Englund Gambit Declined · A40
Diemer Counterattack
1. d4 e5 2. d5 Bc5 3. e4 Qh4
White's pawn on f2 is pinned against the king.
The first 4 moves, explained
- 1. d4 Stakes a claim in the centre, controlling e5, and frees the bishop and queen.
- 1... e5 Stakes a claim in the centre, controlling d4, and frees the bishop and queen. The pawn is genuinely on offer - this is the Englund Gambit. Fair warning: engines rate this gambit as objectively dubious; it is a practical weapon, not a promise of equality.
- 2. d5 Pushes on to d5 - grabbing space and fixing the centre, and the queen breathes. Theory calls this the Englund Gambit Declined.
- 2... Bc5 Develops the bishop to c5, eyeing d4. It eyes f2, the one square only the king defends.
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Where this fits
This line is one of 7 in the Englund Gambit Declined. If you want to know where your own games leave it, the guide on leaving theory explains how that is found.