King's Gambit
also known as: 2.f4
1. e4 e5 2. f4
Named after
Not an eponym — the king's pawn's neighbor (the f-pawn, the king's bishop's pawn in old notation) is gambited.
Origin
Analyzed by Ruy López in 1561 and central to chess for three hundred years; the signature opening of the Romantic era.
The story
For centuries this WAS attacking chess: White rips open the f-file at the cost of a pawn and his own king's shelter, and every gentleman was expected to accept. The Immortal Game (Anderssen–Kieseritzky, London 1851), where White sacrificed both rooks, the bishop and the queen, is a King's Gambit. Steinitz's positional revolution wounded it; Fischer, furious after losing to Spassky's King's Gambit in 1960, published "A Bust to the King's Gambit" declaring 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 d6! winning for Black — then cheekily played the gambit himself, once, and won. It survives today as chess's most romantic anachronism, dangerous in fast games and beloved forever.
Why it matters
The historical vehicle of sacrifice-first chess and still the best classroom for open lines, lead in development, and king safety as a currency. Objectively dubious at the top; practically venomous everywhere else.
Notable games
- Anderssen–Kieseritzky, London 1851 (the Immortal Game)
- Spassky–Fischer, Mar del Plata 1960
- Spassky–Bronstein, Leningrad 1960 (the "James Bond" game, shown in From Russia with Love)