If you are e4 player then I suggest you to try Smith Morra Gambit Accepted in your games for attacking game play.

Because smith morra gambit accepted gives you two to three extra moves and you have a huge advantage in development.

Let’s start with the first few moves of opening with white pieces until you reach in smith morra gambit accepted variation.

1.e4 c5

White opens the game with 1.e4 and black replies with 1.c5 move.

2.d4 cxd4

White plays d4 move and black captures with cxd4.

3. c3 white offers another pawn for entering into smith morra gambit accepted.

3. dxc3 black accepts the pawn and now white enters his favorite smith morra gambit accepted variation.

Theory of Smith Morra Gambit Accepted

The theory of this gambit is very simple and straight forward, white sacrifices c3 pawn in order to get two tempos, which means white is two move ahead from black.

White is ahead of development

In above position, white is ahead of two moves from black and now black has the problem of his king side’s development.

This is the position where we will study the accepted line of smith morra gambit and I will explain some main lines and sidelines.

And about how the game will continue and how white gets advantage of development against black pieces and how white converts this advantage into a win, all will be explained in below variations.

List of  variation in Smith Morra Gambit Accepted

After reaching above position black has few main lines and side lines which are mentioned below,

• 4.Nc6
• 4.e6
• 4.d6
• 4.a6
• 4.g6
• 4.e5
• 4.nf6
• 4.b6
• 4.Qc7

Now let’s watch one game in every variation to understand smith mora gambit theory and learn how it works and what to on each move.

Let’s start when black replies with Nc6.

Black Replies 4.Nc6 in smith morra gambit accepted

The idea of black’s move is to control the e5 square because white often pushes e5 move to gain more space and kick away black’s knight on f6.

Another use of black’s knight is to control the d4 square indirectly.

Let’s watch one game, in order to know how white should continue from this position.

Game 1 in Nc6 variation

Game 2 in Nc6 variation

In above both games, white took the advantage of development and converted into a win.

Please remember a rule that:

When you have advantage in piece development, you should try to look for tactics especially sacrifices in order to launch direct attack on your opponent’s king.

Black replies 4.d6 in smith morra gambit accepted

The idea behind black’s 4.d6 move is, to prevent e5 move and in the meantime it opens diagonal for black’s dark square bishop, which is often difficult to develop.

Let’s see how white handles this idea and gets advantage.

Game 1 in d6 variation

In above game,  although black made a blunder by taking white’s knight on f3 and because black exchanged his only developed piece, that’s why black went into trouble and lost the game.

Game 2 in d6 variation

Black replies with 4.a6

The idea behind a6 in smith morra gambit accepted is to prevent Nb5 and playing b5 in future for gaining space on queenside and may develop his light square bishop.

Let’s watch one game and see how white gets advantage against a6 move.

Game 1 in a6 variation

Black replies with 4.g6

The idea behind g6 move is very clear, black just wants to avoid central fight for the time being and focus solely on development and safety of his king, by getting castling as soon as possible, and  to avoid any tactical shots from white.

Game 1 in g6 variation

Black replies with 4.e5

This is so far most natural move, challenging white’s knight and controlling d4 square.

This move also open diagonal for kings bishop to develop, but it also has drawback which is weakness of d4 pawn.

Let’s see how white handles this position.

Game 1 in e5 variation

Black replies with Nf6

What is the idea behind this move? the black tricks white to push his e4 pawn, if white pushes immediately then this pawn will be weak, but the question arises here that will black gets compensation for it?

Let’s see how white should play against this idea.

Game 1 in Nf6 variation

Black replies with b6

The idea is very much clear, black wants to develop his queenside bishop as soon as possible and wants to put pressure on e4.

Let’s see how white counters this idea.

Game 1 in b6 variation

Game 2 in b6 variation

Black replied with Qc7

This move in Sicilian defense is called universal move, the idea behind is to control the square of e5 immediately, and it prepares move d6 or a6 followed by b6.

Let’s see how white handles this universal move.

