Englund Gambit

The Englund Gambit, also called the Charlick Gambit, meets 1. d4 with an immediate offer of the e-pawn. Black gives up a pawn to steer clear of the closed structures of queen's pawn play and get open lines and tactical chances. It is closely related to the Budapest Gambit and the Albin Countergambit, but is worse than either. White has not yet played c4, so b4 is not weakened and the tempo can be spent elsewhere. Its practical advantage is that White cannot sidestep it with 1. d4. Engines give White a clear advantage, yet in online games the results are nearly even.

The Main Line is 2. dxe5 Nc6 3. Nf3 Qe7, rounding up the e5-pawn. White often lets the pawn go with 4. Bf4 Qb4+ 5. Bd2 Qxb2 6. Nc3, gaining time against the black queen. The tempting 6. Bc3?? loses to 6...Bb4!, the gambit's best-known trap. After 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. Rb1 Qa3, analysis by Bücker and Avrukh shows 8. Nd5 to be very strong for White. The Stockholm Variation, 4. Qd5, keeps the pawn at the cost of exposing the queen. The usual reply is 4...f6 5. exf6 Nxf6 6. Qb3 d5, where White retains an edge with accurate play. Another critical try is 4. Nc3 Nxe5 5. e4, which leaves the queen on e7 obstructing Black's development.

Other lines are cheaper gambits. The Hartlaub-Charlick Gambit, 2. dxe5 d6, accepts a pawn deficit after 3. exd6 Bxd6 in return for development and an open center. The Soller Gambit Deferred, 2. dxe5 Nc6 3. Nf3 f6, and the Felbecker Gambit, 2. dxe5 Nc6 3. Nf3 Bc5 with ...f6 to follow, lead to positions resembling the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit with colors reversed and Black a tempo short. The immediate Soller Gambit, 2. dxe5 f6, allows 3. e4! Nc6 4. Bc4, which favors White heavily. The Zilbermints Gambit, 2. dxe5 Nc6 3. Nf3 Nge7, spends two tempi on ...Ng6 to win back e5. The Mosquito Gambit, 2. dxe5 Qh4, is a rarer try.

Declining the gambit hands Black a comfortable game. After 2. e3 exd4 (the Reversed French) or 2. c4 exd4, the position opens with material level. 2. d5 keeps the center closed, though 2...Bc5 is a good answer. 2. Nf3, the Reversed Alekhine, can be met by 2...e4 3. Ne5 d6 4. Nc4 d5. 2. e4 transposes to the Center Game.

Henry Charlick introduced 2...d6 in the early 1890s. Kārlis Bētiņš, also the originator of the Latvian Gambit, devised the 3...Qe7 main line. The name honors Fritz Englund, who sponsored a thematic tournament in 1932–33 that began from the position after 4. Qd5. Henri Grob played 3...Qe7 often, and Paul Keres tried the gambit once. The opening remains almost absent from top-level play but appears in amateur and correspondence games. Kamran Shirazi has used the Soller Gambit more than 1,400 times in online blitz and bullet.