- OpeningStafford Gambit (Petrov's Defense)
- The mistake6.Bg5
- The endCheckmate
The trap
The Stafford Gambit arises in Petrov's Defense after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nc6. Black gives away a pawn instead of winning it back. After 4.Nxc6 dxc6 Black has two bishops with open diagonals toward White's kingside.
White defends e4 with 5.d3, and Black answers 5…Bc5. The bishop aims at f2, the weak square next to White's king.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6 4. Nxc6 dxc6 5. d3 Bc5 6. Bg5 Nxe4 7. Bxd8 Bxf2+ 8. Ke2 Bg4#
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Why it's easy to fall for
6.Bg5 looks like a good move. The bishop develops with tempo, and the knight on f6 is pinned to the queen. Many players believe a pinned piece can't move.
But the knight can move. It only costs the queen. After 6…Nxe4! Black's queen is hanging, but if White takes it, 7…Bxf2+ 8.Ke2 Bg4# follows. The same idea appears in Légal's mate, with the colors reversed.
What White should have played
Play 6.Be2. The bishop covers g4, and the king can castle soon. Black hasn't got enough for the pawn, but White still has to play carefully.
6. Be2
Right. The bishop develops, covers g4 and lets White castle. White is a pawn up and clearly better.
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How it ends
If White takes the queen, it's mate. Leaving it alone isn't much better: after 6…Nxe4 Black threatens both …Qxg5 and …Bxf2+, and White loses material anyway.
How often does it happen?
In 1,866,625 games between club players, the position before 6.Bg5 came up. In 137,738 of them (7%), White played 6.Bg5. Black won 80% of those games.
In 328,577 games between strong players, the position before 6.Bg5 came up. In 5,738 of them (2%), White played 6.Bg5. Black won 85% of those games.
Move by move: club players
| Move | Games in the position | Played the move | Then White won | Draw | Black won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.d3 | 3,842,736 | 1,855,317 (48%) | 47% | 4% | 49% |
| 5…Bc5 | 1,857,018 | 1,802,975 (97%) | 47% | 4% | 49% |
| 6.Bg5 the mistake | 1,866,625 | 137,738 (7%) | 18% | 2% | 80% |
Move by move: strong players
| Move | Games in the position | Played the move | Then White won | Draw | Black won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.d3 | 580,394 | 328,082 (57%) | 49% | 5% | 46% |
| 5…Bc5 | 328,454 | 323,340 (98%) | 49% | 5% | 46% |
| 6.Bg5 the mistake | 328,577 | 5,738 (2%) | 14% | 1% | 85% |
"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 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 pinned the knight with 6.Bg5. Black to move: let the knight move anyway!
Your opponent moves…
The history
The name is new. The gambit only got it in recent years, after the player who had Black in a correspondence game from the United States in 1950, Lowens against Stafford. It became popular in online chess in the early 2020s.
In that game White played 5.e5 Ne4 6.d3??, and after 6…Bc5! White resigned. The threat against f2 is the same: if White takes the knight, …Bxf2+ follows and the queen falls.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Stafford Gambit sound?
Not with best play. White is clearly better if White avoids the traps, for example with 6.Be2 instead of 6.Bg5. But there are many traps, and they are easy to fall into.
What if White doesn't take the queen after 6…Nxe4?
White still loses material. Black threatens both to take the bishop on g5 and to capture on f2 with check.
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… Bc5
The bishop aims at f2.