Fritz Attack

The Fritz Attack is a branch of the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (BDG) in which White, after 1. d4 d5 2. e4 dxe4, develops the light-squared bishop with 3. Bc4 rather than playing the usual 3. Nc3 followed by f3. The bishop goes straight to an active diagonal aimed at f7, and White keeps open the choice of how to develop the queenside knight and whether to undermine the e4-pawn at all. The drawback is that nothing immediately pressures the extra pawn on e4, so Black can consolidate and develop without hurry. The engine regards this as a clear advantage for Black, a less favorable verdict than for the main gambit lines.

Black's most frequent reply is 3...Nf6, chosen in nearly half of games, which develops while guarding e4. The quieter 3...e6 and the active 3...Nc6 are the next most common, and the engine's preferred moves are these same three. The line remains a club-level and online choice; in Lichess games Black scores somewhat better than White.