The Queen's Gambit is the chess opening that starts with the moves:

:1. d4 d5

:2. c4

It is one of the oldest openings and is still commonly played today. It is traditionally described as a gambit because White appears to sacrifice the c-pawn; however, this could be considered a misnomer as Black cannot retain the pawn without incurring a disadvantage.

History

The Queen's Gambit is one of the oldest known openings in chess. It was mentioned in the Göttingen manuscript of 1490 and was later analyzed by Gioachino Greco in the 17th century. During the early period of modern chess, queen pawn openings were not in fashion, and the Queen's Gambit did not become commonplace until the 1873 tournament in Vienna.

As Wilhelm Steinitz and Siegbert Tarrasch developed chess theory and increased the appreciation of , the Queen's Gambit grew more popular, (D06). White can gain the advantage by 3.cxd5 Qxd5 (3...Nf6 4.Qa4 ) 4.Nc3 Qa5 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.Bd2 c6 7.e4 Qb6 8.Bc4 Bxd4 9.Nxd4 Qxd4 10.Qb3 Qg7 11.0-0 +/− (Minev).

If White chooses to fianchetto the , the game transposes into the Catalan Opening.

References

Further reading

  • Lemos, Damian. (2015). The Queen's Gambit. Everyman Chess. . OCLC 921240674.
  • "Queen's Gambit" video and explanation, TheChessWebsite.com
  • "Queen's Gambit Accepted Traps" video and explanation, Chessworld.net