Current position
Elephant Gambit
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5
The Elephant Gambit starts with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5 and is catalogued under ECO C40, in the open games & french half of the book. The catalog indexes 4 lines inside it, grouped into 4 named variations, and the position after those moves has 2 playable continuations to walk from here.
Root edges show how often each move is played around your Elo. Use the arrow on a position to reveal the next replies.
Current setup
Move ideas
Claims the center with a pawn and opens lines for the queen and king’s bishop.
Idea: Build quick development and make early castling possible.
Meets White’s center directly and opens lines for Black’s queen and bishop.
Idea: Fight for equal central space in a balanced, open position.
Develops the king’s knight and attacks Black’s e5-pawn.
Idea: Increase central pressure while getting ready to castle.
Advances to d5 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.
Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.
Captures the pawn on d5 and changes the local pawn or piece balance.
Idea: Open lines in the center and reshape the center for the next phase.
Waiting for Lichess game popularity.
Each line below is an indexed entry under Elephant Gambit. Open one to load it on the board and keep exploring from that position.
ECO groups openings by the structures they lead to, so these families tend to share plans with the Elephant Gambit.