King’s Gambit | Ideas, Principles and Common Variations

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The King’s Gambit is the epitome of romantic chess - an aggressive pawn sacrifice which leads to beautiful attacking games.
As opposed to “normal” openings, such as the Ruy Lopez, where white responds to e5 calmly, slowly building up central pressure, in the King’s Gambit white wastes no time and undermines black’s central control on the second move with the ultra-aggressive f4!
The move, even though it creates clear weaknesses around the white king, has a clear idea in mind - expanding in the center without the e5 pawn being in the way. F4 removes the defender of the d4 square, which means that if black accepts the gambit, white will eventually be able to expand and control the key central squares.
But… black is a pawn up. Black will often try to hold on to the pawn (g5 being the most common continuation) and the game usually leads to middlegames where black still has all eight pawn. Furthermore, black gets an open road to white’s king. The key e1 diagonal to the king is weakened by the absence of the f2 pawn, and black often manages to exploit that to create an attack.
The King’s Gambit is a complex opening. It’s no longer a romantic pawn sacrifice with which the player with white tries to prove superiority over the board. The theory has developed significantly, and many strong grandmasters have employed it with success. There are numerous theory-heavy variations which you have to know.
If you play e4, the King’s Gambit could surely be a valuable addition to your opening repertoire since very few players will be expecting it and almost none of them will be well versed in its theory.
The series will consist of 9 videos, each covering one key variation in depth. Here are the variations which I will be covering in the series:
2...exf4
3.Bc4 Bishop's Gambit
3.Nf3
3...g5 Main Line
3...d6 Fischer Defense
3...d5 Modern Defense
3...Be7 Cunningham Defense
3...Ne7 Bonsch-Osmolovsky Variation
3...h6 Becker Defense
2...Bc5 King's Gambit Declined, Classical
2...d5 Falkbeer Countergambit
#chess #kingsgambit

[@HangingPawns]

Here's a great tool for learning openings: chessbook.com/hanging-pawns Chessbook allows you to import and practice your repertoire. It focuses on moves people actually play as well as your mistakes. Connect it to your lichess or chess com accounts to correct the biggest gaps in your repertoire! Learn the 14 best King's Gambit traps here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qoPdYWhomsqko6M

[@sgerodes]

The web was lacking exactly this deep analysis of the Kings Gambit. Thank you! Its my favorite opening!

[@J4ve]

My favorite too

[@J4ve]

The opening got me to 1900

[@GodOfFools]

I know right....my always opening

[@achyuththouta6957]

@@GodOfFools It's not useful if black knows what he's doing. By playing f4 in the second move , you are putting your king in severe danger and not only that , it's also ery common opening and lot of research has been done to refute it. It gives good games at medium to low rating though

[@sriyash260]

Seriously, buddy you are doing some amazing work! Thank you. Do you have a patreon or something we can contribute to?

[@HangingPawns]

Hey Sriyash! Thank you very much!:) I do have a patreon account www.patreon.com/hangingpawns here is the link if you decide to check it out!

[@larryschmollinger5694]

This will probably be my sixth time watching this. I can't even begin to tell you how much you have helped me understand this opening. My friend I love your whole channel. Your channel is a perfect example and reason why I don't watch television anymore. Thank you for the precious personal time you take to teach. May God bless you and your family for your generosity. You bring more joy than you can imagine.

[@williamodom6479]

King's Gambit was my first chess opening and I used to play it against my dad when learning how to play the game itself. Very fun chess back in the day.

[@HangingPawns]

Yeah, the King's Gambit is that sort of opening:)

[@ScroogeMcDouble]

You're doing god's work here. Thank you.

[@HangingPawns]

Haha:D No problem!

[@elitemuffin1042]

Dude, I am hardly ever writing comments under videos but your content is just amazing! It is so educational compared to all the other chess youtubers I found and after every video I watched from you, I get the feeling that I improved a bit and got a better understanding of the theory behind chess. Thank you and keep up the great work!

[@williamsmith9510]

I have wanted to learn about this opening for a long time, and I am hyped that you chose it!

[@HangingPawns]

I'm glad to hear that. Hope the series helps!

