How many gambits are hidden inside the BISHOPS Opening?

The bishops opening is full of gambits for white.

Most common replies by black are 1. Nf6  2. Nc6 and then 3. Bc5 and finally 4. d6.

I will share some of the gambits I know and would be very interested to hear if you know any more.

1. In the Nf6 line you have the Ponziani gambit.

if black plays Nxe4 they usually end up in a lot of trouble after we take the e5 pawn and strand the knight. Bc5 is especially bad

1. if they instead take d4 in the Ponziani gambit, then white can transpose into the Urusov gambit, with Nf3. In this position, it is again (usually) bad for white to take e4.

And if black plays Nc6 in the starting position of the Urusov Gambit , then it tranposes into the Scotch gambit and white has 4 different ideas, all of which are fun for white to play .

2. Nc6 line. I only know one gambit in this line.

This can only be played if black continues with Nf6 and Bc5, but these moves are fairly common. This gambit is called Koltanowski/Deutz Gambit. This is great fun for white , unless black is very well prepared.

3. Bc5. There is the Lewis Gambit. If black plays exd4 , white can simply sacrifice the bishop and dislodge blacks king.

If they instead play Bxd4, we play Nf6 and try to transpose into something very similar to the Koltanowski/Deutz Gambit, where they have no dark bishop.

Neither is especially good, but there's the McDonnell Double Gambit

and the Lopez Gambit

or

(Nineteenth Century stuff courtesy of Staunton's "The Chess Player's Handbook").

Sorry?

5.0-0 is just bad after 5...d5 6.Qxd4 Be6- a pawn down for essentially nothing.

5.Qxd4 is the normal Urusov move, which is heavily analysed (Black is doing fine).

Isn't Black just better after 6...dxe4?

His king is safe, he controls the center, and all his pieces have easy and natural posts.

And white may even have the unlucky idea to pick the e4 pawn, and lose another couple of developing moves.

@Mazetoskylo I absolutely agree. Neither gambit is one which I'd recommend to anyone against whom I bore no ill-will, but they are amongst the gambits hiding inside the Bishop's Opening. Mentioned for information, not as proposed viable lines.

Thanks for the replies and the correction (I edited it).

Here is one black can play against white! Calabrese counter gambit.

If white accepts the pawn, black gets a good advantage with Nf3 and d5. So white must refuse and play d3 (or maybe d4) .

Black also has the similar Rousseau Gambit which comes from the Italian version. White should again refuse to avoid d5.

Instead, white should play d4 and this leads to some wild lines and sharp positions after either fxe4 or exd4.

Thanks for the reply! I did not know about either of those , but as you say they are both weak. Against the Boi variation (Bc5 mirror) there is the Lewis gambit which is my favorite.

But you can also get into the Meitner Meises gambit, sometimes called the CopyCat trap. 

Black can get into a heap of trouble if they play Qxf2+ because there simply isnt a checkmate and white will target their queen

Urusov Gambit: After 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nf3, White sacrifices a pawn to quickly develop pieces and launch an attack. Philidor Gambit: 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Qxd4, White offers a pawn to gain rapid development and control of the center.

I am not sure what that Philidor Gambit is. Did a google search and it showed something different

After Nf6, there is an alternative to the Ponziani Gambit. The Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit. This is said to be a reversed version of the Stafford gambit, but with an extra tempo (i.e. very dangerous).

Hey Chris,

as black i often play the Calabrese countergambit against the bishops opening and sometimes the Anderssen gambit. I know you were interested in gambits for white, but it is good to be aware fo the countergambit chances.

Thanks Jose. Definitelty good for this thread to include the gambits black can play. The Calabrese can definitely be effective.

And lets add the Anderssen gambit that you mentioned.

I have seen some comments say the Anderson Counter gambit is refuted, but I haven't seen any websites about how. It seems the engine likes Ba4 by white and then black cant so easily play d5. White can get out of the opening a pawn up

Several gambit lines are possible in the Bishop's Opening, with the main goal being quick development and tactical play. Two popular gambit lines are the Urusov Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d4) and the Ponziani Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.f4), which both provide white with strong options.

I played the Andersen for many years, yes it is fairly easy to refute by good players, but does require some care from white.