The Englund Gambit: Soller Gambit after exf6 — Playing Black

You've given up a pawn, but look at your position: a knight on f6 already developed, an open f-file for your rook after ...Bg4? or ...0-0, and potential threats along the e5 square or against White's king if they castle kingside. White's extra pawn on e5 isn't going anywhere immediately; it can even become a target if you later play ...d6. Your main idea is rapid development — get your dark-squared bishop to c5 or b4, castle quickly, and create pressure before White consolidates. The engine says White is clearly better, but in practice, many White players mishandle the position. The most accurate reply is 4.Bg5, pinning your knight and threatening to trade it off while developing. If you know how to respond, you can keep the game messy and dangerous.

The engine's best move is 4.Bg5, and it's also the third most played in practice (213,376 games). White pins your knight and threatens to double your pawns after Bxf6. The engine's recommended continuation is Bg5 Nc6 e3 h6. After 4...Nc6, White plays 5.e3, preparing to defend the e5 pawn with Qd2 or Bd3, and then you should play 5...h6, asking the bishop what it intends. This forces White to either trade on f6 (giving you the open g-file and a slightly looser pawn structure) or retreat. If White retreats with Bh4, you can follow up with ...g5, ...Bg7, and ...0-0, gaining space and kicking the bishop. Statistics show that when White plays Bg5, their winning percentage drops to 48.3% — the lowest of any mainline response. So while 4.Bg5 is objectively strongest, it actually gives you your best practical chances as Black.

The most common move White plays is 4.Nf3 (343,853 games), but it's a passive choice that doesn't challenge your compensation much. White scores 51.6% here — the highest among the top options, but still not overwhelming. Against 4.Nf3, develop naturally with ...Nc6, ...Bc5 or ...Bb4, and ...0-0. You can also consider ...d6 immediately to attack the e5 pawn. The second most popular is 4.Nc3 (220,147 games), which is similarly unambitious. White scores 51.4% — nearly identical to Nf3. Develop the same way; you can even play ...Bb4 to pin the knight. 4.e3 (99,786 games) and 4.g3 (14,382 games) are slower, allowing you to seize the initiative. Against 4.e3, White's score is just 49.3%, and against 4.g3 it's 51.8% — so don't fear either. The one move to watch out for is 4.Bf4 (41,823 games), where White scores 53.8% — their best percentage. Against Bf4, your knight is not pinned, so you can play ...d6 immediately, threatening ...g5 to win the bishop, or simply develop with ...Nc6 and ...Bc5.

Let's be honest — Stockfish gives +1.31, which is a large advantage for White. That means you are objectively worse right out of the opening. So why play it? Because the numbers from real games tell a different story. Across 1,009,732 games at this exact position, Black wins 46.2% of the time, draws are rare at 3.4%, and White wins 50.4%. That 46.2% is much higher than you'd expect for a position where your opponent is supposed to be clearly better. In practical play, the Soller Gambit works because White players often don't know the refutation, get overconfident, or make an error while trying to hold onto their extra pawn. If you enjoy dynamic, tactical chess with attacking chances — and you don't mind a losing evaluation in exchange for real winning chances — this opening can be a fun surprise weapon at club level.