Budapest Gambit
A52 · Played as black · Beginner · Indian Defences
Throw a pawn at move two and get every piece out with tempo
The main line
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Bf4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bb4+ 6.Nbd2 Qe7 7.a3 Ngxe5 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 9.e3 Bxd2+
Strategic ideas
- Offer the e-pawn immediately to drag White's d-pawn off the centre
- Regain the pawn with …Ngxe5 while every piece develops with tempo
- Pressure e3 and the dark squares that White's dxe5 left behind
- Set the Kieninger Trap — a mate on d3 that catches White players constantly
- Play a low-theory surprise weapon that most 1.d4 players have never faced
Key themes
- Dynamic — The pawn is loose for several moves and Black's whole game is speed and activity
- Piece Activity — The g4-knight, the b4-bishop and the e7-queen all arrive with tempo
- Counterattack — Black never defends anything — every move creates a threat of its own
Typical plans
Black offers a pawn on move two and almost always gets it straight back, having developed several pieces with tempo in the meantime. The knight goes to g4, hits e5, and comes back to take it; the bishop pins on b4; the queen lands on e7. It's not objectively equal against precise play — White is a little better — but it's a superb practical weapon, because it's genuinely low-theory and it hides the Kieninger Trap, which ends the game on move eight with a mate on d3.
Move by move
- d4 — White claims the centre.
- Nf6 — Black develops and controls e4 with a piece.
- c4 — White grabs space and prepares Nc3.
- e5 — Black offers the pawn immediately. The point isn't the pawn — it's dragging White's d4-pawn off the centre.
- dxe5 — White takes. Declining is possible but this is the main test.
- Ng4 — Black jumps to g4, attacking the e5-pawn straight away rather than letting White consolidate.
- Bf4 — White defends the pawn with the bishop, the main line.
- Nc6 — Black develops and adds a second attacker to e5.
- Nf3 — White develops and defends the pawn a second time.
- Bb4+ — Black develops with a pin, adding pressure and preparing to castle.
- Nbd2 — White develops the knight to d2 to break the pin. It looks natural — and it's the first step into the Kieninger Trap.
- Qe7 — Black lines up on the e-file. This is the key move: White's e2-pawn is now pinned against the king, and the d3 square is suddenly deadly.
- a3 — White asks the bishop the question. Here 8.axb4 would lose instantly to …Nd3 mate — the pinned e-pawn can't take, and every other square is covered. That's the Kieninger Trap.
- Ngxe5 — Black takes back the pawn first, correctly declining to leave the bishop hanging.
- Nxe5 — White trades knights.
- Nxe5 — Black recaptures, restoring material equality with a beautifully centralised knight.
- e3 — White shores up d4 and opens the f1-bishop's path — and now the e-pawn is no longer pinned, so the trap is dead.
- Bxd2+ — Black trades on d2, damaging White's structure. Material is level, everything is developed, and Black got a completely playable game out of a two-move gambit.