Evans Gambit

The Evans Gambit begins after the moves 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4. White offers the b-pawn to gain time, build a centre with c3 and d4, and open lines toward f7.

Yes, especially for players who want to learn what development is worth. Giving up a pawn for time teaches open lines and quick attacks better than any lecture. The cost is that a careless attack leaves you simply a pawn down.

Yes. Accepting the pawn leads to an equal game with correct play, which is all a gambit can ask for. The compensation is real, and Black has to keep finding good moves to hold the balance.

White gives up a wing pawn to play c3 and d4 with tempo. The reward is a pawn centre, open lines, and a bishop already aimed at f7 before Black has castled.

It is the line where Black takes a second pawn on c3 in the main line. It holds up with accurate play, though club players score badly with it.

Take the pawn with 4... Bxb4, which leads to equal play with accurate defence. Declining with 4... Bb6 is also playable, but it leaves White slightly better.

The best known one is in the Anderssen Variation. Black takes on c3 as in the main line, but with the bishop on e7 the queen arrives on d5 with a double attack.

It was a favourite of the nineteenth century masters, among them Anderssen, Morphy and Chigorin. In modern chess it is rare, though Garry Kasparov used it in the 1990s and beat Viswanathan Anand with it in Riga.

Choose the Italian Game if you want a slow build-up and a position you can play on general principles. Choose the Evans Gambit if you would rather spend a pawn to open the game before your opponent is ready.