Learn the Englund Gambit

A40 · a repertoire for black · 3 chapters · 23 annotated lines

"Checkmate 1.d4 by move eight"

The Englund Gambit (1.d4 e5!?) is the fastest way to drag a queen's-pawn player into a knife fight. Black gives the e-pawn, develops with checks and threats, and sets the single most-fallen-for trap in online chess: the Qc1 checkmate that punishes White's most natural bishop moves. This course teaches the full trap complex — including the counter-traps White fans think refute the gambit — and honest, engine-checked lines for when White defends correctly.

What's inside

• Chapter 1: The Trap Complex — Qb4+ and Qc1#
  Lines: Study 1: The Main Event — 4.Bf4 and Mate on c1, Study 2: Same Mate vs 4.Bg5 — One Pattern, Two Doors, Study 3: The Counter-Trap 5.Nc3!? — Take the Bishop Anyway!, Study 4: The Real Test — 6.Nc3! and the Bail-Out, Study 5: The Knight Block 5.Nbd2?? — Take the Bishop, Keep It, Study 6: The g5 Counter-Trap — vs 4.Bg5 and 5.Nc3, Take b2, NOT the Bishop, Study 7: 5.c3? — Take the Bishop, Not the Pawn, Study 8: 5.Qd2? — The Second Qc1 Mate, Study 9: The 74% Move — 6.Nc3! and the Nb5 Hunt, Study 10: 7.Bxb4 — The Most-Played Move Walks Into the Fork, Study 11: The Knight Block Meets 6.e3 — Come Home via b4, Study 12: 5.Nc3 Qxf4 6.e3 — Same Retreat, Bishop in the Bank
• Chapter 2: When White Plays Well
  Lines: Study 13: The Critical 4.Qd5 — Hit Back with f6, Study 14: 4.Nc3 — Trade and Equalize the Fun Way, Study 15: 4.Qd5 f6 5.Nc3 — They Hold the Pawn, You Take It Back, Study 16: 4.e4 — Take the Pawn Back and Weather the Storm, Study 17: 4.a3 — The Little Move That Wins Nothing
• Chapter 3: When They Don't Take — Declines and Early Holds
  Lines: Study 18: 2.d5 — The Advance Decline: Clamp with Bc5, Study 19: 2.e3 — Take, Trade, Equalize, Study 20: 3.f4?! — d6! and Development for Free, Study 21: 3.e4 — Take the Pawn Back at Once

Free sample: the main line, move by move

• 1. d4 — 1.d4 — the solid, positional queen's pawn. Not today.
• 1... e5 — 1...e5!? — the Englund Gambit: a pawn on move one to drag White into open, tactical chess where none of their London/Queen's Gambit knowledge applies.
• 2. dxe5 — 2.dxe5 — nearly everyone takes.
• 2... Nc6 — 2...Nc6 — attack the pawn immediately; every Black move from here comes with a threat.
• 3. Nf3 — 3.Nf3 — defending e5 laterally and developing.
• 3... Qe7 — 3...Qe7 — the key gambit move: a third(!) attacker idea on e5, and secretly the queen eyes b4. White's most natural developing moves now lose by force.
• 4. Bf4 — 4.Bf4?! — defending e5 the 'obvious' way. Played in millions of club games — and it walks into the trap.
• 4... Qb4+ — 4...Qb4+! — the double attack: check, plus the b2 pawn and the f4 bishop are both in the queen's sights.
• 5. Bd2 — 5.Bd2 — blocking with the bishop (retreating it just loses b2 for free).
• 5... Qxb2 — 5...Qxb2 — take the pawn and hit the a1 rook. White now sees a 'winning' move...
• 6. Bc3 — 6.Bc3?? — the bishop blocks the rook attack AND attacks the queen. It looks like the queen is trapped. It is White who is lost — this position is mate in three.
• 6... Bb4 — 6...Bb4!! — the shot: Black pins the c3 bishop and offers his own. Whatever White does now, the dark squares collapse.
• 7. Qd2 — 7.Qd2 — defending c3 and 'winning' the pinned bishop; about a third of club opponents choose it, and it is the one that gets mated. The alternatives are no escape: after the most popular 7.Bxb4 (36%) Nxb4! White cannot answer ...Qxa1 and the ...Nxc2+ royal fork at the same time (+4.3 for Black at depth 22) — the full punishment is Study 10 — and 7.Bd2 Qxa1 simply drops the undefended rook.
• 7... Bxc3 — 7...Bxc3 — take first.
• 8. Qxc3 — 8.Qxc3 — and now White finally threatens the b2 queen... one move too late.
• 8... Qc1# — 8...Qc1# — CHECKMATE! The queen slides to c1: the White queen on c3 cannot come back (the c2 pawn blocks the file), the a1 rook cannot capture (its own b1 knight blocks the rank), the king has no squares — e2 and f2 are its own pawns, f1 its own bishop, d1 and d2 are covered by the queen. Mate on move 8 against three of White's most natural moves. This is the most-fallen-for trap on the internet.

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