Latvian Gambit

The Latvian Gambit is an aggressive chess opening in which Black gives up a pawn early on in the hope of gaining the initiative. It was formerly known as the Greco Counter Gambit until the new name was made official by the FIDE Congress of 1937. The new name was a tribute to the Latvian players, notably Karlis Betin, who analyzed it in the early part of the 20th century. The original name commemorated the Italian player Gioachino Greco[?] (1600-1634). This opening is rarely played in major tournaments but appears to be a favorite of postal chess players.

The opening is characterized by the following moves (in algebraic chess notation) which give it the appearance of a King's Gambit[?] with the colours reversed.

1. e4 e5

2. Nf3 f5

At this point several possible moves by white have been studied, of which the most important are

• 3. Nxe5 - the main line
• 3. Bc4
• 3. exf5
• 3. d4
• 3. Nc3

Several other continuations have been studied but are considered to lack advantage for white

• 3. d3
• 3. b4
• 3. b3
• 3. Qe2
• 3. g4