[@cardmaster1799]

Thank you so much for the videos. Honest to god, perfect timing that I find your channel. I am desperately trying to build a repertoire, and you have helped tremendously. Now I have moved from c4 to e4 ( scored 0.5/3 with c4 at last open tourney), and even adopted the Italian because you showed that it ain’t that boring 💪 keep up the great work.

[@HangingPawns]

I'm glad to have switched another player to the e4 side! Good luck with building your opening repertoire!

[@frozencloud17]

The King's Gambit is quickly becoming my favorite opening! It often creates so many ways to attack that black's kingside quickly falls apart!

[@RobBCactive]

When I play it my K side usually falls apart too!

[@playerx-s4v]

My favorite part of the day: Your video

[@playerx-s4v]

One question. Is the Kings gambit good to play or not because I heard from some people that it's not. So I don't know if it's a good idea to play it or not.

[@HangingPawns]

:) It's always a pleasure to read your comments!. The King's Gambit is not "as good" as the Ruy or the Italian, but it's good enough to be played against strong opponents (almost every 2700 Gm has a few wins in it). It has a great surprise factor and not many people know it properly. I would recommend mastering it. I'm sure it would bring more victories than a lot of other, safer openings.

[@johnmorgan9782]

Fantastic video. I really like your style. I'm a pretty weak beginner who is trying to take my study more seriously, and I love the way that you explain WHY moves are undertaken. Many chess videos stop after saying "this is the best line" or "this is the most common variation." This doesn't help people learn the underlying principles, so thanks for being really good at that. Never subscribed to anyone before, but looking forward to seeing more content from you.

[@HangingPawns]

Thanks for the great feedback John. It's very rewarding to hear that someone's learning from my videos:) And also, it's an honor to be the 1st channel you subscribed too!

[@zebady999]

Have been learning King’s gambit for a little while this cerise should be helpful

[@HangingPawns]

I hope it is!

[@smirkypants]

This really is the best opening for club level players. Everyone knows it’s a sketchy opening so nobody plays it, which means nobody knows any theory, which gives you a huge advantage.

[@residentgleek9524]

It's not really a sketchy opening at all it's just extremely complex and given black often picks the variation which there are several simple lines he can learn and avoid all the chaos white could theoretically learn it doesn't make it a very practical opening to learn when one takes into account the time we have to learn chess but world champions and relatively modern super GM's have had success with the king's gambit. It's not an unsound opening at all and one that can certainly be used to the gm level just perhaps not your main opening as you don't want to run into prepared 30 move stockfish lines.

[@NotAUniquePerson]

@@residentgleek9524 i play it a lot online, and most of my opponents take the pawn and leave it to die to develop normally which gives me everything I want(pawns on e4 and d4, easy development,etc). so at club level it's perfectly fine as a main weapon

[@residentgleek9524]

@@NotAUniquePerson yes it is...

[@thomasvontom]

I've never tried it. But I think its high risk high reward. Your really opening up the space in front of king. But I want to learn it. Because I agree. It Flys in the face of what is considered good ideas and bad ideas in general. If you really really really know it. I can see a player getting blood lust and leaping into serious danger.

[@chaimrochlitz8523]

I’ve been following you since you started, never knew you had series on the kings gambit. Man, I’m pumped!! Tnx so much

[@nate8106]

Thanks a lot for the videos. Lately I've gotten hooked. Everyone always talks about theory for this or that but it's hard to find videos that actually go over it. Not to mention the kings gambit is my all time favorite opening for almost ten years so it's wonderful how you did it in full in this series. A lot of this stuff I had to learn through trial and error so it's nice to finally know what's what. thanks

[@HangingPawns]

Hey! No problem Nate. I'm glad you like the videos. Yeah, finding videos on specific topics can be tough on yt. Hope my series is concise and detailed enough.:)

[@LeVezz]

That's the channel I always needed !! Amazing work !!

[@HangingPawns]

Thanks!

[@TheZombie7000]

Every opening I’m trying to learn you have a video for. You are the goat 🙏🏽

[@ragnarermert2351]

Very good overview of this opening and it's cool that you are covering it this detailed. But I think it would also be nice to add something to your Ruy Lopez series because I think there are a lot of variatons you didn't cover. For example the open Spanish, the classical, the Steinitz and even sidelines like the Cozio or the Bird would be nice.

