King's Gambit Declined: Classical
1.e4 e5 2.f4 Bc5 3.Nf3 d6 4.fxe5
Classical
1.2.3.4.
What Is The Classical?
4.fxe5 is White cashing in: the f-pawn goes for a central pawn and the f-file opens, so after 4...dxe5 every White plan runs through f7. What it does not do is win a pawn. Black's bishop on c5 already covers the a7-g1 diagonal, and greed costs White the initiative.
5.Nxe5 loses the pawn straight back to 5...Qd4, which attacks the knight and threatens mate on f2. White therefore develops, aiming for c3 and d4 to seize the centre and shut that bishop out. Black holds the point e5 with ...Nc6 and ...Nf6 and keeps the queen's route to d4 or h4 alive. The open f-file cuts both ways: White pressures f7, but the bishop on c5 makes short castling awkward, and whoever completes development first owns the file.
What Do Players Choose At The Decision Point?
| Move | Share | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bc4 | 39% | 65 | |
| c3 | 29% | 48 | |
| fxe5 | 13% | 22 | |
| Nc3 | 10% | 17 |
The Named Lines Of The Classical
| Line | Moves |
|---|---|
| Soldatenkov Variation | 1.e4 e5 2.f4 Bc5 3.Nf3 d6 4.fxe5 |
| Hanham Variation | 1.e4 e5 2.f4 Bc5 3.Nf3 d6 4.Nc3 Nd7 |
| Réti Variation | 1.e4 e5 2.f4 Bc5 3.Nf3 d6 4.c3 f5 5.fxe5 dxe5 6.d4 exd4 7.Bc4 |
| Svenonius Variation | 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.f4 d6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.h3 Bxf3 8.Qxf3 exf4 |