Danish Gambit
C21 · Played as white · Beginner · Romantic Gambits
Two pawns for two monster bishops raking the whole board
The main line
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 d5 6.Bxd5 Nf6 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qxd8 Bb4+ 9.Qd2 Bxd2+
Strategic ideas
- Throw both queenside pawns overboard to get bishops on c4 and b2
- Point one bishop at f7 and the other down the long diagonal at g7
- Develop with tempo while Black's extra pawns sit uselessly on the queenside
- Know the …d5 refutation cold — it's the one line every Danish player must respect
- Play for a fast knockout, because the endgame is two pawns down and lost
Key themes
- Attack — Two bishops on the longest diagonals, aimed at f7 and g7, before Black has developed a piece
- Dynamic — Two pawns is a lot to give — nothing but a rolling initiative can justify it
- Piece Activity — Every white piece comes out fast and with purpose while Black is still counting material
Typical plans
The Danish is chess at its most cheerfully reckless: White gives up two pawns in the first four moves to get both bishops onto the two best diagonals on the board. Against a Black player who tries to hold everything, it's carnage. Against a Black player who knows the …d5 counter — giving a pawn straight back to trade queens and kill the attack — the whole thing fizzles into a dead-level ending with both bishops gone. That line is shown here, and it's exactly what makes the Danish a great practical weapon and a poor theoretical one.
Move by move
- e4 — White claims the centre.
- e5 — Black meets it symmetrically.
- d4 — White strikes at once, the Centre Game move order.
- exd4 — Black takes.
- c3 — White offers the first pawn, planning to recapture on c3 with a piece and get a huge lead in development.
- dxc3 — Black accepts.
- Bc4 — White ignores the c3-pawn entirely and develops toward f7. Now Black can take a second pawn — and probably should not.
- cxb2 — Black takes again, going two pawns up and handing White the long diagonal.
- Bxb2 — White recaptures. Two bishops now rake the board from b2 and c4, pointing at g7 and f7, and Black has not developed a single piece. This is the Danish position every gambiteer dreams of.
- d5 — Black finds the refutation. Giving a pawn straight back kills the c4-bishop's diagonal and forces matters — this is the move that keeps the Danish out of grandmaster games.
- Bxd5 — White takes, since the alternative is losing the bishop's whole purpose.
- Nf6 — Black develops with tempo, hitting the bishop.
- Bxf7+ — White grabs f7 to drag the king out — the only try, and it leads to a forced sequence.
- Kxf7 — Black must take; anything else just drops a pawn for nothing.
- Qxd8 — White wins the queen, which looks like ample reward for the two pawns.
- Bb4+ — Black checks, and this is the move that makes the whole sequence work.
- Qd2 — White blocks the check with the queen — the only move, and it's forced into a trade.
- Bxd2+ — Black takes, and White must recapture on d2. Count what's left: five pawns each, a bishop, two knights and two rooks each. Material is dead level, White's attack is gone and Black's king on f7 is safe enough. That's the Danish in a nutshell: devastating if Black plays naturally, and completely toothless if Black knows this line.