Blackburne Gambit

The Blackburne Gambit, also called the Blackburne-Kloosterboer Gambit, arises when Black meets 2. exd5 not by recapturing but with 2...c6, and after 3. dxc6 develops with 3...Nxc6. With Black's c- and d-pawns both gone, Black is a pawn down but has a knight already in play, open diagonals for both bishops and half-open c- and d-files, and aims to turn the lead in development into active piece play before White consolidates. After 3. dxc6 Black can instead try 3...e5, the dubious Kloosterboer Gambit. Joseph Blackburne used 2...c6 successfully at least once, yet the gambit is regarded as unsound after 3. dxc6 and is almost never seen in master play.

White's most frequent reply is 4. Nf3, followed by 4. Nc3 and 4. Bb5, which puts pressure on the c6-knight. Engines prefer 4. Nc3, 4. Bc4 and 4. Nf3, and assess the extra pawn as a clear advantage for White. Online results are far closer: in Lichess games Black scores marginally better than White.