The Budapest Gambit earned its name from a game played in the Hungarian capital in 1896 which was won by Géza Maróczy - a Hungarian chess master.

The opening received additional attention after a Slovenian master named Milan Vidmar used it to beat Akiba Rubinstein in 1918. As the story goes, Vidmar felt his chances of defeating Rubinstein were rather poor. So, at the recommendation of a Hungarian friend. Vidmar decided to employ the Budapest Gambit to take Rubinstein away from the sort of slow, positional game he preferred. The result being a crushing victory for Vidmar against his more-fancied opponent.

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This aggressive chess gambit begins with: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5. By lunging forward with the e-pawn to a square where it is undefended, Black invites White to grab it. Almost invariably, this is what White will do - taking on the challenge which the gambit presents. As they say: “the best way to refute a gambit is to accept it!”

The starting position of the Budapest Gambit.

After 3. dxe5, Black’s knight on f6 is attacked. The knight will most commonly go to g4, from where it attacks e5. Play will usually revolve around Black trying to continue to add pressure to White’s extra pawn. Black hopes for a development advantage and complications out of the opening.

Budapest Gambit games often become very sharp very early, with opportunities to win or lose the game immediately. It is especially dangerous for players who have not studied the theory. It is an opening where the game can be over in less than 20 moves if one side missteps.

Why Play The Budapest Gambit?

Like most uncommon gambit openings, it must be admitted that the Budapest Gambit is objectively not the strongest way for Black to start the game. This is sort of self-evident. If the Budapest Gambit were as strong as other opening options. Then it would not be uncommon in the first place! If you are looking for the “best” opening with Black, then look elsewhere.

For this reason, the Budapest Gambit no longer commands much attention at master level. It has been “worked out”. The lines leading from the Budapest Gambit have been studied in depth, and the verdict is in: with best play, Black does not score as well as in other openings.

Discover the exciting Budapest Gambit

You will not see elite grandmasters playing the Budapest Gambit. Expesially in important classical chess events such as the World Chess Championship or other high-stakes situations. They expect (with good reason) that their fellow grandmaster opponents will know the strongest ways to play against the Budapest Gambit, and will be punished if they dare to try it. At their level, it just isn’t worth the risk.

If the top players have largely discarded it, why consider playing the Budapest Gambit?

Why Play the Budapest Gambit

Well, just because this aggressive chess gambit is no longer played at the highest levels doesn’t mean that club level players cannot deploy it to good effect. For one thing, it has tremendous surprise value. If the player with the White pieces does not know the theory and thematic tactical ideas of the Budapest Gambit. They can easily find themselves in big trouble. This can be especially true under rapid or blitz time controls. Where there is less time to work out the best way to play “at the board”,. If the player has not already familiarized themselves with the opening through pre-game study.

Most 1. d4 players with the White pieces will have spent their preparation time on the more “serious” openings Black usually plays - the King’s Indian Defense, the Slav, the Nimzo-Indian, and so on. It is highly unlikely their preparation will run as deep in the Budapest Gambit. As a result, if you take the time to study the Budapest Gambit, you stand an excellent chance of taking your opponent into territory that you know better than they do! 

Explore Some of the greatest Budapest Gambit uses

Another reason to play the Budapest Gambit is because it is a lot of fun! Chess is a game, after all. In our quest for improvement and gaining rating points. Chess players can lose sight of the fact that, as a game, the real goal of chess should be to enjoy it. One way to keep the game fresh and exciting is to play different openings. Even if they are not “objectively” the best!

Whatever else may be said about the merits (or otherwise) of the Budapest Gambit, it undeniably leads to interesting positions, charged with tactics. If you like the game to get spicy as early as possible, then the Budapest Gambit fits the bill.

Main Ideas In This Aggressive Chess Gambit

There are two basic ways White can play against the Budapest Gambit. White can either:

• Try to hold onto the extra pawn, attempting to keep their material advantage or;
• Give back the extra pawn, to free the position and accelerate their opening development.

Both approaches have their pros and cons.

If White can successfully keep the pawn they gained in the gambit without serious consequences, then the material advantage will give White excellent chances of going on to win. However, keeping the extra pawn is rather difficult. White will need to spend the early part of the game contorting themselves to defend it, while Black keeps adding pressure to their target with tempo. It becomes a classic battle of material versus initiative.

