Evans Gambit Accepted

By capturing on b4, Black accepts the pawn offered in the Evans Gambit. White is left with an isolated a-pawn and a half-open b-file. White's compensation comes from time. 5. c3, played in nearly every game, hits the bishop and prepares d4, so White gains central space and fast development while the bishop spends a second move. 5. O-O and 5. a3 are rare, and Black has scored better than White against the castling move.

After 5. c3 the usual retreat is 5...Ba5, which keeps the bishop aimed at c3. 5...Be7 is a sound alternative. In the main line, 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4, Black chooses mainly between 6...d6 and 6...exd4. The gambit was a fixture of 19th-century play. It occurred several times in the La Bourdonnais–McDonnell matches of 1834, and it is the opening of the Evergreen Game, Anderssen's win over Dufresne, probably played in Berlin in 1852. The engine assesses the position as roughly balanced despite the missing pawn, and White scores well in online games.