Game 1 in Qc7 variation

Conclusion:

I have covered all main lines and logical and natural moves in smith morra gambit accepted with explanation and exemplary chess games.

I hope that you learned a lot from these chess games and ideas are now clear and now you should be able to take advantage of the development in any opening.

The post Smith Morra Gambit Accepted (Strategies and Key Ideas Explained) appeared first on Chess Mars.

The purpose of playing the Stafford gambit for the black side is to disrupt the white’s smooth piece’s development and take control of the center and attack the white king as soon as possible.

Who invented the Stafford gambit?

The Stafford Gambit is named after the American chess player named Joseph Stafford who played this gambit first in 1950.

Is Stafford gambit good?

It’s a good gambit for club and intermediate players and does not sound above a 2000 rating, because it’s a sharp and tactical gambit, amateur and beginner players don’t understand what’s coming next, but at high-level chess, it’s not a good gambit because white know how to handle Stafford’s gambit.

Theory of Stafford Gambit

The theory of Stafford’s gambit is very straightforward, open the center, quickly develop your pieces and attack the king.

The idea behind this gambit is to disturb the smooth development of white pieces and force them to play precisely in the opening, otherwise white will lose the game in the opening phase, which will be very disgusting for white players.

Stafford Gambit Lines

Here is the starting position of Stafford Gambit, and I will continue from the beginning and move by move.

I will explain the logic behind every move in this gambit until we get a dream position in the Stafford gambit.

And from that position, we will watch some model games in order to understand better.

In the above position, the black player sacrificed his pawn and played Nc6 to trade the white’s active knight in the center in order to release some pressure.

The best move for white is to take the knight and double black’s pawn structure.

In the above position white captured black’s knight on c6 and now black has the choice to capture the knight either with b pawn or c pawn. The best move for black is to capture the knight with the d pawn.

Capturing with d pawn gives black development advantage and as a result, black will have

This is the position where white has several moves and we will look most played move in this position and we will see how black get advantages. There are many games played in this position, but we will watch 3 games here.

3 Most played Lines in Stafford Gambit

1. 5.d3

2. 5.Nc3

3. 5.e5

We will discuss 3 variations of the Stafford gambit which I mentioned above one by one. Let’s start with the first simple and logical move 5.d3

5.d3 line in Stafford Gambit

Let’s talk about the above position, white is a pawn up and he just protected his extra pawn and center. What’s in black’s hand? Black has activated his both bishops developed a knight and opened up his queen for actions.

I hope now you know that in this position black has a development advantage, which is one of the main advantages which every chess player must look to win.

Now the next question is how to convert this advantage into a win. Well, I am here to illustrate the whole plan from the black side so you can understand the position and win a lot of games.

In the above position, the best move for black is Bc5. Yes, we are aiming for the white’s king, that’s why the black sacrificed his pawn.

5.Bc5

Famous Trap in Stafford Gambit

There are many traps in Stafford’s gambit but this one which I am going to show is the most beautiful, In the above position if white tries to pin our active knight by playing Bg5.

Now it’s black’s turn, can you find the best move for black in the above position? think for the moment!

Let’s see if you found the best move, the best move in this position is Nxe4!!.

Yes, it’s a thriller, black knight is unpinned and it’s threatening to capture the bishop, while the white is threatening to capture our queen. If white captures our queen then he will be checkmated, and that’s what most beginners and amateurs players will do in this position.

Let’s find out how black will checkmate white when white captures black’s queen.

White has taken the black’s queen, and now it’s black’s turn and will checkmate white. Can you guess the move for black?

Yes, that’s right, black should the f2 pawn with bishop because it’s forcing move and it delivers a check, now white’s king only has one move which is ke2.

I hope you guessed the move for black in order to deliver checkmate. Yes, it’s Bg4 Checkmate!

That’s right, you delivered a checkmate.

There is more deviation in this trap, on move 6th Nxe4 if white does not capture your queen and instead, he captures your knight then you can win white’s queen. Let’s discuss with pictures.

In the above position, when white captures your knight with dxe4. Then you can win white’s queen.

