The Englund Gambit is a rarely played chess opening that starts with the moves
1.d4 e5
It is also known as the Charlick Gambit after Australian Henry Charlick (1845–1916) who introduced it in the early 1890s.
Charlick became the second chess champion of Australia in 1897.
Swedish player Fritz Carl Anton Englund (1871–1933) also played this opening which is sometimes called the Englund Counterattack.
This gambit is almost never played because it is not considered sound for Black.
Charlick´s idea was for Black to avoid the closed openings with 2.dxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6.
White remains a pawn up with a comfortable advantage after 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4.
After 2.dxe5 Englund instead played 2...Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 anticipating 4.Qd5 f6 5.exf6 Nxf6, but this also doesn´t equalize for Black.
References
- Hooper, David and Kenneth Whyld (1996). The Oxford Companion To Chess. Oxford University. ISBN 0-19-280049-3.
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