Computer analysis not fond of king’s gambit

e4 e5 1. f4 exf4 3. Nc3 is busted. Black has a forcing line that is prob winning.

1. e4 e5 1. f4 exf4 3. Nc3 is busted. Black has a forcing line that is prob winning.

Svetozar Gligoric's explanation for the King's Gambit's decline at the professional level, as described in his book
I Play Against Pieces, centers on two key positional weaknesses for White:

Weakened Kingside: White's attempt to recover the gambit pawn on f4 weakens the king's defensive structure.

Black Queen's Placement: The black queen often occupies a strong diagonal (such as after an early ...Qh4+ or similar maneuvering) that directly targets the compromised white kingside.

These factors combine to give Black excellent counterattacking chances, which modern professionals are adept at exploiting, making the opening too risky at least for elite play.

Svetozar Gligoric's explanation for the King's Gambit's decline at the professional level, as described in his book I Play Against Pieces, centers on two key positional weaknesses for White: Weakened Kingside: White's attempt to recover the gambit pawn on f4 weakens the king's defensive structure. Black Queen's Placement: The black queen often occupies a strong diagonal (such as after an early ...Qh4+ or similar maneuvering) that directly targets the compromised white kingside. These factors combine to give Black excellent counterattacking chances, which modern professionals are adept at exploiting, making the opening too risky at least for elite play.

g6firste6second

#14

if black knows to castle queenside early then white will have wasted time and be behind development when black attacks

montreal_jazzcat

#15

At club level it's still playable if you pick the right guy to play it against who isn't booked up on all the hairy lines black can play.

tpr

#16

White can hold the draw

https://lichess.org/TFjs5rIC#3

White can hold the draw https://lichess.org/TFjs5rIC#3

GoWithTheFLU

#17

@tpr said in #16:

White can hold the draw
https://lichess.org/TFjs5rIC#3

this seems to be the most critical line and it holds. I recently won a game in this line 90+30 otb as white. I guess it is a bit like playing the dragon , where a line chosen by his offensive potential tends to end up in known draws because it's too forcing

@tpr said in #16: > White can hold the draw > https://lichess.org/TFjs5rIC#3 this seems to be the most critical line and it holds. I recently won a game in this line 90+30 otb as white. I guess it is a bit like playing the dragon , where a line chosen by his offensive potential tends to end up in known draws because it's too forcing

Hagredion

#18

@plmw said in #10:

Not looking at the engine lines, but former world champion Spassky played the King's Gambit many times and never lost a game with it (though he did draw many). So it's definitely at least good as a surprise weapon

Yeah but that was like 50 years ago. Computers put the King's Gambit out of business, if you're playing the King's Gambit and your opponent knows what he's doing you're going to be worse and struggle for equality. What's the point of being worse with white? Doesn't make much sense.

My advice to anybody who wants to play a Gambit is.. play the Queen's Gambit :D

@plmw said in #10: > Not looking at the engine lines, but former world champion Spassky played the King's Gambit many times and never lost a game with it (though he did draw many). So it's definitely at least good as a surprise weapon Yeah but that was like 50 years ago. Computers put the King's Gambit out of business, if you're playing the King's Gambit and your opponent knows what he's doing you're going to be worse and struggle for equality. What's the point of being worse with white? Doesn't make much sense. My advice to anybody who wants to play a Gambit is.. play the Queen's Gambit :D

PriskeRatsu

edited

#19

You can pretty much play whatever opening and later switch to find which suits you best. Whether it's objectively sound is of little concern at beginner level.

What Stockfish says doesn't really matter at all for beginners as the game is not won by opening advantage, whether it's +0.4 or -0.4. When you look at Lichess online games database, after e4 e5, f4 which is the King's gambit is the most winning opening for white. You can pretty much play whatever opening and later switch to find which suits you best. Whether it's objectively sound is of little concern at beginner level.

qpalzm123456

#20

If you're a beginner, you should 100% NOT be learning the king's gambit.

The engine doesn't like it because, objectively, it's a poor opening. It might be acceptable as a surprise weapon if you know how to play it, but as a beginner, you don't know how to play ANY opening, much less a hyper-complicated one like the king's gambit.

If you want an aggressive opening, you're better off playing the vienna gambit or even the bird. The king's gambit is one of if not THE worst opening for beginners to learn.

If you're a beginner, you should 100% NOT be learning the king's gambit. The engine doesn't like it because, objectively, it's a poor opening. It might be acceptable as a surprise weapon if you know how to play it, but as a beginner, you don't know how to play ANY opening, much less a hyper-complicated one like the king's gambit. If you want an aggressive opening, you're better off playing the vienna gambit or even the bird. The king's gambit is one of if not THE worst opening for beginners to learn.