Editing Latvian Gambit (section)

==3.Bc4==
{{Chess diagram  
 |tright
 |
 |rd|nd|bd|  |  |bd|nd|  
 |pd|pd|pd|pd|kd|nl|  |  
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |ql|  
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
 |  |  |  |pl|pd|  |  |  
 |  |  |nl|  |  |  |  |  
 |pl|pl|pl|  |kl|pl|  |pl
 |rl|  |qd|  |  |  |  |  
 |Position after 14.Nc3
}}

White's 3.Bc4 may lead to perhaps the most notorious and heavily analysed line of the Latvian, which begins 3...fxe4 4.Nxe5 Qg5 5.d4 Qxg2 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Bf7+ Kd8 8.Bxg6! Qxh1+ 9.Ke2 Qxc1 (9...c6 is a major alternative) 10.Nf7+ Ke8 11.Nxh8+ hxg6 12.Qxg6+ Kd8 13.Nf7+ Ke7 14.Nc3! (''diagram'').<ref>Kosten 2001, pp. 124-39. Kosten calls 4...Qg5 "probably one of the sharpest and most extensively analysed opening variations of all." ''Id.'' at 117.</ref>

Instead of 4...Qg5, however, "nowadays players often give preference to 4...d5", the Svedenborg<ref>Kosten 2001, p. 117.</ref> or Polerio<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hooper |first1=David |author-link1=David Vincent Hooper |last2=Whyld |first2=Kenneth |author-link2=Kenneth Whyld |title=[[The Oxford Companion to Chess]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1996 |edition=2nd |orig-year=First pub. 1992 |page=312 |isbn=0-19-280049-3 }}</ref> Variation. According to Latvian Gambit experts Kon Grivainis and John Elburg, Black wins more often than White in this line.<ref>Kon Grivainis and John Elburg, ''New Developments in the Latvian Gambit'', Chess Enterprises, 1998, p. 6. {{ISBN|0-945470-69-X}}.</ref> After 4...d5 5.Qh5+ g6 6.Nxg6, Black chooses between 6...Nf6 and 6...hxg6. 6...Nf6 usually leads, after 7.Qe5+ Be7 8.Bb5+! (a small [[zwischenzug]] to deprive Black's knight of the c6-square) 8...c6 9.Nxe7 Qxe7 10.Qxe7+ Kxe7 11.Be2 (or 11.Bf1), to an endgame where Black is a pawn down but has positional [[Compensation (chess)|compensation]].<ref>Kosten 2001, pp. 159-64.</ref> Sharper is 6...hxg6, when 7.Qxh8 Kf7 9.Qd4 Be6 gives White a large {{chessgloss|material}} advantage, but his "position is constantly on the edge of a precipice", and the line has accordingly fallen out of favour.<ref>Kosten 2001, p. 151.</ref> More often, White plays 7.Qxg6+ Kd7 8.Bxd5 Nf6, leading to sharp and [[chesspunc#Unclear|unclear]] play.<ref>Kosten 2001, pp. 140-50.</ref>

Black's best response is 3...fxe4. Some sample continuations are
* 4.Nxe5 Qg5 5.Nxf7 Qxg2 6.Rf1 d5 7.Nxh8 (a common mistake is 7.Bxd5? Nc6! 8.Nxh8 Bg4 9.f3 Be7 10.Qe2 Bh4+ 11.Kd1 Qxe2+ 12.Kxe2 Nd4+) 7...Nf6
* 4.Nxe5 Qg5 5.d4 Qxg2 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Bf7+ Kd8 8.Bxg6 Qxh1+ 9.Ke2 Qxc1 10.Nf7+ Ke8 11.Nd6+ Kd8 12.Nf7+ Ke8 13.Nxh8+ hxg6 14.Qxg6+ Kd8 15.Nf7+ Ke7 16.Nc3 Qxc2+ 17.Ke1 d6 18.Nd5+ Kd7 19.Qxg8 e3 20.fxe3 Be7 21.Ng5 Na6
* 4.Bxg8 Rxg8 5.Nxe5 Qg5 6.Ng4 d5 7.h3 Qg6

<em>Assessment</em>: Black is usually down material, but has excellent compensation. Most of White's pieces are still on the back rank. IM Mio argues Black is better.<ref>{{Citation|title=World First?! Chess Master Teaches Latvian Gambit for Black!|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ywv7EH47Po| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/_ywv7EH47Po| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live|language=en|access-date=2021-09-24}}{{cbignore}}</ref>