In this video lesson, you’ll learn how to counter White’s aggressive and dangerous opening—the King’s Gambit—which begins with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.f4. It’s no surprise that this opening has one of the highest win rates for White after 1.e4 e5, as it offers numerous deadly traps and attacking opportunities.

Because of this, playing against the King’s Gambit as Black requires extra caution. So, what’s the best way to handle it? Should you accept the gambit with 2…exf4, or should you decline it?

The answer is a bit unconventional—you play a gambit yourself! Enter the Falkbeer Countergambit, where Black counters with 2…d5. This countergambit named after the Austrian master Ernst Falkbeer. Instead of passively accepting the King’s Gambit, you go on the offensive, meeting White’s gambit with another gambit of your own.

This countergambit is bound to catch your opponents off guard. If they don’t know what they’re doing, they could easily lose the game as early as move 3.

Falkbeer Countergambit Video Lesson

Watch the full video lesson to explore all the key variations, learn how to counter White’s typical responses, and discover some of the deadliest traps for Black!

Below, you can find the variations shown in the video:

Want to see more countergambits? Check out these articles: Counter-Gambits Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

Explore the Chess Openings Lesson Guide to find lessons organized by opening strategies. Improve your play from the first moves with a clear, topic-based approach.

This opening is a great tool in your arsenal as it’s aggressive and full of traps which can win you quick and easy victories. However, there’s more to chess improvement than just learning different openings.

If you want to learn all the fundamental things about chess then you need to check out Level Up Your Chess. This course has six sections covering, not just the opening, middlegame and endgame. It also covers how to avoid blunders and how to study and train effectively.

And my big promise in this course is that studying just one section is enough to boost your chess rating. So, go ahead and check it out.