[@HangingPawns]

I was considering adding to the Ruy Lopez series. I might get to that. I'm glad you like how I planned this series:)

[@michaelvanzyl9418]

I agree, the open Spanish is a biggie

[@xitvono]

You can also decline the kings gambit with 2 .. Nc6. This can be followed by 3 Nf3 f5

[@HangingPawns]

True. It's a seldom played sideline. I was planning to cover it in the Classical Variation vid.

[@uwerlmi6120]

yes but its very bad for black. Fxe5, Nxe5, and D4 gaining 2 center pawns.

[@xitvono]

@@uwerlmi6120 2 fxe5 is met by Qh4+

[@tellahsage6477]

@@uwerlmi6120 Never play fxe5 in the king's gambit, it's a huge HUGE blunder You either lose a whole rook or get mated

[@nasri]

I learned the London System as a beginner looking for a simple, safe and reliable opening. Played it for a couple years. Now I play the King's Gambit because it's unforgiving and requires me to be tactically accurate. Thanks for this video and the rest of the series!

[@usageunit]

0:00 Introduction 4:53 2...Bc5 (Falkbeer Countergambit) 5:20 2...d5 (King's Gambit Declined, Classical Variation) 5:41 2...exf4 (King's Gambit Accepted) 5:53 3.Bc4 (Bishop's Gambit) 7:42 3.Nf3 (King's Knight Gambit) 8:20 3...g5 (Main line) 12:21 3...d6 (Fischer Defense) 13:20 3...d5 (Modern Defense) 13:45 3...Be7, 3...Ne7, 3...h6 13:57 Conclusion

[@brokenheart________]

Bro helped a alot 😂

[@johnsmith-tp4ed]

I love how clearly you break it down, and its not laborious.

[@HangingPawns]

Thank you. Appreciate the great feedback!

[@coronnation8854]

You're really the best chess teacher on KZbin. Uncontested.

[@wbluthier]

Beautifully explained! Congrats and thks!

[@chriszablocki2460]

You hooked the hell out of me with that thumbnail. Perfection.

[@chriszablocki2460]

I call 5. Bxf7 +"highway to the danger" zone. I didn't know that it was a real variation.

[@mikeyoung9810]

The only opening I like as it makes for crazy games. Thanks for analyzing it. One of my first chess books: The King's Gambit Korchnoi, Zak got me excited about the opening a very long time ago.

[@mpss89]

just what i needed,thanks,gonna watch them all,thanks!

[@richardfabrizio8998]

Can’t wait to try different lines. Thanks

[@HangingPawns]

No problem:)

[@jbdoggy]

I LOVE Kings Gambit! Thks for the video!

[@ChessPhilosopherYT]

Hello this is my favorite opening I remember this was the first one I leanrt I watched all your videos on the kings gambit thank you so much

[@taylorhoulihan]

3. Bc4 Bishops gambit 3:52 3. Nf3 7:41 3…g5 mainline 8:20 3…d6 Fischer defense 12:20 3…d5 Modern defense 13:20 3…Be7 Cunningham defense 13:45 3…Ne7 Bonsch-Osmolovsky 13:50 3…h3 Becker defense 13:54 2…Bc5 (not covered) 2…d5 (not covered)

[@markmcl33]

Thanks dude! I found the series of videos by going to your channel but a link to the next video in the description would be helpful

[@nothingtoseehere5760]

Superb production, great content, perfect pacing. Most excellent.

[@WilXuH]

Thx mate golden I’m very happy I’ve came across your videos cheers

[@georgefcthethird]

Thanks for taking on this very big subject!

[@ESMIR1337]

Very detailed explanation, thank you :D

[@xaviserra2227]

Thanks for sharing all your knowledge. Congrats!

[@HangingPawns]

No problem. Glad to help:)

[@guthax30]

I love this in Bullet (as white).

[@lionsskyblue442]

Thank you sir!

[@Barry4B]

It is always surprising just how many strong players loose quickly to the Kings Gambit !

