Lesson
White to move. Main line: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 7. Qb3 Qe7
Count the tempi after 7.Qb3: White has developed the knight, bishop and queen, opened lines with c3 and d4, and created concrete threats against f7 — all for one pawn. Black’s dark-squared bishop has moved three times and now sits offside on a5.
The critical position after 7...Qe7 shows the gambit’s double edge: Black defends f7 laterally and keeps the extra pawn, but blocks the f8–e7 development square. White continues 8.O-O and d4-d5 or Ba3 ideas, playing against the awkward black queen.
The declining line 4...Bb6 is the practical antidote for players who dislike defending — but as the variation shows, White gets queenside space with 5.b5 at no cost at all. Gambits are only refuted by accepting them and surviving; this replay shows what "surviving" has to look like.
If 4...Bb6 (declining): 4... Bb6 5. b5 — the gambit declined: White gains space for free and the b6-bishop bites on granite.
If 5...Bc5 (instead of Ba5): 5... Bc5 6. d4 exd4 7. cxd4 Bb4+ 8. Bd2 — the bishop gets chased again; White builds the full pawn center with tempo.