How to Play the English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense, Löhn Gambit as Black

The Löhn Gambit is a sharp way to meet the English Opening. Instead of settling for a standard Scandinavian or English structure, you offer White the d5-pawn. If White captures with 3.dxe6, you recapture with 3...Bxe6, and you have developed your light-squared bishop actively while White has spent two tempi on the c4- and d5-pawns. Your pawn on e6 disappears, but you get open diagonals for your pieces and a head start in development. The engine says White's best move is exactly that capture — dxe6 — but many club players don't know the follow-up and can drift. If White avoids dxe6, you may end up with a perfectly fine Scandinavian-style position after all.

From the position after 1.c4 d5 2.cxd5 e6, the engine's best move is 3.dxe6, continuing with 3...Bxe6 4.e3 Nf6. This is the key starting point of the gambit accepted. White's 4.e3 is solid — it prepares to develop the kingside while blocking in the c1-bishop slightly. You as Black have a comfortable, active position with your bishop on e6 eyeing the queenside, and you can follow up with moves like ...Nc6, ...Be7, and ...0-0. Your compensation for the pawn isn't overwhelming (remember the +1.09 evaluation means you are clearly worse), but in a practical game many White players struggle to convert. The statistics bear this out: across 72,009 games where White played 3.dxe6, White scored 55.1% — far from crushing.

The big opportunity for you comes when White doesn't take the gambit pawn. The three most common alternatives to dxe6 are all engine-certified inaccuracies. The most frequent of these is 3.Nc3, played in 24,638 games — but it loses about one pawn's worth of advantage compared to the best move. Similarly, 3.Nf3 (1,267 games) and 3.d4 (1,038 games) each lose roughly 0.8 pawns of advantage. After 3.Nc3, Black can simply continue developing with ...exd5, reaching a normal-looking English position with equal material and no problems. Your practical chances actually improve when White tries these moves: 3.Nc3 yields White only 51.4% — almost even. The one move you don't want to see is 3.dxe6, so be ready for it.

Let's look at the full picture from 102,139 games: White wins 54.0%, draws happen 3.3%, and Black wins 42.7%. That means Black's winning percentage is nearly as high as White's — a respectable result for a gambit that the engine says gives White a clear edge. The low draw rate (3.3%) tells you this is a fighting opening: games tend to be decisive. If you enjoy unbalanced positions, active piece play, and chances to out-calculate your opponent, the Löhn Gambit suits your style. Just don't expect a free lunch — you are worse objectively, so you'll need to play accurately to cash in those practical winning chances.