Morphy Gambit, Andreaschek Gambit

The Andreaschek Gambit is White's main answer to 3...e5 in the Morphy Gambit. White can no longer recapture on d4 with the knight, so 4. c3 strikes at the advanced pawn instead and offers material in the style of the Smith-Morra Gambit. The position resembles a Smith-Morra declined with ...e5. The difference is that Black is already a pawn up, with the d4-pawn supported from e5 and the d-pawns doubled. White's compensation lies in rapid development and the half-open c- and d-files.

Black has three main replies. The most popular is 4...Nc6, which develops and adds support to d4, and results after it are close to even. The second choice is 4...dxc3, taking another pawn, and White scores noticeably better against it. White also does well against the rarer 4...d6. The engine assesses the position as roughly balanced and lists 4...Nf6 among its preferred moves, alongside 4...Nc6 and 4...dxc3.