Master an Aggressive Chess Opening
& Surprise Your Opponents
The Danish Gambit (also known as the Nordic Gambit) is an aggressive chess opening for white that throws down the gauntlet, sacrificing a pawn (or even two!) for rapid development and a fierce attack on the black king. This gambit is perfect for players who:
- Thrive on Attack: If you crave dynamic positions and enjoy tactical battles, the Danish Gambit is your weapon of choice.
- Embrace Calculated Risk: The gambit offers a chance to gain a significant advantage, but careful play is required to navigate the complexities.
- Want to Stand Out: The Danish Gambit is less common than other openings, allowing you to surprise your opponent and showcase your knowledge.
This comprehensive guide equips you with everything you need to master the Danish Gambit. We'll explore its rich history, delve into key variations, and provide a treasure trove of learning resources to sharpen your skills.
Unveiling the Danish Gambit's History
Wikipedia Page
Master the Fundamentals (Books):
Dive deep into the theory behind the Danish Gambit with a selection of free, downloadable books and Courses.
- Openings Danish Gambit - 7 page PDF
- Intro To Danish Gambit Accepted - 4 Page PDF
Danish Gambit for White - Chessable Course (FREE) covers 7 variations (Can practice them with Movetrainer)
Expert Insights (Danish Gambit Articles):
Learn from chess masters and delve into the strategic ideas and tactical nuances of the Danish Gambit.
- Danish Gambit Accepted Lesson - Richard Westbrook (Farragut Chess Club) 4 page PDF
- Danish Gambit Article - what is it? Ideas behind it and the moves.
- Dashing the Danish Gambit - GM Nigel Davies (Quite a log Article covering this Gambit)
- Danish Gambit – How to Play as White and Black - Opening Guide on Chessable Blog (In-depth)
- Danish Gambit – An Aggressive Opening - Nice Guide w/embedded Videos (Remote Chess Academy)
- The Tricky Danish Gambit on Chess! - Opening Guide - IM Alberto Cueca
GM Boris Altermans Chess Blog
Danish Gambit Part 1
Danish Gambit Part 2
Danish Gambit Part 3
Danish Gambit Game Databases
Sharpen your strategy and explore real-life battles by delving into these top Danish Gambit game databases:
365Chess.com
- C21: Danish gambit 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 - 1542 Games
- C21: Danish gambit, Collijn defence 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Bc4 cxb2 5. Bxb2 Qe7 - 9 Games
- C21: Danish gambit, Schlechter defence 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Bc4 cxb2 5. Bxb2 d5 - 97 Games
- C21: Danish gambit, Soerensen defence 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 d5 - 388 Games
Chessgames.com
C21 Danish Gambit I - 89 Games
General 3...Nf6 3...Nc6 3...d6 3...c5 3...d3 4...Nf6 4...Qf6 4...d6
4...d5 4.Nc3 #4...Nc6 4...Bb4 4...Bc5 4...Qb3 4...c2
C21 Danish Gambit II - 77 Games -Sorensen Defense
C21 Danish Gambit III - 57 Games -
Copenhagen Defense 5...Bb4 6.Nc3 6.Kf1
Accepted Classical Defense 6.Nc3 6.e5
Accepted 5...d6 5...Nc6 5...Qg5 5...Bb4 & others
Accepted Svenonius Defense 3...Ne7
C21 Danish Gambit IV - 44 Games - Chigorin Defense & Schlechter Defense
Danish Gambit Miniatures - 4 games
Danish Miniatures - 52 Games all under 15 Moves
Center Game (C21) - 6 Annotated Games
ChessTempo.com
- Danish Gambit, General (C21) - 305 Games
- Danish Gambit, Declined, Sorensen Defense (C21) - 144 Games
Lichess Study Guide: Danish Gambit Mastery
Sharpen your tactics, explore variations & build a Danish Gambit repertoire with these top-rated Lichess studies.
New to Lichess studies? These interactive tools allow you to explore chess concepts and variations move-by-move, perfect for testing your understanding and deepening your knowledge.
- The Danish Gambit - 4 chapters (230 Hearts) - Get a solid foundation with this well-explained basic overview.
- Danish Gambit Traps - 8 Chapters (72 Hearts) - Sharpen your tactics by mastering traps, including the Schlechter Defense.
