1. d4 e5
The Englund Gambit is a chess opening for Black that begins 1. d4 e5, offering a pawn on the very first move to drag queen’s-pawn players out of their comfort zone. After 2. dxe5 Nc6 3. Nf3 Qe7 Black attacks the e5-pawn at once and sets up the famous Qb4+ trap that has decided countless club and blitz games. Where the Albin Countergambit waits for 2. c4 before striking with ...e5, the Englund gambits immediately — sharper, riskier, and far more likely to produce a miniature in either direction.
The gambit arises the instant Black answers 1. d4 with 1... e5. White’s critical reply is to accept: 2. dxe5, when Black plays 2... Nc6 hitting the pawn, and after 3. Nf3 the main move is 3... Qe7 — renewing the attack on e5 and preparing the check on b4. The trap territory begins after 4. Bf4 Qb4+, when the queen forks the king and the b2-pawn. White can also decline with 2. d5 or 2. e3, but both let Black off the hook: 2. d5 hands Black free development, and 2. e3 exd4 3. exd4 d5 reaches a symmetrical position where the gambit never happened. Knowing all three branches is the whole opening — there is very little else to learn.
1. d4 e5 2. dxe5 Nc6 3. Nf3 Qe7 4. Bf4 Qb4+ 5. Bd2 Qxb2 6. Bc3 Bb4 7. Qd2 Bxc3 8. Qxc3 Qc1#
This is the trap the Englund is famous for. The queen check on b4 forks king and b2-pawn; after 5. Bd2 Qxb2 the natural-looking 6. Bc3 loses on the spot — 6... Bb4 pins the bishop, and after 7. Qd2 Bxc3 8. Qxc3 the queen slides in with 8... Qc1#, checkmate on move eight. The mate works because White’s own knight and c2-pawn block the rook’s and queen’s defenses of c1. The same mate arrives via 5. Qd2 Qxb2 6. Qc3 Bb4 7. Bd2 Bxc3 8. Bxc3 Qc1#.
1. d4 e5 2. dxe5 Nc6 3. Nf3 Qe7 4. Bf4 Qb4+ 5. Bd2 Qxb2 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. Nd5 Bxd2+ 8. Nxd2 Nb4 9. Nxb4 Qxb4
This is the line Englund players must respect: 6. Nc3 clears b1 so the queen guards the rook along the back rank, sidestepping the mate. Black keeps creating problems with 6... Bb4, and after 7. Nd5 the forcing sequence 7... Bxd2+ 8. Nxd2 Nb4 hits the d5-knight and c2 at once, regaining material and reaching a playable game. White stays somewhat better here, but every move is a concrete test — exactly the kind of position the prepared side wins.
1. d4 e5 2. dxe5 Nc6 3. Nf3 Qe7 4. Bf4 Qb4+ 5. Nbd2 Qxf4 6. e3 Qb4
Blocking the check with either knight simply loses the f4-bishop: 5... Qxf4 grabs it along the fourth rank, and after 6. e3 the queen steps back to b4 with an extra piece for a pawn. The 5. Nc3 version is trickier because 6. Nd5 hits c7, but Black survives the complications with two pieces for rook and pawn and a playable game. These lines are why so many White players fall back on 5. Bd2 or 5. Qd2 — the right idea — and then walk into the mate with 6. Bc3.
1. d4 e5 2. dxe5 Nc6 3. Nf3 Qe7 4. Nc3 Nxe5 5. Nxe5 Qxe5 6. e4 Bb4
White’s most pragmatic choice: develop, let Black take the pawn back, and rely on the lead in development. After 4... Nxe5 5. Nxe5 Qxe5 material is level, and 6. e4 grabs central space — so Black answers 6... Bb4, pinning the knight and fighting for e4. Black gets a free, active game with no theory burden; White gets a small pull. For a gambit, that is a perfectly acceptable worst case.
1. d4 e5 2. d5 Nf6 3. c4 Bb4+
Pushing past with 2. d5 dodges the gambit but gives Black exactly what a 1... e5 player wants: a closed center, free development, and the e5-pawn standing proudly in the middle. Black develops with 2... Nf6, and after 3. c4 the check 3... Bb4+ disrupts White’s coordination before settling into a comfortable King’s Indian-style structure where Black has gained time.
If you play 1. d4 and someone fires the Englund at you, the first rule is simple: take the pawn and stay calm. Accept with 2. dxe5 — declining with 2. d5 or 2. e3 just hands Black a comfortable game and wastes your opening advantage. After 2... Nc6 3. Nf3 Qe7, the position holds one famous landmine: when you play 4. Bf4 and meet 4... Qb4+ 5. Bd2 Qxb2, the natural 6. Bc3?? loses to 6... Bb4 followed by mate on c1. The correct move is 6. Nc3, defending the rook tactically: after 6... Bb4 7. Rb1 the queen is getting pushed around, or 7. Nd5 forces simplifications where White keeps the better game. Memorize that one sequence and the trap evaporates. Also avoid blocking the b4-check with a knight — 5. Nbd2 and 5. Nc3 both allow ...Qxf4, dropping your bishop. If you would rather skip the memorization entirely, 4. Nc3 is the pragmatic route: let Black regain the pawn with 4... Nxe5 5. Nxe5 Qxe5, then play 6. e4 and enjoy a risk-free edge in development and space. Either way, the burden of proof is on Black: the Englund only wins when White improvises. Know one accurate line and you face it with confidence instead of fear.
