Englund Gambit Declined: Reversed French: f6 – A Small but Clear Edge for White

Black's move order — 1.d4 e5 2.e3 f6 — has a clear drawback: it weakens the kingside without gaining much. The pawn on f6 takes away the g8-knight's best square and does nothing to challenge your centre. Stockfish evaluates this as +0.46, a small but real advantage for White. That means you are already sitting slightly better if you choose correctly. The engine's recommendation is 3.Nf3, developing a piece and bringing the position to the key tabiya where you have a chance to strike.

From the position after 3.Nf3, the engine's top choice is e4, with the plan of continuing Ng1 f5 c4. Yes, you move the same pawn twice — but look at what it accomplishes: you seize the centre, open lines for your bishop and queen, and make Black's f6 pawn look even more like a weakness. This is your best path to convert that +0.46 edge into a real advantage. In the drill below, try playing 4.e4 and see how Stockfish responds.

Over 30,503 games from this exact position, White wins 53.2% of the time, with only 4.2% draws — meaning Black's chances of winning drop to 42.6%. These numbers are unusually one-sided for an opening that hasn't even entered a main line yet. The most-played Black replies are: - e4 (8,132 games, White scores 49.1%) - Nc6 (5,506 games, White scores 53.2%) - exd4 (5,241 games, White scores 56.2%) - d6 (4,495 games, White scores 52.7%) - d5 (2,294 games, White scores 54.0%) - Bb4+ (1,072 games, White scores 57.7%) Notice that every single one of Black's options gives White a score above 49%, and three of them — exd4, d5, and Bb4+ — are especially promising for you.

While 4.e4 is the engine's favourite, many Black players instead choose moves that the engine tags as inaccuracies. Here are the three most common ones to watch for: - Nc6 — an inaccuracy that loses about 0.6 pawns. Better was e4. - exd4 — an inaccuracy that loses about 0.9 pawns. Better was e4. - d6 — an inaccuracy that loses about 0.8 pawns. Better was e4. If Black plays any of these, you gain a bigger edge. The drill will let you practise refuting these inaccurate replies on the board.

You don't need to memorise long lines here. After 1.d4 e5 2.e3 f6, just develop with 3.Nf3 and then push 4.e4 if Black hasn't captured on d4. From there, your plan is natural: develop your kingside pieces, keep an eye on the f5 square, and prepare c4 to reinforce your centre. Black's f6 pawn often becomes a target later. In the drill below, practise against each of Black's most popular responses and see how your score compares to the database averages.