The Deutz Gambit | Italian Game Theory

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The Deutz Gambit is one of the sharpest gambits in the King's Pawn opening and one of the biggest surprises an e5 player could encounter in the Giuoco Piano!

For the basics of the Italian Game, watch this video: youtu.be/dP4qtaUAhWM

The Deutz Gambit is a great surprise weapon to add to your e4 opening repertoire. It's sharp, aggressive, and not too many people know how to play it properly.

White gives up a central pawn for a lot of activity and attacking prospects and hopes to create a huge attack before black can consolidate and develop normally.

After the gambit (5.d4), black has three ways to recapture the pawn. Two of the moves are bad and white should be able to punish them easily. The main and the best move is a bit more complex.

Taking the pawn with the c5 bishop is best, and what white hopes to do in the main line is put pressure on the f6 knight and disable black from castling comfortably.

That's the main compensation white has for the pawn. And it's enough!

I have gone through all the options black has if he plays perfectly for the first ten or so moves, and they should be enough for you to get a solid game. What's better even is that black has several opportunities to go badly or even terminally wrong before that. Enjoy crushing people with the Deutz Gambit!