Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nc6/3. Bc4/3...Bc5/4. b4

Evans Gambit
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black kingc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black kingg8 black knighth8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black kingf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black knightd6 black kinge6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black bishopd5 black kinge5 black pawnf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 white pawnc4 white bishopd4 black kinge4 white pawnf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 white knightg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 black kingc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 black kingf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 black kingg1 black kingh1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)
Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4

Evans Gambit

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The Evans Gambit is an opening out of the Giuoco Piano variation of the Italian game. The first recorded usage of the gambit is from 1824 when a Welsh sea captain with the surname of Evans played it in a tournament. This new gambit received lots of attention, leading to lots of open, tactical games and more importantly opportunities for sacrifices favoured by chess players of the era, who preferred quick, sacrificial games over long positional games.

The gambit was first analysed in 1823 and became the mainline of 1. e4 e5 for the rest of the XIX century. Many miniatures, like the Evergreen game were made out of it. What could possibly go wrong?

Before we continue its history, let’s quickly examine its 2 lines. The line preferred by romantic players is the Slow Line, castling before pushing d2-d4. There is another line that will turn out to be objectively better, the immediate d4.

However, in the latest parts of the XIX century, Wilhelm Steinitz quickly rose to becoming the best player in the world. He uncorked a new positional style of play, aiming for long term advantages instead of attacking all the time. This style of play was proven to be effective and was taken up by many players. This was a blow to the Evans gambit, because its effectiveness was dampened when Black won’t give it the tactical game it so desires. However, the real killer came in the dawn of the twentieth century. World Champion Emmanuel Lasker invented a defense to the Evans gambit named after him. His style of play was positional, inspired by Steinitz. The Lasker Defense was brutal as it let white regain the pawn, only to suck the energy out of their position by trading queens. Bad for the Gambit player.

The Evans Gambit was killed, at least the slow line. The Evans Gambit was briefly revitalised in the interwar period, when in the immediate d2-d4 line, Sevielly Tartakower came up with the Tartakower Attack, which is 7.Qb3 in the mainline for that variation. This turned out to be the best variation. Unfortunately, the Italian Game and 1.e4 itself died out in favour of the positional Queen's Gambit and the modern 1.Nf3, and with it the Evans Gambit.


The future was bleak for the gambit. However, Garry Kasparov played it against Vishwanathan Anand, increasing its popularity. That was not enough as the Evans Gambit remained to be a second-rank choice in master level.

4.b4

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White offers a pawn to gain a positional advantage in the center. Should Black accept the gambit with 4...Bxb4, White would begin launching an attack in the center with 5. c3 and later on, 6. d4.

Theory table

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For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation..

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4

4 5 6
Evans Gambit Accepted ...
Bxb4
c3
Ba5
d4
d6
Qb3
Qd7
Evans Gambit Declined ...
Bb6
a4
a6
Nc3
d6
Nd5
Ba7
+=
Hein Countergambit ...
d5
exd5
Nxb4

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References

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