The Elephant Gambit (also called the Queen's Pawn Counter Gambit or Englund Counterattack) is a rarely played chess opening beginning with the moves (in algebraic notation):
- 1.e4 e5
- 2.Nf3 d5?!
In this gambit, Black ignores the attack on his e-pawn and immediately tries to wrest the initiative from White. It is generally considered unsound, because if White plays accurately Black does not get sufficient compensation for the sacrificed pawn. A typical line might continue 3.exd5 e4 4.Qe2 Nf6 5.d3 Be7 6.dxe4 and White is a pawn ahead, though his development is not quite as easy as Black's. A quieter alternative for Black is to continue 3. ... Bd6 and maintain the strongpoint on e5 while quickly following up with Nf6 and 0-0.
References
Hooper, David and Kenneth Whyld. "Queen's Pawn Counter Gambit." Oxford Companion to Chess. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. 329.
External links
