As someone who has long played both sides of the King's Gambit (3.Nf3 and 3.Bc4) OTB and now quite extensively on this site, my conclusions are as follows:
Against 3.Nf3 the most critical, principled, and probably objectively best response is 3...g5! I used to think the Rosentreter Gambit (4.d4 g4 5.Bxf4 gxf3 6.Qxf3) was quite promising for white, but as a result of a couple of games I've played here, I'm no longer so sure. (Incidentally the Fishger Defence, 3...d6, which the great man never actually played, is weaker in my opinion in that it allows white more playable options.)
Despite theory generally considering Qh4+ 'old-fashioned' against the Bishop's Gambit (3.Bc4), I still think it can be quite inconvenient for white. My current preference is to play 3...Nc6 keeping the possibility of Qh4+ open while countering 4.Nf3 with g5! transposing into lines from the King's Knight's Gambit.
Before one teaches or at least writes with the impression of trying to teach, one should first learn enough about their chosen subject.
I'm no expert but there does seem to be a little too much hot air flying around here!!
Originally posted by power mover Before one teaches or at least writes with the impression of trying to teach, one should first learn enough about their chosen subject.
I'm no expert but there does seem to be a little too much hot air flying around here!!
Originally posted by power mover Before one teaches or at least writes with the impression of trying to teach, one should first learn enough about their chosen subject.
I'm no expert but there does seem to be a little too much hot air flying around here!!
As Northern Lad said, I hope you're not referring to him there! If you're referring to me, well I just started playing it two days ago, and all of the other comments seemed decent enough. Maybe an explanation of your comments would help?
Wow, cool game with the Muzio, Northern, as a top RHP player that often uses the King's Gambit do you prefer Nf3 or Bc4? Also, do you play the Muzio Gambit if the opportunity arises?
Originally posted by cmsMaster Wow, cool game with the Muzio, Northern, as a top RHP player that often uses the King's Gambit do you prefer Nf3 or Bc4? Also, do you play the Muzio Gambit if the opportunity arises?
I have always played 3.Nf3 more often than 3.Bc4 since I've always thought it to be more challenging, but on this site I've played quite a few games with 3.Bc4. (About once a decade, when feeling suitably manic, I essay 3.Nc3!?)
I don't play the Muzio as white (or even black any more for that matter), since I think that it is at best a draw for white now that the double-piece sacifice has been shown to be unsound. I have played 5.Ne5 (instead of 5.0-0) a couple of times on this site on the grounds that much of the published analysis seems a bit dodgy, but I've come to the conclusion that black should have few problems at least equalising.
Originally posted by Northern Lad I have always played 3.Nf3 more often than 3.Bc4 since I've always thought it to be more challenging, but on this site I've played quite a few games with 3.Bc4. (About once a decade, when feeling suitably manic, I essay 3.Nc3!?)
I don't play the Muzio as white (or even black any more for that matter), since I think that it is at best a draw for white n ...[text shortened]... gy, but I've come to the conclusion that black should have few problems at least equalising.
After looking at the shirov game, and the comments about how it can be countered, I agree that the Muzio seems unsound, especially at top level chess. I'm sure, however, that at my level the Muzio can create quite a surprise against an opponent that is unfamiliar with it (not that I'm expecting people to play g5, g4 all that often) So far, I've been playing the Nf3 variation and have had nice results, but I do want to give 3.Bc4 at least a couple tries to see how it works out.
I played a game using the KG today against an opponent that I haven't beat for a long time...I've used the English, and Sicilian against him recently and hadn't won. So, today I tried to KG since that is what I've been focusing on and pulled out a win. 😉
Originally posted by Northern Lad As someone who has long played both sides of the King's Gambit (3.Nf3 and 3.Bc4) OTB and now quite extensively on this site, my conclusions are as follows:
Against 3.Nf3 the most critical, principled, and probably objectively best response is 3...g5! I used to think the Rosentreter Gambit (4.d4 g4 5.Bxf4 gxf3 6.Qxf3) was quite promising for white, bu ...[text shortened]... while countering 4.Nf3 with g5! transposing into lines from the King's Knight's Gambit.
What options do you find best against the Fischer line? I've heard of slight variations of the mainline and the surprising 4.Nc3!?
I tried the Nc3 line and it seems to work about as well as I'd expect 4.Bc4 or 4.d4 etc.
Originally posted by cmsMaster What options do you find best against the Fischer line? I've heard of slight variations of the mainline and the surprising 4.Nc3!?
I tried the Nc3 line and it seems to work about as well as I'd expect 4.Bc4 or 4.d4 etc.
I've also tried 4.Nc3 before. Black does best to play 4...g5 then. The last time I faced the Fischer OTB (a couple of months ago) I tried 4.Bc4 h6 5.h4!? for the first time. The game continued 5...Nf6 6.Nc3 Bg4?! (better 6...Be7 7.d4 Nh5 8.Qd3) 7.d4 Nh5 8.Ne5! dxe5 9.Qxg4 Nf6 10.Qf5 Nc6 11.dxe5 Nd4 12.Qxf4 Nxc2+ 13.Ke2 with a complicated but almost certainly favourable position for white, which I went on to win.
Originally posted by Northern Lad I've also tried 4.Nc3 before. Black does best to play 4...g5 then. The last time I faced the Fischer OTB (a couple of months ago) I tried 4.Bc4 h6 5.h4!? for the first time. The game continued 5...Nf6 6.Nc3 Bg4?! (better 6...Be7 7.d4 Nh5 8.Qd3) 7.d4 Nh5 8.Ne5! dxe5 9.Qxg4 Nf6 10.Qf5 Nc6 11.dxe5 Nd4 12.Qxf4 Nxc2+ 13.Ke2 with a complicated but almost certainly favourable position for white, which I went on to win.
Everything seems strong until the 12...Nxc2+, which leaves you down a rook for a knight? Is there enough compensation for this because of your active pieces and nice space advantage?
Are there any books/websites that are easy to locate/cheap and will help me quickly improve with the King's Gambit?
BTW: I'm now beating 1500's pretty often, something I had found nearly impossible before using this opening. I can't stress enough how happy I am with this opening and how exciting the games are when using it.
King's Gambit
29 May '06 13:07
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