Editing Gambit (section)

{{Short description|Sacrificial chess opening}}
{{other uses}}
{{Chess diagram
| tright
| fen=rnbqkbnr/pppp1ppp/8/4p3/4PP2/8/PPPP2PP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 2
| footer=King's Gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.f4. If Black takes the pawn (...exf4), White has a stronger attack in the opening.
}}

A '''gambit''' (from Italian {{lang|it|gambetto}}, the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a [[chess opening]] in which a player [[sacrifice (chess)|sacrifices]] {{chessgloss|material}} with the aim of achieving a subsequent {{chessgloss|positional play|positional}} advantage.<ref>{{cite book|last=Brace|first=Edward R.|year=1979|title=An Illustrated Dictionary of Chess|publisher=Hamlyn|page=114|isbn=0-600-32920-8}}</ref>

The word ''[[wikt:gambit|gambit]]'' is also sometimes used to describe similar tactics used by politicians or business people in a struggle with rivals in their fields, for example: "The [[2017 United Kingdom general election|early election]] was a risky gambit by [[Theresa May]]."

{{AN chess|pos=toc}}