The King's Gambit: Essentials (White Repertoire)

By Theo van Stratum

The King's Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.f4) offers a wing pawn to rip open the position and attack before Black can finish developing -- one of the oldest and most romantic tries in chess, prizing speed and initiative over material. Covers both of Black's main declining tries (2...Bc5 and the solid 2...d6), and two of the main approaches after the gambit is accepted with 2...exf4: the classical Fischer Defence (3...d6) and the more modern 3...Nf6.