Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...f5/3. Nxe5/3...Qf6/4. Nc4/4...fxe4/5. Nc3/5...Qf7/6. Ne3

Latvian Gambit
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) rnb1kbnr/pppp1qpp/8/8/4p3/2N1N3/PPPP1PPP/R1BQKB1R b
Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. Nxe5 Qf6 4. Nc4 fxe4 5. Nc3 Qf7 6. Ne3
ECO code: C40
Parent: Latvian Gambit

Latvian Gambit, Leonhardt Variation

6. Ne3

White has seemingly thwarted ...d5 yet again, and is now asking the Black army how they're going to save Private Ryan on e4.

There are two options for Black: abandon e4 and make another non-developing move with 6...c6 to finally establish an iron grip over d5, or continue the charge with 6...d5, the Atars Gambit, accepting the loss of the d-pawn and saddling White with only the minor inconvenience of having to come and capture it.

It should be pointed out here that, in fact, the suicidal-looking 6...d5 is one of Black's last remaining attempts to revive the Latvian Gambit. If it doesn't work, the swashbuckling old opening will likely be tucked away on a shelf with a label "suitable only for unprepared opponents".

References

• Nunn's Chess Openings. 1999. John Nunn (Editor), Graham Burgess, John Emms, Joe Gallagher. ISBN 1-8574-4221-0.

• Kasparov, Garry, & Keene, Raymond 1989 Batsford chess openings 2. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.