Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nf6/3. Nxe5/3...Nc6/4. Nxc6/4...dxc6/5. e5/5...Ne4/6. d3

Stafford Gambit rd bd qd kd bd rd pd pd pd pd pd pd pd pl nd pl pl pl pl pl pl pl rl nl bl ql kl bl rl Stafford Gambit 6.d3?? Although better than 6.f3??, the move gives Black a winning tactic. Instead of moving the knight away, Black has the move 6...Bc5!, sacrificing the knight. Targeting the weak f-pawn, White's best move is blocking with 7. Be3. After the bishops trade 8...Qh4+ wins the rook for a knight, a common theme in the Stafford Gambit. More commonly, White captures the knight with 7. dxe4. This allows 7...Bxf2+, sacrificing the bishop. If the White king captures the bishop, Black will capture the undefended queen. Otherwise, the White king will move up and 8...Bg4+ wins the queen. References Petrov Defence