The Stafford Gambit is an aggressive opening surprise for Black in the Petroff: after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nc6!? Black sacrifices a pawn for headlong development and an attack on the king. The opening is famous for its traps - White walks into a quick mate easily if he plays natural but inaccurate moves. Below are the main branches and the famous mating trap.
The dimmed moves are the rest of the main line, and the dots mark branching points. Click any move to jump to that position.
The thin arrow on the board shows the next move.
You can also play the move on the board: pick the piece up and put it on the square.
The starting position. Play the opening out move by move - at a branching point several continuations are available.
Stafford Gambit explained on video.
The Stafford Gambit arises in the Petroff after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nc6!?. Instead of the usual 3...d6, which wins the pawn back, Black offers it as a sacrifice: after 4.Nxc6 dxc6 he has the bishop pair, the half-open d- and e-files and fast development. Objectively, with precise play White keeps the extra pawn and an edge, but in practice - especially in blitz - Black gets a dangerous initiative.
The opening's strength is its traps. Black places the pieces on attacking squares (Bc5, Ng4, Bg4, the queen towards the king) and waits for a natural but inaccurate move from White. One slip and the game ends in mate by move eight or nine.
Black's plan is a quick attack, not the recovery of the pawn. The bishop comes to c5 aiming at f2, the knight is ready to jump to g4 or strike on e4, the c8 bishop pins the f3 knight with ...Bg4, and the queen joins in via h4 or d4. The main tactical motifs are the blows ...Nxe4 and ...Ng4 with threats against f2.
Do not cling to material: the gambit is played for the initiative. If White replies inaccurately (Bg5, h3, greedily taking the queen), Black has a forced attack. If White plays carefully, switch to pressure - but be ready for the extra pawn to stay with your opponent.
White's recipe is simple - stay calm. The main move is 5.d3: it shores up the centre, frees the c1 bishop and removes the ...Nxe4 blow. Then Be2, short castling and, if needed, trading off Black's active pieces. The extra pawn will tell in time.
What not to do: play 6.Bg5 (walking into ...Nxe4), and still less grab the queen with 7.Bxd8 - that leads to mate. Do not weaken the kingside needlessly with moves like h3. Remember f2: while it is defended, Black's attack is harmless.
The typical set-ups this opening leads to - learn them, and the plan follows by itself.
After 4.Nxc6 dxc6. For the pawn Black has the bishop pair, the half-open d- and e-files and fast development - a ready-made springboard for the attack.
5.d3 Bc5 6.Bg5? Nxe4! 7.Bxd8?? Bxf2+ 8.Ke2 Bg4#. The king is in the centre, and the knight on e4 with the bishops on f2 and g4 deliver mate.
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.
The opening's calling card. White develops the bishop to g5, takes the queen - and gets mated on move eight. Instead of 6.Bg5 the right move is 6.Be2.
Many of White's normal-looking moves (Bg5, h3) run into the sacrifice ...Nxe4, after which Black has a powerful attack on the king stuck in the centre. The safest course is the prophylactic 5.d3 and Be2.
Traps in other openings - the 12 most common opening traps.
Objectively, not entirely: with precise play White keeps the extra pawn and a small edge. In practice, though, especially in rapid and blitz, the gambit is very dangerous because of the sheer number of traps.
Play calmly: 5.d3, then Be2 and short castling. Do not develop the bishop to g5, do not grab the queen on d8, and do not weaken the kingside. As long as f2 is defended, Black's attack is harmless.
As Black, as a blitz weapon and an opening surprise full of traps. As White, to know the refutation and avoid the famous mate.
For time and the initiative: the bishop pair, open lines and a quick attack on the king. The aim is not to win the pawn back but to create direct threats while White lags in development.
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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