ChessPuzzlePrint
Stafford Gambit
Play through every named Stafford Gambit line move by move and see what each position is called.
What this stafford gambit page does
This page is a free stafford gambit explorer, an opening explorer for the Stafford Gambit, a line of Petrov's Defense that starts 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6. It runs in your web browser, costs nothing, needs no sign-up, and uploads nothing.
The page lists the named lines of this opening from a catalogue of about 3,800 named opening lines, and plays any line you pick on a board. The chess rules come from the chess.js library, which checks every move on the board. The page opens on the main line with all its moves already played, so you can start stepping through the stafford gambit moves straight away.
How to use the Stafford Gambit explorer
- When the page loads, the board shows the main line with all its moves played.
- Use ⏮ to go back to the start, ◀ to go back one move, ▶ to go forward one move, and ⏭ to jump to the last move.
- Press Auto-play to play one move about every 1.1 seconds. The button turns into Pause, so press it to stop.
- Press Flip board to view the position from Black's side.
- 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.
- In the Lines list on the right, click any row to play that line. Each row shows the ECO code, the name and the moves.
- Under Moves of the selected line, click any move to jump straight to that position.
- Click 'Practise this line in the opening trainer' to open the opening trainer on the same line.
- Click any move under Moves of the selected line to jump straight to that position, or press ⏮ to go back to the start.
- 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 in the ?l= part of the address. Copy the address to send someone the same line, because the link opens the same line for them.
What is the Stafford Gambit?
The Stafford Gambit is a line of Petrov's Defense in which Black gives up a pawn to develop quickly. It begins with 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5, where White's knight captures the pawn on e5. Black's reply, 3...Nc6, is the key idea.
A gambit is an opening in which a player gives up material, here a pawn, to gain time or a better position. The Stafford is a gambit for Black. Black plays the knight to c6 instead of the usual 3...d6, which would keep the pawn. The catalogue lists this opening under ECO code C42, in the C group of open games.
What are the moves of the Stafford Gambit?
The moves are 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6. The catalogue names each step along the way: after 1. e4 it says King's Pawn Game, after 2. Nf3 it says King's Knight Opening, after 2...Nf6 it says Petrov's Defense, and after 3...Nc6 it says Petrov's Defense: Stafford Gambit.
The catalogue holds four named lines for this opening, all under C42. The first is the Stafford Gambit itself. The other three are called Stafford Gambit Accepted and start with 4. Nxc6 dxc6, where White takes the knight and Black recaptures with the d-pawn. They continue as the bare line, as 5. Nc3 Bc5, or as 5. d3 Bc5. The longest of the four has 10 half-moves.
The catalogue names a position by its pieces, not by the order of the moves. Two different move orders that reach the same position therefore show the same name. The tool does not judge who is better in any of these positions. It shows the named lines and lets you play them out.
Examples
Questions and answers
What happens if White accepts the Stafford Gambit?
If White takes the knight with 4. Nxc6, Black recaptures with 4...dxc6. The catalogue names this position Petrov's Defense: Stafford Gambit Accepted. You can then explore the lines that follow, such as 5. Nc3 Bc5 or 5. d3 Bc5.
Is the Stafford Gambit a good opening?
The tool does not say. It has no engine evaluation, no win percentages and no statistics, so it cannot tell you whether the line is sound. What it does show is the named lines and the moves, so you can judge the play yourself on the board.
How do I practise the Stafford Gambit?
Open the Lines list and pick a line, then click 'Practise this line in the opening trainer' under Moves of the selected line. The opening trainer opens on the same line, and you can play it from either side. Repeating the line helps you remember the moves.
Is the Stafford Gambit the same as Petrov's Defense?
No. It is one line inside Petrov's Defense. Both start with 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6, but the Stafford Gambit continues 3. Nxe5 Nc6 instead of the more common 3...d6.
Why does the tool show a different name for a position I reached another way?
The catalogue names a position by its pieces, not by the move order. If two move orders lead to the same position, the tool shows the same name for both. The ECO code shown with the name tells you which group the opening belongs to.
Does the tool work without signing up?
Yes. The tool runs in your web browser, is free, needs no sign-up, and uploads nothing.
Related chess tools
Open-source components used by this tool: chess.js (BSD-2-Clause); chess-openings catalogue (CC0-1.0).