
They are close relatives: in both White sacrifices pawns for development after d4 and c3. In the Goering Gambit it happens in the Scotch (with knights on f3 and c6); in the Danish it happens at once, and White often gives up two pawns rather than one, banking on the bishop pair.
Want the tactics that decide these positions? Start with the 12 most common opening traps and tactics for beginners. If you are just starting out, read the rules of chess and how to set up the board.
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