Have you found the best for black and how will black win white’s queen? Congrats in advance if you found the best move for black. Here is a solution.

Black’s queen is also hanging but it’s the white king who is in check right now if white takes the bishop we will win white’s queen and if not then white has only one king’s move which is ke2.

Can you find black’s best move in the above position?

Now white has only one move, which is to take Bf2 with the king which is a forcing move, after white’s move black will capture white’s queen with Qxd1.

If you want to prepare for Stratford gambit, then you should watch more games in this line, therefore I have selected some of the best games in Stratford gambit.

Best Games for 5.d3 line in Stafford Gambit

Here you will watch the 3 best chess games of my selection in the 5.d3 line. Let’s watch these three games and don’t forget to switch the board to the black side for a better view.

5.d3 Line in Stafford

5.d3 line Game 1 in Stafford gambit

[Note: Please flip the chess board to the black side for a better view]

5.d3 line Game 2 in Stafford gambit

[Note: Please flip the chess board to the black side for a better view]

5.d3 line Game 3 in Stafford gambit

[Note: Please flip the chess board to the black side for a better view]

Conclusion of 5.d3 line in Stafford gambit

Those three games that I mentioned above were played on chess.com in a blitz tournament and you may find some inaccuracies as well.

The whole point of mentioning these games is that you should know what to do in the middlegame and after the development of black pieces, the black players should launch an attack on the white king.

5.Nc3 line in Stafford Gambit

This is a more solid line than d3 in Stafford’s gambit. The purpose of playing Nc3 is to protect e4 and at the same time develop a minor piece.

Again with the black side, we will develop as fast as we can, that’s why the best move for black is Bc5, developing a piece and aiming at white king.

Black developed a bishop which is aimed at the white king and black is ready to castle. In the above position, we will watch 3 chess games, in order to understand gameplay in Stafford gambit.

5.Nc3 line Game 1 in Stafford Gambit

[Note: Please flip the chess board to the black side for a better view]

5.Nc3 line Game 2 in Stafford Gambit

[Note: Please flip the chess board to the black side for a better view]

5.Nc3 line Game 3 in Stafford Gambit

[Note: Please flip the chess board to the black side for a better view]

Conclusion of 5.Nc3 line Stafford Gambit

In conclusion, in 5.Nc3 line we do have the same plan, development of pieces, and quick attack on the king.

Please note that some players in Nc3 may castle the long side, and if they castle the long side then we should switch the attack to the long side by opening up the center.

And if they castle a short side then we have to attack the king. The conclusion is to develop all pieces and launch an attack on the king.

5. E5 in Stafford Gambit

What if white is not protecting his central extra pawn, instead white pushes to disturb our smooth development and white plays e5.

So far we have learned that in Stafford gambit we have to develop pieces real quick and then launch an attack on the white king. So we are not afraid of white’s last move and we will develop quickly.

Our knight is not going back and our knight is attacking in white’s camp. In the above position, we will watch two games so we can understand the position.

5.e5 line Game 1 in Stafford Gambit

[Note: Please flip the chess board to the black side for a better view]

You may notice that in this game black castled the long side because white was behind in the development and black took the opportunity to castle long and then opened up a center and launched a direct attack on white’s king.

5.e5 line Game 2 in Stafford Gambit

[Note: Please flip the chess board to the black side for a better view]

Conclusion of Stafford Gambit

The one general scheme we should remember is that when you are playing Stafford Gambit you should not worry about pawns instead you should think of various ways to disturb white’s development and attack the white king.

This gambit is not sound on the highest level and it can only be useful in a blitz game. So it’s my suggestion that you should not play Stafford gambit if you are playing against 2000 or above rated players.

If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to ask in the comments or in questions.

The post Stafford Gambit (Guide And Repertoire) appeared first on Chess Mars.

Is Evans Gambit good for white?

Yes, Evans gambit is good and sound for white. In the Evans gambit, the white gets enough compensation for the sacrificed pawn. Many top grandmasters like Nigel Short, Garry Kasparov, and Magnus Carlsen have played evans gambit successfully.