- Interactive Danish Gambit study - 6 Chapters Interactive Study (** Interactive):** Test your understanding with branching lines and replies to various Danish Gambit variations.
- Danish Gambit Repertoire - 25 Chapter (37 Hearts) Build a complete Danish Gambit repertoire with lines and common traps.
- Danish Gambit - GothamChess Video - 9 Chapter (170 Hearts) - Explore Accepted & Declined variations, plus 3 model games for analysis.
Interactive Learning (Danish Gambit Videos)
Sharpen your skills with video lessons covering various Danish Gambit lines.
CRUSH EVERYONE With The Danish Gambit - 31 Min - IM Rozman (Gotham) Lesson on a very practical and aggressive opening for beginners and intermediate players.
The Dangerous Danish Gambit | Chess Openings Explained - 25 Min - St.Louis CC - Dennis LaRue substitutes the openings class to teach the Danish Gambit. White sacrifices one or two pawns for the sake of rapid development and attack.
Chess Openings: Learn to Play the Danish Gambit! - 30 Min - Chess Giant - We look to cover beginner chess strategy, beginner chess tips, beginner chess openings, beginner chess tactics, and beginner chess traps in this beginner chess lesson.
How to Play Danish Gambit (20 MIN FULLY EXPLAINED) | Very Aggressive Chess Opening - 22 Min IM Andras Toth - a comprehensive guide on how to play the Danish Gambit, an aggressive chess opening. It explains various scenarios, transitions into other openings, and the importance of development and initiative over material.
Danish Gambit Live Opening Study - Learn This Tricky Opening For White! - 2hr -NM Lopez - Thoroughly explore the Danish Gambit and some of the ideas/tricks/traps to be aware of.
IM Miodrag Perunovic
Over 3 hrs Of Danish Lessons from A Senior FIDE Trainer.
- Destroy Everyone with The Brutal Danish Gambit!! - 45 Min - a comprehensive guide on the Danish Gambit
- CRUSH with the DANISH GAMBIT | IM Miodrag 'The Butcher' Perunovic - 2.5hr - Live Stream on The Danish
Danish Gambit Traps
Every Move is a TRAP in this Opening After 1.e4 | Danish Gambit - 18 Min - GM Igor Smirnov - Opening Lesson w/ Traps Shown as well.
BEWARE!! 5 Opening Traps in the Danish Gambit - 14 Min - Chess Nerd
10 DEADLY Traps in the Danish Gambit You Need to Try - 16 Min - Chess Sensei
Playing Against The Danish Gambit
Counter Aggressive Openings - How to Counter The Danish Gambit - 8 Min - Chesswebsite
A Simple Move To Destroy The Danish Gambit! - 6 Min
How to crush the Danish and Scotch Gambit - 8 Min IM Eric Rosen
Endgame Strategies
- How to Destroy the Danish Gambit (part 1) - 12 Min -
- How to Destroy the Danish Gambit (part 2) Beat the Main line Kf1 - 14 Min
- How to Destroy the Danish Gambit (part 3) Final Chapter - 10 Min
Game Videos (w/ Expert Analysis)
Danish Gambit Chess Games - 9 Video Playlist - Jazarov's Chess Channel
Danish Gambit - 17 Video Playlist - Chess School
Danish Gambit - Chess Opening - 8 Video Playlist - kingscrusher
- Master Class | Danish Gambit | Chess Speedrun | Grandmaster Naroditsky - 21 Min - He demonstrates the opening’s principles, tactics, and potential pitfalls through an illustrative game against a 1600-rated player.
- High Level Danish Gambit Accepted - 30 Min GM Nakamura - Hikaru plays a viewer arena from the Danish Gambit Accepted opening, from both white's and black's perspective.
- Danish Gambit brilliancy! Lindehn vs Maczuski : Paris - (1863) - 8 Min Kingcrusher
- Don't Eat Capablanca's Danish! | Tactics Time! - 20 Min - St. Louis Chess Club
- Playing Perfectly Against the Danish Gambit - 10 Min - St. Louis Chess Club
- Danish Gambit: Sacrifice EVERYTHING for Checkmate!? - 14 Min - IM Eric Rosen (New - 6/6/2024)