Evans Gambit
C52 · Played as white · Intermediate · Romantic Gambits
One pawn to deflect a bishop and build the biggest centre in chess
The main line
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 exd4 7.O-O Nge7 8.cxd4 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5
Strategic ideas
- Offer the b-pawn purely to deflect the c5-bishop off the a7–g1 diagonal
- Gain a tempo with c3 and then build the perfect centre with d4
- Open lines fast — the compensation is development, not material
- Castle and use the e- and d-files against Black's uncastled king
- Play the opening Kasparov revived to beat Anand in twenty-five moves
Key themes
- Attack — The pawn buys open lines, and every white piece arrives pointing at the black king
- Dynamic — The material is gone and the position has to be kept boiling or the pawn is simply lost
- Space — c3 and d4 give White a centre that Black's pieces struggle to find squares around
Typical plans
A ship's captain named William Davies Evans worked this out in the 1820s and it's been terrorising the Italian Game ever since. The b4-pawn is a deflection: Black's bishop takes it, and now c3 hits the bishop with tempo while preparing d4. Two moves later White has the classical dream centre and a lead in development, for the price of one pawn. Kasparov dusted it off in 1995 and beat Anand with it in a game that lasted twenty-five moves — proof that romantic chess still has teeth.
Move by move
- e4 — White claims the centre.
- e5 — Black meets it symmetrically.
- Nf3 — White develops, attacking e5.
- Nc6 — Black defends the pawn.
- Bc4 — White develops toward f7, the classic Italian target.
- Bc5 — Black mirrors, eyeing f2 in return. A normal Italian — for one more move.
- b4 — White plays the Evans. The pawn is completely free and its only job is to drag the bishop off the a7–g1 diagonal.
- Bxb4 — Black accepts. Declining with …Bb6 is a solid choice, but taking is the real test.
- c3 — White hits the bishop with tempo while preparing d4. This is why the pawn was offered.
- Ba5 — Black retreats to a5, keeping an eye on the queenside and staying active.
- d4 — White builds the ideal centre. Two pawns abreast on d4 and e4, a bishop on c4, a knight on f3 — this is the classical dream, bought for one pawn.
- exd4 — Black takes, refusing to let White consolidate for free.
- O-O — White castles rather than recapturing, prioritising the king and the rook's route to e1.
- Nge7 — Black develops the knight to e7 rather than f6, staying out of the e-file pin and heading for g6.
- cxd4 — White recaptures, restoring the full centre.
- d5 — Black hits back in the centre, the standard way to defuse a lead in development.
- exd5 — White takes, keeping lines open.
- Nxd5 — Black recaptures with the knight, reaching a sharp position where White has full compensation for the pawn and both sides have real chances.