What is the Evans gambit?

Evans gambit starts when black reply white’s 1.e4 with e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 is called an Italian game and if black copies whites move and play Bc5 that is where you can play the Evans gambit.

Here is the starting picture of evans gambit.

What is the point of the Evans Gambit Accepted?

The Evans gambit starts with b4 and the point of the Evans gambit is to seize the center and develop the pieces quickly for the attack.

In the above picture white is attacking the bishop and black is forced to take action. Now black has two options, one is to take with knight and the other is to take the pawn with Bishop. Both options for black will have the same result. The best move for black is to take the gambit pawn with the bishop.

Now we will discuss the best options for white in the Evans gambit. And we will try to take the advantage of sacrificed pawn.

What is the meaning of the gambit in chess?

Before going to Evans Gambit, I want to clarify that you must understand the general rule of any kind of gambit and the meaning of the gambit in chess.

The gambit means white or black will sacrifice a pawn or two pawns, and in return, he should have some kind of advantage for the sacrificed pawn.

There are many kinds of advantages, for example, space advantage, development advantage, and positional advantage.

It’s your job to find the advantages and convert them into a win, that’s what grandmasters do in their game, they collect minor advantages and convert them into a win.

Evans gambit Accepted theory

The theory of the Evans gambit is very easy to understand. The whole point of the sacrificed pawn is to get fast development with the center. Yes, the center is very important and white builds the strong center and fast development of minor pieces for the cost of one pawn.

Let’s get back to our Evans gambit.

In the above position, black has 5 moves to choose from, we will talk about the main moves in the position. The first move we will discuss is Ba5 which looks natural.

5.Ba5 in Evans Gambit

Can you guess our next move in this position? Yes, it’s a d4, as I have said earlier that the whole point of the evans gambit is to get the center and fast development. So white’s best move in this position is d4.

In this position, white is taking the center and opening his dark bishop as I said, fast development. In this position black can play many moves, but two moves are sound and solid, one is to take the d4 pawn and the second is to play d6.

Both moves have been played by top grandmasters from the black side. We will look at both moves by watching games played in this position. First, we will look at the more natural reply from white side when black takes exd4.

6.e5xd4 in Evans Gambit

Can you guess the move according to evans gambit theory and plans? Yes, I recommended the castling move in this position which is according to our plan and theory of Evan’s gambit.

White moved his king to safety while black has its king in the center and black will take at least two moves for castling. The main point here is that white has a development advantage, his king has castled and his bishops are open, and the most important thing is that the white has a central pawn.

Black takes another pawn on c3

Black is getting greedy, and neglecting the opening principles. Let’s see how white punishes him for his mistakes. In this position, we will watch some of the games for understanding the Evans gambit.

Game 1 in Evans Gambit

Game 2 in Evans Gambit

Game 3 in Evans Gambit

In this position, we will watch 3 games so you can understand how to get an advantage when you have the center and development.

We will watch the game from MVL and So, both are super grandmasters and this game was played on chess.com. It’s a blitz game and you may find some inaccuracies but you will get the ideas and plans in the Evans gambit followed by top grandmasters.

Game 4 in Evans Gambit

Game 5 in Evans Gambit

Game 6 in Evans Gambit

8.0-0 Black castles in Evans Gambit

This would be a dream position in evans gambit because white has full control over the center and more developed pieces than black.

In this position, we will watch some games in order to understand the benefits of having a strong center.

When you have a center, you can choose your battleground. For example, in the above position, there is no quick win but white has the center, and white can play on the queenside and on the king’s side or just continue its attack on the center.

We will watch three games and you will observe how white create weakness in black’s camp and manages to win from those weakness.

Game 7 in Evans Gambit

Game 8 in Evans Gambit

Game 9 in Evans Gambit

Conclusion of 5.Ba5 in Evans Gambit Accepted

The 5.Ba5 move is more natural from the black side and you will face it often in your games. From the white’s point of view, white should consider two points in the whole Evans gambit.