For example, here is a position that may arise from the Budapest Gambit. Black has spent the last few moves playing Ng4, Nc6 and Qe7 to attack White’s extra pawn, while White has played Nf3 and Bf4 to defend it. Black has also played the rather annoying Bb4+, resulting in White finding themselves in a pin and still several moves away from castling. Clearly, Black has been the one creating all the threats in the last few moves - and with all the Black pieces attacking e5, it seems that ultimately Black is going to regain the pawn anyway.

Therefore, many players with the White pieces will simply let Black recapture the gambited pawn instead of trying to hold onto it. The so-called Alekhine Variation shows this approach.

After 3. dxe5 Ng4, rather than make any attempt to defend the pawn on e5, White simply played 4. e4, allowing Black to capture back with 4. …Nxe5. Then, White pushed on with 5. f4, forcing Black’s knight to move yet again. In this position, Black has re-established material equality, but White’s three central pawns means that White is the one who has ended up with a clear space and development advantage. On the other hand, just like in Alekhine’s Defense, Black may try to prove that White’s impressive-looking pawns in the center are over-extended.

Budapest Gambit: Thematic Tactics and Ideas

As we have already mentioned, games which begin with the Budapest Gambit frequently present tactical opportunities quite early in the game. It is vital to your chances to take advantage of these if and when they occur!

Sharpen your Budapest Gambit and take it to the next level.

There are certain tactical motifs which occur in the gambit repeatedly. Studying them and knowing about them is extremely helpful to increase your chances of spotting them in your own games.

Here are a few such thematic ideas from the Budapest Gambit to get you started:

The Kieninger Trap

In this position, Black has just captured on e5 and it is White to move.

If White tries to eliminate Black’s dark-squared bishop with axb4??, then Black can play Nd3 - checkmate!

The Budapest Rook

One maneuver Black frequently tries in the Budapest Gambit is to swing a rook to the sixth rank to join a kingside attack.

This variation from a game between Boris Gelfand vs. Richard Rapport shows the problems this rook can create. Black to move. White has just played Bb2 - which misses Black’s most dangerous threat. Black can sacrifice the queen with Qxg3! forcing open the h-file (or winning a rook). After hxg3, White is mated with Rh6! Note the importance of Black’s strong bishop on c5 covering the g1 square in making this tactic work.

Pawn Instability

This position is White to move. White just blocked the check arising from Bb4+ with Bd2. What could be more natural? But Black replied with Qe7 and now White has many problems to deal with. The e4 pawn is threatened by Qxe4, and the f4 pawn is threatened by Nxf4. If White tries to liquidate the pin with Bxb4, then after Black recaptures with Qxb4+ there are still several threats White must contend with. White isn’t losing yet, but needs to be very precise to survive a position like this.

Master the Budapest Gambit

Getting Started With The Budapest Gambit

The next step in playing the Budapest Gambit is to further your education, learning more of the opening ideas for both White and Black. An excellent place to start is this 30 minute video on YouTube from GM Simon Williams.

Once you have done that, try the Budapest Gambit in your online games. Playing with blitz time controls will allow you to play lots of games very quickly. There is also not too much at stake when playing blitz - meaning you aren’t risking your hard-earned rating in an opening which you are still new to. This will give you a practical feeling for the gambit, what White typically does in reply to it, and the style of games it leads to. Don’t forget to review your games afterwards in order to learn the most from the experience!

If you are really serious about learning the Budapest Gambit, then you will want to go into greater depth. To take your understanding of this aggressive chess gambit to the next level, GM Simon Williams has created this 6 hour video course, available from the USCF store. 

Besides the comprehensive video lessons, this Budapest Gambit course also comes with:

• Interactive training including video feedback
• Model games
• PGN files

Getting this kind of grandmaster-level instruction will leave you in the best possible place to play the Budapest Gambit with maximum success!

Summary: Is The Budapest Gambit Right For You?

The Budapest Gambit can be a great addition to your Black opening repertoire if you:

• Like to take your opponent out of their comfort zone. Being an uncommon opening, your opponent with the White pieces is very unlikely to have deep memorized opening knowledge in the Budapest Gambit. Your opponent will be forced to think very early in the game, rather than recite their rote opening preparation.
• Enjoy sharp, double-edged positions. A chess game beginning with the Budapest Gambit can quickly get messy. Blow meets counterblow. You should have a sharp tactical eye to survive and thrive in such situations. It is an opening that rewards the player who can think outside the box.
• Are happy to risk it all. The Budapest Gambit is for chess players who prefer decisive games - expect to win or lose a lot more games than you draw if you start the game with this opening!

Does that sound like the sort of chess player you are? If so, then begin your journey with the Budapest Gambit today!