Kieseritzky Gambit

Kieseritzky Gambit
abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
e5 white knight
e4 white pawn
f4 black pawn
g4 black pawn
h4 white pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
f1 white bishop
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Moves1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.h4 g4 5.Ne5
ECOC39
OriginManuscript by Giulio Cesare Polerio, 1590
Named afterLionel Kieseritzky (1805-1853)
ParentKing's Gambit

In chess, the Kieseritzky Gambit is an opening line in the King's Gambit. It begins with the moves:

1. e4 e5
2. f4 exf4
3. Nf3 g5
4. h4 g4
5. Ne5

Following Black's attempt to hold the sacrificed pawn by 3...g5, White reacts by immediately undermining the pawn chain. It is one of the main lines of the King's Gambit after 3...g5, and its overall assessment is still unclear but approximately equal. The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings classifies the Kieseritzky Gambit under code C39. C39 is also the code for the Allgaier Gambit, in which White plays 5.Ng5?!, sacrificing the knight for an attack after 5...h6 6.Nxf7 Kxf7. The Allgaier Gambit is considered dubious by modern theory.