Hübsch Gambit

The Hübsch Gambit arises after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. e4. White offers the e-pawn to blow open the center and gain development, in a position that cannot be reached by the usual 1...d5 move order. The name comes from an amateur, Hübsch (also spelled Huebsch), who surprised Savielly Tartakower with it in 1922. Emil Diemer later adopted it as a way to bring 1...Nf6 players into his favored Blackmar–Diemer Gambit. That transposition follows the common 3...dxe4. The alternative capture 3...Nxe4 is played less often but gives Black the best results in practice. Many players decline the pawn altogether. The most popular reply, 3...c6, leads to the Campomanes Attack of the Caro-Kann Defense. 3...e6 turns the game into a Classical French, and 3...Nc6 reaches a Nimzowitsch Defense. Engines give Black a slight edge in the starting position. On Lichess, White nevertheless scores a little better than Black, which reflects how hard the gambit's initiative is to handle over the board.