One is to get the strong central pawn or pawns, and the second is to get the castle and make quick development of your minor pieces even at the cost of the pawn.

After getting the center and fast development you will think about how to attack, whether you are attacking on the king, queenside, or in the center. You have central pawns which means full control of the center that’s why you have the choice to choose which side you want to attack.

The post Evans Gambit Accepted [Attack and Win] appeared first on Chess Mars.

Is the Englund Gambit good?

Englund gambit is good for you if you are playing under 1600 rating or if your opponent is below 1600 rating and he plays d4 opening.

The reason I am limiting the Englund gambit to 1600 rating, because it’s not so good or sound gambit on higher-level chess.

So if you are above 1600 rating then I will not suggest the Englund gambit.

What is the point of the Englund Gambit?

The point of the Englund gambit is to avoid theoretical battles in the opening phase against d4 players.

The d4 players are usually positional chess players and they like to play position chess where they squeeze little by little until your pieces have no better moves.

So the point of Englund gambit is very straightforward, play the e5 move and kick out your opponent from their comfort zone.

Black will get its sacrificed pawn and if white tries to save the extra pawn he will be in the trouble.

How do you play Englund Gambit?

Englund gambit starts when your opponent plays d4 and you reply with e5 and that’s called Englund gambit. Black plays Englund’s gambit to avoid theoretical chess openings.

Here is the starting picture of the Englund gambit.

This is the starting position of the Englund gambit for the black side. Now the best move for white is to capture the extra pawn and accept the Englund gambit.

White accepts the gambit, and now black has two move orders to regain the pawn. My recommendation is to play the first Nc6.

Black played Nc6 and threatens to win back the sacrificed pawn. Now in this position white has many moves. One move is to play the simple and development move nf6.

The second option is to protect this pawn with bishop f4 and a lot of chess players who play London opening will play Bf4 in this position.

The third option is just to ignore the black’s threat and play Nc3. The other remaining moves are not much interesting and you will not see any in your chess games.

Just to let you know that whatever white plays, black should get back this pawn as soon as possible. So our next strategy in the game will be to attack the e5 pawn and win back.

White played one of the options and which is the best move I think, and if white plays to protect the pawn then it’s not the best move.

It’s clear now that black is forcing white to give back the pawn. Here is the position where if white protects the pawn then he will face serious problems. And there is only one move that protects the pawn and that move is the bishop to f4.

This is the position you have to remember and understand if you are willing to play the Englund gambit.

In this position, the black’s best move is to give the check on b4 with the queen. There is a famous trap in this position if white defends incorrectly.

Trap in Englund Gambit

This famous trap is very common in beginner’s level chess. Here is the trap which you will see often if white defends the check incorrectly. Below you will find the game annotated by me.

Please flip the board to the black side for a better view because we are learning the Englund gambit.

Let’s back to our dream position in the Englund gambit.

This is the position where we will watch some chess games in order to understand this position.

Chess Games in Englund Gambit

These chess games are helpful if you are willing to play the Englund gambit or if you are following my recommendation.

Englund Gambit Game 1:

Englund Gambit Game 2:

So far, we have analyzed logical and good moves in Englund gambit. Now let’s analyze the last move in which white can save the pawn. The move which I am talking about is a queen to d5.

Here is the picture of the position which I am talking about.

This is the position where you may get confused because you can not put an extra force on that pawn that you have sacrificed earlier.

In this position the best move that stockfish recommends is f6.

Yes, another pawn move that will help black to get develop his knight and win a tempo on the queen.

But I am not suggesting this move as we are not playing theoretical chess, we just want to bypass the opening phase and play equally with black pieces.

The move which I recommend against Qd5 is g5. Yes, you get it, we are sacrificing another pawn which white has to take other wise we will push it to kick out the knight.

In this position white has two best moves, one is to take the pawn with the knight and the second is to take the pawn with bishop c1.

Let’s first look at when white takes the pawn with the knight.

