Danish Gambit (C21)
White sacrifices two pawns for a huge lead in development and attacking chances.
Taught for White · 1 study line · main line: 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 Bb4+…
Free spaced-repetition drills — no account needed to analyze, and the trainer remembers what you have learned.
How do you reach the Danish Gambit?
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 — the Danish Gambit: one pawn, sometimes two, for raking bishops on c4 and b2 and the fastest attack in the open games. The purest speed-versus-material argument in chess.
What does the Danish Gambit give you — and cost you?
For
- The two-bishop battery generates instant, concrete threats.
- Teaches attacking geometry better than any quiet opening.
- Miniature wins are routine against casual defense.
Against
- The classical ...d5 counter returns the material and equalizes cleanly.
- Two pawns down with queens off is simply lost — know when to stop.
- Modern engines have mapped the refutation lines precisely.
Which Danish Gambit lines should you study?
Acceptedalso known as: Danish Gambit Accepted
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 Bb4+ 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Qb3 Bxc3+ 8.Qxc3 O-O 9.Nf3 d6 10.O-O Nc6 11.Rad1
One pawn in, 4.Bc4 offering a second — the whole Danish question in four moves. Masters theory stops here because this position IS the opening. Past it, the line follows the club’s most common replies and the engine’s answers, and what you know about this position decides everything after.
From this crossroads: if Black grabs b2 too, Bxb2 gives you the legendary two-bishop battery and every miniature you have ever admired; if he returns material with the correct ...d5, trade into activity and play the resulting open position with your development lead. The line follows the greedy road to move 11: after ...Bb4+ and ...Bxc3+, Qxc3 lines your queen up with the b2-bishop on the long diagonal, and Rad1 points at d6. Two pawns down, the engine calls it close to level (−0.29). The Danish is a bet on your opponent’s greed — size the bet, know the ...d5 refund line cold, and enjoy the games where greed wins.
What do opponents play against the Danish Gambit at your level?
Reply shares from Lichess blitz, rapid and classical games, split by the rating band of the players — because the sideline that dominates beginner games often disappears entirely from stronger ones. Book moves in the study line are marked.
After 1.e4study line continues e5
| Lichess band | Most played | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| <1200 | e5 60.9%book | d5 11% | c5 6.9% |
| 1200s | e5 56.6%book | c5 11% | d5 9.5% |
| 1400s | e5 50.7%book | c5 14.7% | d5 8.9% |
| 1600s | e5 42.3%book | c5 19.5% | e6 10.3% |
| 1800s | e5 32.9%book | c5 24.7% | e6 11.7% |
| 2000s | c5 29.9% | e5 24.5%book | e6 12.7% |
| 2200+ | c5 35.8% | e5 19.2%book | e6 12.5% |
After 1.e4 e5 2.d4study line continues exd4
| Lichess band | Most played | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| <1200 | exd4 41.5%book | Nc6 17.3% | d6 11.6% |
| 1200s | exd4 57.5%book | Nc6 13.2% | d6 9.1% |
| 1400s | exd4 67.5%book | Nc6 11.5% | d6 7.1% |
| 1600s | exd4 74.9%book | Nc6 10.7% | d6 5.5% |
| 1800s | exd4 78.3%book | Nc6 11% | d6 4.4% |
| 2000s | exd4 79.4%book | Nc6 12% | d6 3.5% |
| 2200+ | exd4 82.1%book | Nc6 11.2% | d6 3% |
Shares are of games in each band at that position, from the Lichess opening explorer data the trainer itself studies from.
How often do opponents go wrong against the Danish Gambit?
Of the players who reach the Danish Gambit (after 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3), the share who make a mistake or blunder on the lines we teach, by rating band. Every reply is graded against Stockfish with the game review's own labels; each figure is a lower bound. How we measure.
Jump to your level: <1200 · 1200s · 1400s · 1600s · 1800s · 2000s · 2200+
| Lichess band | Make a mistake | Within | Games | Win rate | Well prepared | Win chance after move 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <1200 | 15% | 10 moves | 1.2M | 53% for White | +18 pts | 55% |
| 1200s | 15% | 10 moves | 2.5M | 54% for White | +11 pts | 56% |
| 1400s | 18% | 10 moves | 4.2M | 55% for White | +13 pts | 56% |
| 1600s | 22% | 10 moves | 5.1M | 55% for White | +13 pts | 56% |
| 1800s | 20% | 10 moves | 4.0M | 54% for White | +8 pts | 54% |
| 2000s | 17% | 10 moves | 1.6M | 51% for White | +4 pts | 53% |
| 2200+ | 14% | 10 moves | 282K | 48% for White | +4 pts | 51% |
How should you learn the Danish Gambit?
Moves first, then the idea behind each move, then spaced review until recall is automatic — the method, the review schedule, and why cramming fails are covered in the opening-learning guide. The trainer here implements it directly: guided learning with the reason attached to each move, validation before practice, and a Leitner review ladder that keeps the lines you drill from evaporating.
Frequently asked questions
22% of Lichess players rated 1600–1799 who reach the Danish Gambit make a mistake or blunder on the lines we teach within the first 10 moves (5.1M games, a lower bound). Every reply is graded against Stockfish with the same Mistake and Blunder labels as the game review; the full method is on our how-we-measure page.
AxiomChess teaches 1 study line for this opening, 11 moves deep — sourced from master practice and checked move-by-move against Stockfish before being taught. Depth past the point where a plan takes over adds review cost without adding wins.
Every move in the study lines here is engine-checked before it is taught, so the lines themselves hold up. The honest trade-offs are listed above — the classical ...d5 counter returns the material and equalizes cleanly — and knowing when the plan does not apply matters as much as the moves.
Your games already show which openings you actually reach and where they go wrong — the trainer picks drills from your own measured slips.
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