Englund Gambit
You play Black · 7 variations
Mixed practice
The machine picks a different variation every time.
Take a quiz
10 positions: find the next theory move in each. No take-backs, no hints.
Main variations · 2
Other variations · 5
What is the Englund Gambit?
The Englund Gambit is 1.d4 e5, offering a pawn on the very first move. After the usual 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 you attack the e5 pawn and set traps on the e-file and against b2. It is sharp, tricky and objectively unsound: with correct play White keeps an advantage, so it is a surprise weapon for blitz and rapid rather than a serious tournament defence.
Main ideas and plans
In the Main Line your idea is to win the e5 pawn back with ...Nxe5 or to exploit White's natural developing moves. The best-known trap is 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 4.Bf4 Qb4+ 5.Bd2 Qxb2 6.Bc3 Bb4 7.Qd2 Bxc3 8.Qxc3 Qc1, when the queen mates on c1 after a series of innocent-looking white moves. Strong players avoid it: after 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 4.Bf4 Qb4+ 5.Bd2 Qxb2 6.Nc3 White gets a big lead in development, and in the Stockholm Variation, 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 4.Qd5, White defends e5 with the queen. Other gambit tries are the Felbecker Gambit with ...Bc5, the Zilbermints Gambit with ...Nge7 and the Soller Gambit Deferred with ...f6, all aiming for fast development rather than an immediate recapture.
White can also decline. In the Reversed Alekhine, 1.d4 e5 2.Nf3, White ignores the pawn, and after 1.d4 e5 2.Nf3 e4, the Reversed Krebs, the knight must move, for example to e5 (the Reversed Mokele Mbembe) or back to g1 (the Reversed Brooklyn). Against 1.d4 e5 2.d5 you can try the Diemer Counterattack, 1.d4 e5 2.d5 Bc5 3.e4 Qh4, with an early attack on f2. In every line your play is about rapid development, open lines and traps against an opponent on autopilot; if White simply develops and keeps the extra pawn, stay patient and look for activity.
Who is it for?
The Englund suits players who love traps and wild positions and play mostly online blitz or bullet, where surprise counts for more than soundness. Its risks are serious: against a prepared opponent you are simply a pawn down, so it is not a good main weapon for long games. Before playing it, memorise the main trap and, just as important, know what to do when White sidesteps it, for example by developing the knight to c3 instead of the bishop, or with the Stockholm Variation.