Yes now you get the point, when white takes the pawn with the knight you will take the e5 pawn with your knight, not with the queen because white is threatening to take f7 with the queen which will be the painful checkmate.

Let’s look at what will happen when white takes the pawn with the bishop which is logical because the bishop attacks the queen at the same time.

That’s where we will have the same motif or trap as we have seen earlier. Black will give the check on b4 with the queen and black will take the b pawn.

Here is the game which illustrates the whole idea when white takes the pawn on g5 with the bishop. Let’s watch this game.

Conclusion on the Englund gambit

Let’s conclude this post, I hope that I explained everything which is necessary to play the Englund gambit. The Englund gambit is not a sound gambit at a high level because it’s very simple and easy to play. So if you want to make a change or surprise your opponent then you may prepare the Englund gambit.

In the end, please take my advice that you will only play this gambit against d4 if your opponent is a less than 1600 rating. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

The post Master the Englund Gambit – Full Repertoire for Black Explained appeared first on Chess Mars.

The Benko gambit starts when white accepts the gambit on move 5 with axb6, white gets an extra pawn and black gets extra space on queenside. It’s a battle of the center and queenside fight.

Here is the starting position of the Benko gambit accepted.

In this above position, black is giving the extra pawn to white and in return, black is getting the queenside space.

Now black is offering again another pawn to white in order to open the battlefield on the queen’s side. White has no better choice, and white should accept the benko gambit for the advantage, there for white takes the pawn and accepts the gambit.

Benko Gambit Accepted Theory

The theory of the Benko gambit accepted is very easy, you just have to understand what’s the reason behind sacrificing the pawn in the opening and what will black get for the sacrificed pawn.

• White will be unable to hold the pressure on the queen’s side and he will give back the pawn or will create permanent weakness in his camp.
• Black’s plan is very clear and straightforward put as much pressure on the queenside as you can.

These two points are enough and that’s the theory you need for playing against the benko gambit accepted.

Here is the picture of the Benko gambit accepted below.

In this position black’s best move which I recommend is g6. The point of g6 is that black is waiting for white’s move b3. Against Benko white plays a fianchetto system where white fianchettos are both bishops.

And if white plays b3 here then white will capture a pawn with his knight and not with the bishop, because the knight will jump b4 attacking the d4 pawn a1 pawn.

Here is the picture of the position which I am talking about.

I have highlighted all black knight squares that the black knight will control. Now let’s back to our main repertoire of the Benko gambit accepted.

Benko Gambit Accepted Games

There are many top chess grandmasters who played the Benko gambit and some of the strong players are still playing.

Benko gambit accepted game 1 by Magnus Carlsen

Note: Please flip the board to the black side for a better view.

Benko gambit accepted game 2 by Magnus Carlsen

Note: Please flip the board to the black side for a better view.

Benko gambit accepted game 3 by Magnus Carlsen

Note: Please flip the board to the black side for a better view.

Benko Gambit Accepted Game 1 by Zaven Andriasian

Note: Please flip the board to the black side for a better view.

Benko Gambit Accepted Game 2 by Zaven Andriasian

Note: Please flip the board to the black side for a better view.

Benko gambit fianchetto variation

You may see some of your opponents will play the Benko gambit fianchetto variation. The idea of the fianchetto variation is to protect queenside pawns by playing b3 and fianchettoing both bishops at g2 and b3.

For further study let’s watch some games in fianchetto variation so you can understand how black will respond.

Benko gambit fianchetto variation game :1

Note: Please flip the board to the black side for a better view.

Benko gambit fianchetto variation game :2

Note: Please flip the board to the black side for a better view.

After watching these games you will have enough knowledge and theory on how to play Benko gambit accepted variation. Let’s summarize Benko’s gambit accepted.

Summary of Benko Accepted

To conclude the Benko gambit is accepted, now you have understood the base ideas and themes by watching these chess games played by the best chess players. The main point of Benko’s gambit accepted is to put enough pressure on the queenside and create weakness there or get back pawns and it’s a very easy plan, which you need to follow.

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