Danish Gambit and Centre Game: free opening course

Key ideas

• After 3...dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 your bishops on c4 and b2 aim at f7 and g7. Develop fast, castle and bring the rooks to the centre.
• Black's best defence gives material back with a pawn push to d5. Then play for active pieces, not for the pawns.
• Watch g7 and f7. If Black's f8 bishop leaves the kingside, the b2 bishop often takes g7 and wins the h8 rook.
• Against 3...d5, take on d5 and recapture on d4 with the c-pawn. White develops with tempo against Black's queen.
• In the Centre Game, the queen goes to e3, White castles long and the rooks attack down the d-file and e-file.

The 6 variations in the course

• Danish Accepted: Schlechter Defence 5...d5: 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Bc4 cxb2 5. Bxb2 d5 6. Bxd5 Nf6 … — Black takes both pawns and then gives one back with 5...d5. This is Black's best defence. White takes on f7, trades queens and reaches an equal endgame with more active pieces.
• Danish Accepted: Classical Defence 5...Nf6: 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Bc4 cxb2 5. Bxb2 Nf6 6. e5 Ne4 … — Black develops with 5...Nf6 and White kicks the knight with 6.e5. After 6...Ne4 White gives the bishop on f7 and wins the knight back with a queen check. Black is a pawn up, but the king is stuck in the centre.
• Danish Accepted: Copenhagen Defence 5...Bb4+: 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Bc4 cxb2 5. Bxb2 Bb4+ 6. Nc3 Nf6 … — Black checks with 5...Bb4+ to slow down White's development. White blocks with the knight, protects it with 7.Qb3 and lines up the queen and the b2 bishop against g7.
• Declined: Sörensen Defence 3...d5: 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 d5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. cxd4 Nc6 6. Nf3 Bg4 … — Black does not take on c3 and strikes back with 3...d5. White trades on d5, takes back on d4 with the c-pawn and develops with tempo against Black's queen. The game is equal, but easy to play for White.
• Against 3...Nf6: 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 Nf6 4. e5 Nd5 5. cxd4 d6 6. Nf3 Nc6 … — Black attacks e4 with 3...Nf6. White kicks the knight with 4.e5 and takes back on d4 with the c-pawn. White keeps a nice centre and develops freely.
• Centre Game: 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qe3: 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4 Nc6 4. Qe3 Nf6 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. Bd2 O-O … — Instead of the gambit, White takes back with the queen. After 3...Nc6 the queen goes to e3. White castles long, and both sides race. It is a calm but tricky choice.

Traps you will learn (2)

• 5...Bc5? 6.Bxg7 — In the accepted Danish, the f8 bishop protects g7. If it leaves with 5...Bc5, the b2 bishop takes g7 and then the h8 rook.
• Classical Defence: 6...Qe7? 7.Qe2 — After 5...Nf6 6.e5 Black often pins the e5 pawn with 6...Qe7. But 7.Qe2 breaks the pin, and the f6 knight has no good square. Black's position is lost.

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.