Accept the pawn, develop quickly, and treat Black’s queen sorties as targets. The key technical sequence is 5. Bd2 against the b4-check, then 6. Nc3 — never 6. Bc3 — after which Rb1 and Nd5 harass the b2-queen and convert the extra pawn. Players who prefer zero memorization should choose 4. Nc3, return the pawn, and press a small, safe development edge with e4 and quick castling.
Play with maximum urgency: every move should create a threat, because the compensation is initiative, not structure. Hit e5 with ...Nc6 and ...Qe7, fire the ...Qb4+ fork, and know the mating pattern on c1 cold. If White defends accurately, bail out into the forcing lines that regain material and keep pieces active. In blitz, play fast and confidently — opponents under clock pressure find 6. Bc3 far more often than 6. Nc3.
The opening is named after the Swedish player Fritz Englund, who championed it in the early twentieth century and sponsored a thematic tournament in which every game had to begin 1. d4 e5. Master practice quickly judged the gambit unsound, and it has never been a serious weapon at elite level — engines confirm that White keeps a clear advantage with accurate play. Its real career began with online chess: in blitz and rapid pools the Qb4+ trap scores spectacularly against club players, and viral trap videos have made the Englund one of the most recognizable gambit names in the game. Today it occupies an honest niche: a surprise weapon and trap repertoire for fast time controls, not a defense for slow tournament chess.
Let's learn the Englund Gambit. A nasty weapon you can use against your opponent when they start with the Queen's pawn. The Gambit actually begins on our first move, completely giving away our pawn with pawn to e5.
LOL. Looks like our opponent premoved their opening! Pawn takes bishop on f4.
And thats GG hahaha
When they take, we try and win the pawn back immediately with knight to c6.
Now we add one more attacker with queen to e7.
Jackpot. If White puts their bishop out, we strike. Queen to b4 check.
White protected their king but not their bishop. Now we take that sucker. Queen takes f4.
Now we make out like a bandit. Queen back to b4.
Well done! We are simply up a bishop.
White defended their king but forgot about their bishop. It's ours now. Queen takes f4.
And now the getaway! Queen to b4.
We are simply up a bishop - and thats a good thing ;).
Black saved the king but left the pawn unprotected. Queen takes b2.
A great move from White, defending the rook and attacking our queen. Except this isn't actually a great move at all and it just lost White the game. Now we have the absolutely beautiful bishop to b4.
And now we take with bishop to c3.
Can you find the best move? Hint: our queen sneaks in for checkmate on c1.
Congratulations!! We just checkmated White in 8 moves. It doesn't get better than that.
Silly white didn't defend their b2 pawn! Now we take with queen to b2.
And now we unleash our bishop-pin-trick again. Bishop to b4.
Yay! A queen! Bishop takes c3.
Aaaaaand now we have checkmate Can you find it? Hint: Queen to c1.
actual goals af
No. At master level the Englund Gambit (1. d4 e5) is considered unsound — with accurate play White keeps the extra pawn and a clear advantage. It is a practical trap weapon: in club games and fast time controls it scores far better than its objective evaluation, because the refutation requires precise moves most opponents do not know.
After 1. d4 e5 2. dxe5 Nc6 3. Nf3 Qe7 4. Bf4 Qb4+ 5. Bd2 Qxb2, the natural-looking 6. Bc3 loses immediately: 6... Bb4 7. Qd2 Bxc3 8. Qxc3 Qc1# is checkmate on move eight. White’s own knight and c-pawn block the rook’s and queen’s defenses of the c1-square.
Accept the pawn with 2. dxe5, and against the queen check play 5. Bd2 followed by the key move 6. Nc3 — not 6. Bc3, which loses to a forced mate. After 6. Nc3 White chases Black’s queen with Rb1 or Nd5 and keeps a healthy extra pawn. Alternatively, 4. Nc3 lets Black regain the pawn but gives White an easy, risk-free development edge.
Yes — that is its natural habitat. The gambit forces concrete decisions from move one, the traps punish natural moves, and opponents under clock pressure rarely remember the exact refutation. In slow classical games it is much riskier, because White has time to calculate and is simply better with correct play.
Declining helps Black. 2. d5 closes the center and gifts Black free development after 2... Nf6, while 2. e3 exd4 3. exd4 d5 reaches a level symmetrical position. The only critical test of the Englund is accepting with 2. dxe5 — anything else lets Black equalize comfortably.
Reading about an opening is step one. The trainer at the top of this page drills all 15 lines against the moves real opponents play — the first lines are free.
Train the Englund Gambit now