Hillbilly Attack, Schaeffer Gambit

The Schaeffer Gambit is the defining line of the Hillbilly Attack. After 3. Bb3 dxe4, White ignores the lost pawn and plays 4. Qh5, lining up queen and bishop against f7. There is no immediate forced mate, since after a careless move such as 4...Nf6 5. Qxf7+ the black king can step out, but 4...e5 or 4...Bd7 walk into Scholar's Mate. Black therefore usually covers f7 directly. The most popular reply is 4...g6, chosen in about half the games, which blunts the queen at the cost of loosening the dark squares on the kingside. Next comes 4...e6, shutting the a2-g8 diagonal while freeing the dark-squared bishop. The developing 4...Nf6 is far less successful in practice, with White scoring heavily against it. Engines also rate 4...Nh6 among Black's best answers.

Engines give Black a slight advantage, yet White wins more often than Black in the Lichess database, reflecting how well the gambit's quick development and tactical threats translate into results at fast time controls. At move four, 4. Nc3, which attacks e4 while keeping an eye on f7, is the main alternative to the queen sortie.