The 5 Most Aggressive Chess Openings
The Most Aggressive Ways to Open in Chess!
Chess is a fun game with thousands of opening options for players of all abilities.
Some players never venture too far from their comfortable positional openings.
However, finding a few aggressive openings is a great idea for players at any level to spice up their games.
The Sicilian Defense: Godiva Variation
In this article, read about the most aggressive chess openings for players who don’t mind giving up some control of the game to get a more fun position.
If you’ve been looking for a few aggressive openings to play for a win at any cost, check out this list of aggressive chess openings for both white and black!
1. King’s Gambit Accepted: Rosentreter Gambit
This opening, which begins with the line e4 e5 f4 exf4 Nf3 g5 d4, is an extension of the more popular King’s Gambit.
The King’s Gambit is named after the King’s pawn move (e4) and it continues by gambiting the pawn on f4.
This variation has been featured in games with top GMs like Morozevich and Dominguez Perez, with those games ending with one victory for white and one victory for black.
It’s a fun opening for chess players looking for something new to answer e4 e5 with.
For new players, this opening is good because it uses some elements of the Queen’s Gambit, an opening most players learn early on.
The Rosentreter Gambit, in particular, can be fun for players, as black instantly attacks on the kingside while white is comfortable with the two central pawns.
2. Sicilian Defense: Godiva Variation
The Sicilian Defense is a favourite for aggressive chess players playing black. It begins with e4 c5 and usually continues with Nf3 Nc6.
The full variation for the Godiva Variation is e4 c5 Nf3 Nc6 d4 cxd4 Nxd5 Qb6.
By bringing the queen out early in this defence for black, you’re instantly threatening the underdefended knight on d4 and you’re baiting your opponent to play Be3 and weaken the b2 square.
This opening often leads to a victory for one side or the other, and with black having more counterplay than a usual Sicilian, it’s a favourite for players looking to have more fun in their games.
This variation is used by top players who want counter-opening prep for the more popular Sicilian Najdorf.
Top chess players like Anand, Gelfand, Kramnik and Carlsen all played this opening at one point, with mixed results.
One popular variation that leads to a good position for black continues Nb5 a6 be3 Qd8, where white’s odds in GM games are down to 21% and black’s chances go up to 44%.
Once the white knight is pushed back, black will have an easier time developing and finding good squares for the pieces.
3. Bird Opening: Williams Gambit
The Bird Opening is an opening for white that begins with f4. It’s a less popular opening move than other openings mentioned in this article.
It has some good possibilities for aggressive games because it opens up the white King, which can bait the black player into some bad variations. This gambit continues f4 d5 e4.
By instantly gambiting the white e pawn, white is hoping to open up the position and later play d4 to open up more lines.
If white can later castle and bring both rooks to the centre, they’ll have a lot of counterplay for the two pawns.
This is a fun gambit to mess around with and you can be sure your opponent will be playing with no prep, since the opening is incredibly rare.
4. Blackmar-Diemer Gambit
Similar to the last opening, which instantly gambits a central pawn, this gambit goes d4 d5 e4.
White gives away their e4 pawn for the open file and piece activity.
Most often dxe4 is followed by Nc3 Nf6 f3 exf3 Nxf3 which gives white a lot of open lines to activate, two active knights and the only central pawn.
These advantages are considered by strong players to be decent compensation in the opening and sometimes worth the gambit.
Chess theory says that after the opening moves mentioned, g6 is considered very strong for black, but that can be a difficult move to find with the black knight on f6 having few potential moves.
This is a fun gambit for players who like giving away a central pawn for activity.
Another reason this gambit has become more popular is due to its ease for white.
After playing the obvious moves d4 d5 e4 dxe4 Nc3 Nf6 f3 Bf5 white is already in a really good position, where their activity should win the game.
5. Englund Gambit
The Englund Gambit challenges White to ruin their position for the sake of a pawn.
This position is reached after the moves d4 e5 dxe5. The full Englund gambit continued Nc6 Nf3 Qe7. Black will pressure the e5 pawn while white ruins their position defending.
The theory says that white should be better in this position but there are a lot of traps white can fall into if they're not careful.
For example, after the moves Bf4 d6 exd6 Qf6, white is forced to play the somewhat tricky Qc1 or black will equalise.
The best play for white is to actually give the pawn back and accept that black is essentially losing their development in an attempt to gain some.
What Aggressive Chess Openings Work Best for You?
Playing chess is a really fun experience for players of any skill level.
Chess players who want to have more fun are always looking for aggressive openings, but it’s usually only through experience that players can learn about these gambits.
These positions are lots of fun- and they can lead to more wins if you’re a confident player!
