Evans Gambit: free opening course

Key ideas

• The b-pawn buys time. After ...Bxb4, c3 hits the bishop and prepares d4.
• Castle early and open lines. Your lead in development matters more than the pawns.
• Aim at f7. The c4 bishop and a queen on b3 make a strong team.
• Use the c1 bishop on a3 or b2. From a3 it often stops Black from castling.
• Do not rush to win the pawn back. Keep attacking, and the material usually comes back.

The 6 variations in the course

• Main line: 5...Ba5 6.d4 exd4 7.O-O Nge7: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 … — The main line of the accepted gambit. Black develops the king's knight to e7 and gives a pawn back with a central break. White's queen goes to b3, wins the b7 pawn and the d-pawn pushes Black's pieces back.
• Compromised Defence: 7...dxc3: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 … — Black grabs a third pawn on c3. White hits f7 with the queen and chases Black's queen with the e-pawn. Then every white piece joins the attack. Black must defend very accurately.
• McDonnell Defence: 5...Bc5 and the Normal Position: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5 6. d4 exd4 … — Black drops the bishop back to c5. White opens the centre, castles and takes back on d4. The result is the Normal Position. Black is a pawn up, but White has a big centre and quick play.
• Anderssen Variation: 5...Be7: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Be7 6. d4 exd4 … — Black drops the bishop to e7, a safe square. White builds the centre with d4 and keeps the light-squared bishop with Bd3 when the knight chases it. Then White castles and develops calmly.
• 5...Ba5 6.d4 d6: 7.Qb3: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 d6 … — Black keeps the e5 pawn with 6...d6. White hits f7 with the queen at once, opens the d-file with dxe5 and develops the queen's knight. Black must spend time guarding f7.
• Evans Gambit Declined: 4...Bb6 5.a4: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. a4 a6 6. Nc3 Nf6 … — Black does not take the pawn and keeps the bishop on b6. White gains space with the a-pawn and jumps a knight to d5. Then the pawns push on and chase Black's pieces.

Traps you will learn (2)

• McDonnell: 7...Nxd4? loses a piece — In the McDonnell with 7.cxd4, grabbing the d4 pawn with the knight looks free. But after the trades on d4 White's queen takes the bishop, and Black is a piece down.
• Compromised Defence: 8...Qe7? 9.Nxc3 — After 7...dxc3 8.Qb3 many players guard f7 with 8...Qe7. White takes back on c3, and the knight jumps to d5. Soon Black's queen is chased and the attack is crushing.

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.