[@mandarbivalkar1]

Stephan , you are doing a brilliant job in helping people in understanding chess Take a bow

[@wastergamer-f2n]

Crazy gambit

[@jaroslavpors6559]

Thank you very much !!!

[@HangingPawns]

No problem Jaroslav!

[@kalashnicarolina220]

I've played thousands of kings gambit games over the last 6 years. I play it relentlessly. I am most looking forward to the Fischer defense because I feel like it is the most common response from my opponents. I am looking forward to this entire series. Thx

[@andersjonsson8403]

Thank You, I was just searching for the Kings Gambit which I will try! 😀👍♟

[@boromir674]

Good job man! Thank you for the video. Personally I am waiting for the scotch :-). I would like to take the opportunity and dare to propose a video series about endgame theory. For example videos targeting different themes, motifs, etc in endgames. After all was the great Capablanca who suggested that one should study the game backwards. Meaning first study the endgame and after focus on the middle game and opening. For me makes sence. You first master each piece individually or few pieces at the same time. Understanding each piece, enables better understanding positions involving many of them (opening, middlegame). A different thing to consider of course is the feasibility of making such videos. But based on how you are presenting the openings I have to say I have faith in you! PS I also dare to say that I believe the most weak aspect of the game of the majority of the (let's say) below-2000-ELO-points chess players is their endgame technique

[@GoldenBoyXCM]

the best way to refute a gambit is by accepting it- just the refuting part i haven't figured out yet

[@balthazar500]

Looking forward to learning about the Muzio!

[@HangingPawns]

Coming soooon:)

[@jbdoggy]

Oooh! I love playing the muzio if i have the chance! But from experience, most of my opponents prefer playing 3...d5. So not too many opportunities there.

[@chessplayer7479]

When I understand the video I subscribed immediately.

[@HangingPawns]

:) Thanks

[@ophiolatreia93]

one of best teaching vids I've seen thanks

[@HangingPawns]

Thank you for the feedback!

[@iXNomad]

I love King's Gambit. I love gambiting my king on move 10.

[@sampletext001]

You should charge money for these opening courses! Thanks for these detailed theory videos!

[@icerain381]

The king's gambit was my first opening, which I played accidentally and somehow got into and it's still my go to if possible I have come a long way due to your videos, I used to accidentally play the Eisenberg variation for a short while without knowing theory and now I actually know the different variations Thank you

[@icerain381]

@@bernardow5671 i learnt the mainline through this channel It's the Kieseritzky or some people argue for the Fischer defense In the past, I didn't know about this channel so I didn't know the variations

[@icerain381]

@@bernardow5671 "mainline" and common aren't the same Mainline is what's considered the best by theory/engines or what's most popular Kieseritzky and Fischer are quite similar so it's easy to argue which is better but Kieseritzky is the mainline according to theorists Non-mainline responses don't have to be losing, the modren variant of the king's gambit is fully playable at the top level but just leads to slightly worse positions than the mainline

[@TeeheeFr0g2]

I love the double muzio. I think my success rate with it is 10%. But I love the flames lol.

[@Grahamgoudie]

Another great video! Thank you!

[@post-humangod2575]

Best chess channel for learning.

[@gokselkabaroglu2946]

Thanks 👍

[@menko140]

This was SO helpful, thank you so much!

[@amitdog]

Amazing man! Thank you so much from Israel!

[@NetzKaiser]

We meet one day per week in our chess club and I prepared this during two weeks by stuying different lines and then I try on the club's evening and just win every game. But then I put the book back to our club's collection and it is like I lost everything I know about this opening. I am not sure, if I should relearn it. My biggest poblem after 1. e4 is that I am bad against Sicilian Defense. So now play kingsgambit, but black says no, we play Sicilian. I mean maybe it is not the right time for me to study it now.

[@HangingPawns]

I would advise you to stick to normal theory and study a line against the Sicilian. Try out 2. Nc3 and going for the Grand Prix. It limits blacks options somewhat and is very fun:)

[@NetzKaiser]

@@HangingPawns Thank you.

[@pratheeshprabhakar6421]

I'm very lucky to find the channel!

[@SepiH-y4x]

Great video!

