Chess: 900 to 1800

Centre Game, Danish, King's Gambit and Ponziani

Early central pawn pushes and gambits. Our recipe is the same each time: develop with tempo, hit e4, and strike back with …d5 when it opens lines for us. Against the King's Gambit we decline with 2…Bc5, a sound and simple system with a trap built in.

  • 12 min
  • 1 step
  • Lesson 122 of 132

Four lines:

  • Centre Game: 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 (important)
  • Danish Gambit: 3.c3 d5! (important)
  • King’s Gambit declined: 2…Bc5 (important)
  • Ponziani: 3.c3 Nf6 4.d4 Nxe4 (deeper)

Learn takes up to five new lines at a time, core lines first. When the chapter is learned, practise it from memory.

Centre Game, Danish, King's Gambit and Ponziani The square arrow button opens this screen in the full trainer, with its menu and settings. Credit: Chess Trainer

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Early queen attacks and Scholar's mate

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