Beating the Englund and Budapest gambits: free opening course
Some players answer 1.d4 with a quick gambit and a trap. In this course you take the pawn, and you learn the safe way to keep it. You meet the Englund Gambit, the Charlick Gambit, the Budapest Gambit and the Fajarowicz. You also learn the famous traps of these gambits, so you never fall into them.
Key ideas
- Take the gambit pawn. Then develop fast and do not try to keep the pawn at any cost.
- In the Englund, watch the b2 pawn and the check on b4. Block the check with a piece that is defended.
- Never leave your queenside pieces loose. Most Englund and Budapest traps hit b2, c2, d2 or the rook on a1.
- In the Budapest, guard the e5 pawn with the bishop on f4 and the knight on f3. Then castle quickly.
- When Black's pieces come out early, chase them with your pawns and rooks and win time.
The 6 variations in the course
- Englund Gambit: 3...Qe7 4.Bf4 Qb4+ 5.Bd2: 1. d4 e5 2. dxe5 Nc6 3. Nf3 Qe7 4. Bf4 Qb4+ 5. Bd2 Qxb2 6. Nc3 Bb4 … — Black gives the e5 pawn and the queen goes after b2. Against the popular 4.Bf4 Qb4+ White blocks with the bishop, then gives the b2 pawn back with 6.Nc3. The rook chases the queen, and White keeps an extra pawn and a big lead in development.
- Englund Gambit: 4.Bg5 Qb4+ 5.Nc3 Qxb2 6.Bd2 Nb4: 1. d4 e5 2. dxe5 Nc6 3. Nf3 Qe7 4. Bg5 Qb4+ 5. Nc3 Qxb2 6. Bd2 Nb4 … — After the queen takes on b2, the knight jumps to b4 and eyes c2. The knight on d4 guards c2. White must not chase the queen with the rook too early, because the knight takes on c2 with check. Played calmly, White is a pawn up with a big lead.
- Charlick Gambit: 2...d6: 1. d4 e5 2. dxe5 d6 3. exd6 Bxd6 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Nc3 Bg4 6. h3 Bxf3 … — Black gives a second pawn with 2...d6 to open lines. White takes, develops the knights and trades the dangerous pieces. In the end White has an extra pawn and the bishop pair.
- Budapest Gambit: 4.Bf4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bb4+ 6.Nbd2: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. Bf4 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 Qe7 … — Black gives the e5 pawn and attacks it with the knights and the queen. White guards it with the bishop and the knight, and blocks the check with the knight on d2. Black wins the pawn back, but White gets the bishop pair and a small edge.
- Budapest Gambit: 4.Bf4 Bc5?! 5.e3: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. Bf4 Bc5 5. e3 d6 6. exd6 cxd6 … — Black's bishop aims at f2 from c5. White simply plays e3 and blocks it. Now the g4 knight hangs in the air, so Black has to give back the pawn. White stays a pawn up with easy development.
- Fajarowicz: 3...Ne4 4.a3: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ne4 4. a3 d6 5. Qc2 Nc5 6. exd6 Bxd6 … — Black's knight jumps to e4 instead of g4. White plays a3 first, so the bishop cannot check on b4. Then the queen hits the knight, and only after that White takes on d6. White keeps the extra pawn into a quiet endgame.
Traps you will learn (3)
- The Englund trap: 5.Qd2?? Qxb2 — After 4.Bf4 Qb4+ the natural block 5.Qd2 is a blunder. The queen takes b2 and hits the a1 rook. If White's queen goes to c3, the bishop pins it on b4. The safe answer is 5.Bd2.
- The Kieninger trap: 7.a3 Ngxe5 8.axb4?? Nd3# — In the Budapest, White sometimes chases the b4 bishop with 7.a3. After 7...Ngxe5, taking the bishop is a blunder. The knight jumps to d3 and it is checkmate, because the d2 knight blocks the white queen.
- 4...Bc5? 5.e3 Nc6? 6.Qxg4: the loose knight — After 4...Bc5 5.e3 the g4 knight has no guard. If Black plays the natural 5...Nc6, the white queen simply takes the knight on g4.
How the opening courses work
Each course teaches an opening in a few main variations. For every move you read why it is played, which other moves are good, and which tempting moves are mistakes and why. Each course also shows the traps of the opening: the ones you can set and the ones to avoid.
After a lesson you play the moves yourself in a drill. The lines you learn go into your review, which brings them back when you are about to forget them (spaced repetition). 30 line courses add many short lines per opening, a few new ones a day, and every named opening, more than 3,800 lines, has a lesson of its own.
Questions and answers
Is the Beating the Englund and Budapest gambits course free?
Yes. The Beating the Englund and Budapest gambits course on chessGM is free, with all 6 variations, 3 traps, the drills and the review. There is no paid plan that unlocks more.
Who is the Beating the Englund and Budapest gambits course for?
It is a course at beginner level for White, written for players rated around 1050.
How do I practise this opening?
After each lesson, play the moves yourself in the drill. The lines you learn go into your review, which brings them back when you are about to forget them, and you can try the opening in games against the bots.