[@dailydoseofshtposts6891]

Makes me happy to see someone same nationality as me making chess tutorials, love from Serbia!💖

[@alirezataghizade718]

thanks man

[@amitgraphicsamitmahule1458]

Thanks by heart

[@HangingPawns]

No problem:)

[@DarkSeaFriend]

I have had a few people play 2...Nc6 against me.

[@gilangramanda3643]

Nice thumbnail it's perfect for the opening name

[@tretihory]

Good work!

[@asigmamale8787]

Ahhh my favorite opening

[@manmoon7396]

Very well researched... Best work, Keep it up.

[@shivanshugiri6971]

Very nice video. Thanx for making it

[@furkanbursa5453]

Thank you so much for this

[@matthewcabanasaddley9849]

Is there a video on the main line? I didn't see it in the playlist

[@thecrazypanda7799]

The 7 dislikes were peeps who now have to make up a defence to this.

[@leagueaddict8357]

I like how he mentions the gambits

[@jeffreyforbes7650]

I'm thinking this is going to be a fun white line to switch to as 1000 elo. I've pretty much only played the Italian and it feels like unless it play too gimmicky most opponents know everything I'm looking to do (as far as my limited knowledge knows).

[@BrainBoostBuddy]

3:04 there is Ufo gambit happening in ur windows back to you 😂😂

[@simonininicola9438]

l am a simple man. l hear king' s gambit series, l subscibe.

[@HangingPawns]

Haha:D You should be a writer!

[@rabranch32]

Another opening worth a try for white is the Evans Gambit!

[@Benny_Shoga]

Is there a PGN for this video like there is for the opening traps?

[@TomKaren94]

In the 1970s, I played King's Gambit every time I was White. No one knew or studied the opening then, and I had a great advantage playing what was at that time kind of a quirk. I won a lot of games in less than 20 moves over better players. That could never happen today. KG is a weak opening for White and the analysis is pretty complete on it and too many players know how to refute it now.

[@clashkingdom3647]

sir can u please share the link to download the same chess software with engine that you are using in all your vedeos

[@mickeytpm9295]

Man,you are doing the best job!

[@Fluyts]

I love your channel. Amazing work!

[@muhrvis]

Thanks, this is great. I am a lower-mid level player, and I've been getting destroyed when my opponent uses this opening!

[@4CelciusDegree]

I am playing this at 1900-200 bullet level and it is so handy

[@danielbrunk9121]

Im actually not that good of a play so not even close to beeing like a serious tournament player. But i still like to watch your videos and analysis bcs i can still learn from them even tho i dont understand everything. Like: "I dont like this for whits/black because of blablablabla" Im like "yea whats the problem" :) Thank you for your efford explaining these openings to us. I can imagine it would be very hard reading through opening books of some sort (I started reading one about the kingsindian and wtf so much calculated lines and games)

[@threethrushes]

Will you be covering London System and traps?

[@HangingPawns]

I will be covering the London System in detail in the d4 part of the opening theory series.

[@threethrushes]

@@HangingPawns Wow - you are really going all out for this channel! I subscribed. The traps in London System are truly horrific if black is unprepared, and the London System is so quiet...

[@josuerichard9521]

Thank you!

[@sserwaddaemmanuel7233]

thanks for the chess theory(king's gambit)

[@playerx-s4v]

You are recording on Lichess analysis?

[@HangingPawns]

Yup

[@zadh]

You are a great chess coach

[@paulhill7040]

Can't believe I am just now finding your channel. Blessings

[@HangingPawns]

Thank's Paul:)

[@Skogsriska]

Excellent! Looking forward to more videos on the subject!

[@HangingPawns]

6 more are out already. Continuing with KG Declined tomorrow:)

[@Skogsriska]

@@HangingPawns Brilliant! I'll check(!) them out!

[@HangingPawns]

@@Skogsriska Haha pun intended

[@sarpcakc56]

great series and channel bro

[@chanasiegel2706]

Wow... You are awesome!

[@srilakshmius5942]

Thank you very much :)

[@Hannebambel97]

Could you make a series on a specific defense against d4? For example the semi slav or something like this?

[@reefd7136]

What if after black pawn to g5 you move pawn to H3? Is this a bad move?