Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nf6/3. Nxe5/3...Nc6/4. Nxc6/4...dxc6/5. d3/5...Bc5/6. Be2

Stafford Gambit - Main Line
a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) r1bqk2r/ppp2ppp/2p2n2/2b5/4P3/3P4/PPP1BPPP/RNBQK2R b
Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6 4. Nxc6 dxc6 5. d3 Bc5 6. Be2

Stafford Gambit - Main Line

6. Be2

White tries to prevent Ng4.

A common response for Stafford gambit players is 6...h5, still fighting for the g4 square. Black can also immediately play 6...Ng4 (7. Bxg4 Qh4 winning back the bishop) but Black would prefer not to trade and instead keep up the attack on the f-pawn.

From here, the main line goes 7. c3 Ng4 8. d4 Qh4 9. g3 Qf6, and white has a significant advantage. However, white needs to be careful still. If 10. Bxg4?, then 10... Bxg4 11. Qd3 (11. Qd2? Qf3! and black is already winning) O-O-O, and black gets a dangerous attack and plenty of development, along with a safe king, giving more than enough compensation for the pawn. Instead, the way to continue is 10. f3! (10. Bf3 also works) h4!? 11. fxg4 hxg3 12. Be3 (not 12. hxg3?? Rxh1+ winning the rook or 12. dxc5?? Qf2+ with a crushing attack. 12. Rf1 gxh2 isn't good for white either) Rxh2 13. Rg1! (Rf1 and Rxh2 are alright according to computer analysis, but 13. Rg1 is the most straightforward way to maintain advantage) Be7 14. Nd2! Qh4?! 15. Nf3 Qh3 16. Kd2!, with complications favoring white in a chaotic position.

If white does manage to get through the attack black gets (or tries to get), white should be completely winning, but this is harder than most people think, and even many titled players have struggled with the long-term attack that black gets.