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Budapest Gambit

Play through the 11 named Budapest Gambit lines and see the name of each position.

What this budapest gambit page does

The Budapest Gambit is a chess opening for Black, and this page is a free opening explorer for it. It runs in your web browser, with no sign-up, and nothing is uploaded. The opening begins 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5, when Black offers a pawn against White's queen's pawn opening. The catalogue lists 11 named lines for it, under ECO codes A51 and A52. Choose a line and the board plays it move by move, with every move checked by the chess.js library. The page shows named lines and positions only. It does not rate the opening or show engine evaluations.

Budapest gambit example

How to use the Budapest Gambit opening explorer

  1. Open the page. It starts on the main line with all its moves already played.
  2. Look at the Lines list on the right. Each row shows the ECO code, the name and the moves.
  3. Click any row to play that line on the board.
  4. Use ⏮ to go back to the start, ◀ to go back one move, ▶ to go forward one move, and ⏭ to jump to the last move.
  5. Click Auto-play to play one move about every 1.1 seconds. The button turns into Pause, so click it again to stop.
  6. Click Flip board to view the position from Black's side.
  7. Under Moves of the selected line, click any move to jump straight to that position.
  8. Read the line under the buttons. It shows the moves played so far and, when the catalogue knows the position, its name and ECO code.
  9. Click "Practise this line in the opening trainer" to open the opening trainer on the same line.
  10. Click any move under Moves of the selected line to jump straight to that position, or press ⏮ to go back to the start.
  11. Press Flip board to look at the position from Black's side, and use Auto-play to watch the line run by itself.

The address bar keeps the line you chose (the ?l= part of the address). Copy the address to share that exact line with someone.

What is the Budapest Gambit?

The Budapest Gambit is a reply Black can choose against 1.d4. Black plays 1...Nf6, and after 2.c4 plays 2...e5, giving up a pawn at once. A gambit gives up a pawn in exchange for time or position. In this line, Black's knight goes after the pawn on e5, so Black usually regains it.

The catalogue lists the opening as Indian Defense: Budapest Gambit (ECO A51). After 3.dxe5 it is named Indian Defense: Budapest Gambit Accepted. It sits under Indian Defense because Black's first move, 1...Nf6, is the starting move of the Indian defenses.

What are the moves of the Budapest Gambit?

The opening starts 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5. White takes the pawn with 3.dxe5, and Black then has two main replies: 3...Ng4 (the Main Line, A52) and 3...Ne4 (the Fajarowicz Defense, A51).

After 3...Ng4 the catalogue lists three named lines:

After 3...Ne4 it lists two:

The longest line has 8 half-moves: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.e4 Nxe5. The catalogue names a position by its pieces, not by its move order. Two move orders that reach the same position therefore show the same name.

  • Adler Variation: 4.Nf3
  • Alekhine Variation: 4.e4, with 4...Nxe5 (Abonyi Variation) or 4...d6 (Tartakower Defense)
  • Rubinstein Variation: 4.Bf4
  • Bonsdorf Variation: 4.a3
  • Steiner Variation: 4.Qc2

How do the named lines of the Budapest Gambit differ?

They differ by Black's third move and White's fourth. After 3. dxe5 Black can keep the knight active with 3...Ng4, where White chooses between 4. Nf3, 4. e4 and 4. Bf4, or play 3...Ne4, the Fajarowicz Defense, where White chooses between 4. a3 and 4. Qc2. Pick a line in the list and use ▶ to see how the pieces end up placed in each case.

Examples

♜8♞♝♛♚♝♜♟7♟♟♟♟♟♟6♞5♟4♟♟3♟2♟♟♟♟♟♜1a♞b♝c♛d♚e♝f♞g♜h
Indian Defense: Budapest Gambit (ECO A51): 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5.
♜8♞♝♛♚♝♜♟7♟♟♟♟♟♟65♟4♟♞3♟2♟♟♟♟♟♜1a♞b♝c♛d♚e♝f♞g♜h
Indian Defense: Budapest Gambit Accepted, Fajarowicz Defense (ECO A51): 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ne4.
♜8♞♝♛♚♝♜♟7♟♟♟♟♟♟65♟4♟♟♞3♟2♟♟♟♟♜1a♞b♝c♛d♚e♝f♞g♜h
Indian Defense: Budapest Gambit Accepted, Main Line, Alekhine Variation (ECO A52): 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. e4.

Questions and answers

What is the main line of the Budapest Gambit?

The main line is 3...Ng4 after 3.dxe5. The catalogue labels it the Main Line (A52). The page opens on this line with all its moves played.

What is the Fajarowicz?

The Fajarowicz Defense is 3...Ne4 after 3.dxe5, classified under A51. The catalogue lists two named lines after it: the Bonsdorf Variation (4.a3) and the Steiner Variation (4.Qc2).

What happens if White declines the Budapest Gambit?

White can decline the pawn by not capturing it on move 3. The catalogue lists named lines only after 3.dxe5, so this tool does not name or play positions where White declines.

Is the Budapest Gambit a good opening?

The page does not rate openings. It has no engine evaluation, win percentages, master games or statistics. It shows named lines and positions only.

Why is the Budapest Gambit listed under Indian Defense?

Black's first move is 1...Nf6, which is the starting move of the Indian defenses. The catalogue files the opening there for that reason.

Why do some Budapest Gambit lines have so few moves?

Each named line stops where the catalogue stops naming the position. A line such as 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 is only the first three half-moves, and the longer lines add the replies that have their own names.

Open-source components used by this tool: chess.js (BSD-2-Clause); chess-openings catalogue (CC0-1.0).