Play the Blackburne Shilling Gambit: Nxe5 as Black

After the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 4.Nxe5 Qe7, you've created a double threat: your queen attacks the knight on e5, and your queen also eyes the bishop on c4. White has several options here, and most are inaccurate or outright bad. The engine's best move is Nxf7 (knight takes f7, forking queen and rook), continuing with Nxf7 Qxe4+ Kf1 d5. Even in that line, White scores only 49.1% across 3,320 games — barely above Black. This shows that even the best reply is not a knockout for White. Your task as Black is to keep the pressure on, develop quickly, and stay alert for White's mistakes.

Several popular White moves are known mistakes in this position. Bxf7+ (bishop takes f7 with check) is played in 2,295 games but loses about 0.9 pawns compared to the best move — it's an inaccuracy. White scores 49.8% here. f4 (1,096 games) loses about 1.0 pawns and is also an inaccuracy; White scores 52.3%. Nf3 (617 games) is even worse — a mistake that loses about 2.7 pawns, dropping White's score to 48.9%. If your opponent plays any of these, you should be ready to seize the advantage. The key is to stay calm: your queen is active, you can often play ...Qxe4+ forcing a king move, and then follow up with ...d5 to open lines for your pieces.

The Lichess database shows 8,437 games from this exact position. White wins 49.2%, Black wins 47.8%, and draws are rare at 3.0%. Compare that to the engine evaluation of +0.93 for White, and you'll see the gap between theory and practice. Black scores almost as well as White in real games, even though White has a theoretically winning position. Why? Because the position is tricky and White has many tempting but wrong continuations. The most popular move Nxf7 (3,320 games) is the engine's best, but even there White scores only 49.1%. The move Qh5 (426 games) is particularly bad for White, giving White only 41.8% score. These statistics are your friend: if White doesn't know the theory, you have excellent winning chances.

After 4...Qe7, your main plan is to keep the initiative. If White plays the best move Nxf7, you recapture with your queen — Nxf7 Qxe4+ — forcing White's king to move (usually Kf1), after which you play ...d5 to block the bishop on c4 and open lines for your light-squared bishop and queen. If White plays something worse like Bxf7+, you can take with your king (Kxf7) and then White's knight on e5 is under attack by your queen — you'll often win a piece. Against f4, you can simply capture the knight (Qxe5) and build a solid position. Against Nf3, you have time to play Qxe4+ and then develop your pieces naturally. In all lines, remember: you are the attacker in this gambit. Your queen and knight are well-placed, and your d-pawn can become a powerful asset.