Evans Gambit puzzles
The clearest bargain in nineteenth-century chess: one pawn, one move, and a centre that has to be used before the extra pawn starts to count.
- 120 positions in the course
- Difficulty 1015–2589
- Section: Open Games
- 5 levels
What the Evans produces tactically
The gambit throws the b-pawn at the bishop on c5. Whether Black takes it or steps aside, White has bought the tempo needed for c3 and d4, and the resulting position is a big pawn centre and a full development lead against an extra pawn. That is a genuinely good trade and it has an expiry date, which is the entire strategic content of the opening.
The tactics come from three places. The centre breaking through with d4-d5 while Black's pieces are still being pushed around. A bishop arriving on a3 to hit a king that has not castled and now cannot easily do so. And Black taking a second or third pawn on the queenside while White's last piece comes out.
How to spot it
- As the gambiteer, count how many moves your attack needs and how many the defender needs to castle. If the second number is smaller, the position is already worse.
- Look at d4-d5 in every position where it is legal. It is the move that converts the centre into lines.
- The a3-f8 diagonal is the Evans-specific one. Check what a bishop on a3 would attack before you decide where the bishop goes.
- A quiet move by White here is usually a losing move. If nothing forcing works, the assessment has already changed.
Three Evans Gambit positions
Three positions from the 120 in this skill, easiest first. The highlighted squares are the move your opponent has just played. Work it out before you open the answer.
Position 1
White to move. Find the best move.
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17...Qh4 18.Qxg6#
The line ends in checkmate. The Evans buys a big centre and a development lead with a pawn, and these are the positions where that purchase has to be worth something.
The position comes from the middlegame of a real game, rated 1081 for difficulty. The answer reaches checkmate.
Position 2
White to move. Find the best move.
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16...Kc8 17.Bxe6#
The line ends in checkmate. The Evans buys a big centre and a development lead with a pawn, and these are the positions where that purchase has to be worth something.
The position comes from the middlegame of a real game, rated 1850 for difficulty. The answer reaches checkmate.
Position 3
White to move. Find the best move.
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12...bxc6 13.Bxc6+ Bd7 14.Qxd5
The line comes out 2 pawns ahead. The Evans buys a big centre and a development lead with a pawn, and these are the positions where that purchase has to be worth something.
The position comes from the opening of a real game, rated 2091 for difficulty. The answer reaches a clear advantage.
Defending against it
Black's reliable practical method is to give the pawn back at a moment of your choosing rather than defending it to the end. An extra pawn is worth very little against three developed pieces and an open centre, and most Evans losses as Black are losses of greed rather than of theory.
The other half is the king. Castling early costs a move that feels expensive when you are under pressure and is almost always the best move on the board, because every tactic in this opening needs a king in the middle to work.
Questions people ask
Is the Evans Gambit sound?
It is playable and has been revived at the top level more than once, though modern theory holds that accurate defence equalises. At anything below master level that is close to irrelevant: the positions are hard to defend in practice and easy to attack.
What is the point of giving up the b-pawn?
Tempo. The pawn attacks the bishop on c5, so Black has to respond to it somehow, and that response is the move White uses to play c3 and then d4. The pawn buys the centre, not an attack directly.
Nearby patterns
Evans Gambit sits in Open Games. The rest of that section: