- OpeningEnglund Gambit
- The mistake6.Bc3
- The endCheckmate
The trap
The Englund Gambit starts with 1.d4 e5. Black gives up a pawn for quick play, and the main line goes 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7. The queen eyes the pawn on e5, and when White defends it with 4.Bf4, Black plays 4…Qb4+.
After 5.Bd2 Qxb2 the black queen has fought its way to b2 and attacks the rook on a1. This is the moment the trap is built on.
1. d4 e5 2. dxe5 Nc6 3. Nf3 Qe7 4. Bf4 Qb4+ 5. Bd2 Qxb2 6. Bc3 Bb4 7. Qd2 Bxc3 8. Qxc3 Qc1#
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Why it's easy to fall for
6.Bc3 seems to do two things at once. The bishop attacks the queen and appears to cover the rook on a1. It feels like the direct answer to Black's raid.
But after 6…Bb4! the bishop on c3 is pinned to the king on e1, and it is attacked twice. Saving everything is hard. If White defends the bishop with 7.Qd2, Black trades on c3, and when the queen takes back, c1 is left unguarded.
What White should have played
Play 6.Nc3. The knight develops, and once it has left b1 the queen guards the rook on a1 along the first rank. Black's queen is far from home, and White gets ahead in development.
With correct play White is clearly better in the Englund Gambit. Black has given up a pawn and hasn't got much for it.
6. Nc3
Right. The knight develops, and once it has left b1 the queen guards the rook on a1 along the first rank. White is clearly better.
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How it ends
If White carries on as here, it's mate. Other tries after 6…Bb4 cost material: after 7.Bxb4 Nxb4 Black threatens both …Qxa1 and …Nxc2+, and White has no good way out.
How often does it happen?
In 1,443,025 games between club players, the position before 6.Bc3 came up. In 339,350 of them (24%), White played 6.Bc3. Black won 85% of those games. After the mistake, Black went on with 6…Bb4 in 97% of the games.
In 234,276 games between strong players, the position before 6.Bc3 came up. In 34,103 of them (15%), White played 6.Bc3. Black won 88% of those games. After the mistake, Black went on with 6…Bb4 in 98% of the games.
Move by move: club players
| Move | Games in the position | Played the move | Then White won | Draw | Black won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.Bf4 | 5,312,259 | 1,556,444 (29%) | 41% | 3% | 56% |
| 4…Qb4+ | 1,856,015 | 1,779,831 (96%) | 40% | 3% | 57% |
| 5.Bd2 | 1,776,879 | 1,297,660 (73%) | 44% | 3% | 53% |
| 5…Qxb2 | 1,465,807 | 1,443,863 (99%) | 45% | 3% | 52% |
| 6.Bc3 the mistake | 1,443,025 | 339,350 (24%) | 13% | 1% | 85% |
| 6…Bb4 | 339,262 | 330,023 (97%) | 12% | 1% | 86% |
| 7.Qd2 | 324,055 | 107,116 (33%) | 5% | 1% | 94% |
Move by move: strong players
| Move | Games in the position | Played the move | Then White won | Draw | Black won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.Bf4 | 905,911 | 214,833 (24%) | 48% | 4% | 48% |
| 4…Qb4+ | 251,894 | 244,094 (97%) | 47% | 4% | 49% |
| 5.Bd2 | 244,052 | 205,781 (84%) | 51% | 4% | 45% |
| 5…Qxb2 | 240,458 | 234,309 (97%) | 52% | 4% | 45% |
| 6.Bc3 the mistake | 234,276 | 34,103 (15%) | 10% | 1% | 88% |
| 6…Bb4 | 34,094 | 33,299 (98%) | 9% | 1% | 90% |
| 7.Qd2 | 32,224 | 10,934 (34%) | 4% | 1% | 95% |
"Played the move": of the games in the position, how many continued with the move of the trap line; then how those games ended. A position missing from the table is too rare for our numbers. Source: games on Lichess in blitz, rapid and classical, fetched 6 and 7 November 2026. Club players means games where the players average 1600 or more, strong players games where they average 2000 or more.
Explore the position on the analysis board: the moves club players choose here and how the games tend to end.
Try it
White has just played 6.Bc3. Black to move: spring the trap and give mate!
Your opponent moves…
The history
The gambit is named after the Swede Fritz Englund (1871–1933). He sponsored a thematic tournament in 1932–1933 in which every game had to start from the position after 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 4.Qd5. Later the whole family of gambits after 1.d4 e5 took his name.
The main line with 2…Nc6 and 3…Qe7 was introduced by the Latvian Kārlis Bētiņš (1867–1943), who was also behind the Latvian Gambit. The opening is sometimes called the Charlick Gambit, after the Australian Henry Charlick (1845–1916).
The trap 6.Bc3?? Bb4! appears in grandmaster Boris Avrukh's opening book 1.d4 Volume Two from 2010.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Englund Gambit any good?
Not with best play. White is clearly better after the right continuation. But it's full of traps, and the best known of them ends in mate on move eight.
How does White avoid the Englund Gambit trap?
By playing 6.Nc3 instead of 6.Bc3 once Black's queen has taken on b2. Then White is clearly better.
Who was Englund?
Fritz Englund (1871–1933) was a Swedish chess player. He sponsored a thematic tournament with the opening in 1932–1933, and the gambit took his name.
Every move on this page has been checked against the rules of chess, and every judgement of who stands better has been checked with a chess computer.
Updated November 14, 2026
5… Qxb2
Black takes a pawn and attacks the rook on a1.