Englund Gambit

The Englund Gambit (1.d4 e5) is an aggressive but dubious reply to 1.d4. Black gives up the e-pawn at once to get an open game with tactical chances. It is almost never seen in top-level play, but it has been played in 29.7 million Lichess games.

Origins

1.d4 e5 is also known as the Charlick Gambit, after Henry Charlick (1845–1916), the second Australian champion, who introduced 2...d6 in the early 1890s. The main line with 2...Nc6 and 3...Qe7 was introduced by Kārlis Bētiņš (1867–1943). The Swedish player Fritz Englund (1871–1933) sponsored a thematic tournament from late 1932 to early 1933 in which all games had to begin from the position after 4.Qd5, and the gambit was later named after him. Paul Keres once tried it, and Henri Grob used the 3...Qe7 line often. International Master Kamran Shirazi has played the Soller Gambit, the version with ...f6, more than 1,400 times in blitz and bullet games on Lichess.

The idea

After 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7, Black goes after the e5-pawn and meets 4.Bf4 with the disruptive 4...Qb4+. The notorious trap is 4.Bf4 Qb4+ 5.Bd2 Qxb2 6.Bc3? Bb4! 7.Qd2 Bxc3 8.Qxc3 Qc1#. White must avoid 6.Bc3; the main line is 6.Nc3.

Main lines

• Main line 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7: the classic version with the trap above.
• Soller Gambit 2...f6, also played as 2...Nc6 3.Nf3 f6: Black offers to exchange the f-pawn.
• Hartlaub-Charlick Gambit 2...d6: Charlick's original idea.
• The Zilbermints Gambit 3...Nge7, planning ...Ng6 to win back the pawn.
• White can also decline, although that is considered inaccurate, for example with 2.d5 or 2.Nf3.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

• Many traps that catch unprepared opponents in fast games.
• It takes White out of normal 1.d4 theory at once.
• An open game with active piece play from the first moves.

Weaknesses

• The gambit is considered weak: Boris Avrukh writes that 1...e5 "seems to me the worst possible reply to White's first move".
• With careful play, White keeps the better position.
• Almost never played at master level.

Who should play it

The Englund is a surprise weapon for blitz and bullet players who enjoy traps and don't mind being objectively worse. It works against opponents who grab material and fall for the Qb4+ tricks. In serious games, a sound defence like the Queen's Gambit Declined or the King's Indian is a better choice.

The numbers

On Lichess White wins 48.7–49.9% and Black 46.1–47.6% below 2200. Above 2200 White pulls ahead, 50.7% against 43.5%. There are only 115 master games with it, too few to judge.