The Evans Gambit is a line in the Italian Game (Giuoco Piano), where White plays 4.b4, sacrificing a pawn. If Black isn’t prepared, White can have up to a 60% chance of winning.
The Basics of the Evans Gambit
The Evans Gambit starts with the following sequence:
What is a Gambit?
A gambit is when you sacrifice material (like a pawn or two) to gain a lead in development and strong attacking chances. Here, after b4, Black has two main responses:
- Accepting the gambit (taking on b4 with the knight or bishop).
- Declining the gambit (e.g., retreating the bishop).
If Black Takes with the Bishop (the most common move)
- White plays c3, controlling the center and preparing d4.
- After Ba5 (mainline theory), you can:
- Castle immediately.
- Attack the center with d4, which opens lines for quick attacks. Black normally takes the pawn.
From here, key ideas include:
- Playing Qb3, targeting the f7 square.
- Exploiting the position of Black’s bishop on a5.
If Black Takes with the Knight
- This Black’s choice happens like only 5% of the time. The position transposes into similar lines. White plays c3, followed by d4, building a dominant central presence.
General Themes in the Evans Gambit
- Attacking the Center: Use your pawns and pieces to dominate the center quickly.
- Rapid Development: Focus on castling early and bringing all your pieces into the game.
- Punishing Passive Moves: If Black retreats or plays passively, exploit the weaknesses with aggressive moves.
What if Black Declines the Gambit?
- If Black plays Bb6, you can push a4 to trap the bishop or force them into accepting the gambit.
Key Memorization Tips
- Identify whether Black has accepted the gambit.
If most people play bishop takes, you play c3. The main line, according to theory, here is to play bishop a5 or e7. So, if you’re playing somebody that has studied some games before or has an opening course on e4 e5, they will move the bishop to one of those two squares.
- Observe where Black places their bishop.
So, I should show you what to do, right? They move the bishop back to a5. You can castle, but you have other options. You can attack the center right away, and then, when they take, you can castle. This will bait people into taking again, potentially, and now you’ll play queen b3. And this is the whole point. The whole point is that you’re trying to get to f7 as fast as possible in this particular variation, but you’ve already castled your king, so you’re pretty safe.
Other, you know, queen b3 normally isn’t so strong because Black can just play something like queen e7. You know, for example, like here, you shouldn’t really play queen b3 because I just defend my pawn, but it’s different once you’ve gotten castled.
You can play d4, take, then castle, or you can just castle. And after knight f6, then you can play d4, and if they take, you can now push this pawn. Again, every move you’re trying to make something aggressive happen. You’re trying to attack them to the highest extent that you can. Here, Black has to know this move, d5. This is the best move according to theory. And after it takes, takes, you take on g7, rook g8. There’s, like, a very crazy position that can arise.
Evans Gambit History in Master games
The Evans Gambit, originating from the Italian Game (Giuoco Piano), was first played in 1824 by a Welsh sea captain named Evans. It quickly captured the imagination of chess enthusiasts, offering open, tactical positions and opportunities for daring sacrifices that matched the romantic era’s preference for bold, attacking play.
Analyzed as early as 1823, the Evans Gambit became the centerpiece of 1. e4 e5 games throughout the 19th century, producing iconic miniatures like the Evergreen Game. Players of the time often favored the “Slow Line,” involving castling before pushing d4, though the immediate d4 was later found to be objectively stronger.
The gambit declined in the early 20th century with Emmanuel Lasker’s invention of the Lasker Defense, a strategy that allowed White to regain material but drained the position’s dynamism by trading queens, leaving the gambit ill-suited to the evolving chess landscape.
Evans Gambit in Amateur games
For the last 8 years from 2017, Evans Gambit has been played in almost 8 million games on Lichess. It used to be a trend around the Covid-19 lockdown, but it decreased a bit in popularity in the last 3 years or so. But it still is the most common gambit in the Italian Game. If you’re relatively new to chess, this gambit would suit you even more.
Many famous players, including Levy Rozman aka GothamChess, recommend sub-2000 Elo players to use it for 2 main reasons. First of all, it’s easy to remember the theory and ideas around the gambit, which I will mention later in this article. Another reason is that this gambit has the best winning rate (53%) for White, out of any 4th move in the Italian Game.
I’m Xuan Binh, the founder of Attacking Chess, and the Deputy Head of Communications at the Vietnam Chess Federation (VCF). My chess.com and lichess rating is above 2300, in both blitz and bullet.