Chigorin Variation, Irish Gambit

The Irish Gambit answers 2. Nc3 with 2...c5, hitting d4 immediately. The structure is a Queen's Gambit with colors reversed, in which Black effectively takes White's side of the Chigorin Defense a tempo down. The pawn is only nominally offered. After 3. dxc5 Black aims to regain it with ...Bxc5 once the e-pawn has moved, although 3...e5 at once fails because d5 is attacked twice. If 3...e6, White replies 4. e4, and Black must first play 4...d4 5. Nb5 Nc6 6. Nf3 e5 before recovering the c-pawn.

The most popular move is 3. Bf4, which keeps the d-pawn protected. After 3...cxd4 4. Qxd4 White stands slightly better. White can also counter-gambit with 3. e4 dxe4, reaching a reversed Albin Countergambit line that also occurs in the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. Engines consider the position roughly balanced, and on Lichess the results are almost even, with few draws. The earliest recorded game is Seligo versus von der Lasa, 1837. The name probably comes from an 1893 Dublin game between the Irish masters James Porterfield Rynd and Ernest Harvey.