One is 3.Bf4 and against this, black can continue gambiting with 3…f6 with the idea being that after 4.exf6 Qxf6, black’s queen attacks the bishop and the pawn on b2. White should defend the pawn, and there are two ways to do that. Black will almost continue with 2…Nc6, trying to regain the pawn. The old saying, “ the best way to refute a gambit is to accept it”, has some wisdom that white should try to apply when playing against the Englund Gambit and accept it with 2.dxe5. However, if white is prepared, there is simply no reason to decline the gambit, as those lines do not give any advantage to white. There is no way to avoid the Englund Gambit as a Queen’s Pawn Opening player, so white can either accept the Gambit with 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 or decline it with various moves like 2.d5 or 2.e4. If black can regain the pawn without any issue, this then means black has managed to eliminate white’s d4 pawn, which is a critical asset in the Queen’s Pawn Opening as it serves as the base for white’s structure in the center. Oftentimes, improper ways of defending the e5 pawn will create some tactical chances and traps for black on the queenside, usually with tactics revolving around b2 and the e1-b4 diagonal.

In case white accepts the gambit, black’s main idea is to regain white’s pawn on e5 on favorable terms.

During the opening and early middlegame, white has to stay tactically alert in order not to fall into any of black’s opening traps. This pawn sacrifice swiftly changes the character of the opening from a semi-closed, positional type of game to an open-game position with lots of tactical opportunities.

Englund Gambit Accepted: 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5īy playing 1…e5, black challenges white’s central d4 pawn immediately and opens up lines for the development of his queen and dark-squared bishop.

How to play the queen's gambit accepted