King's Gambit Accepted: Traditional Variation

King's Gambit Accepted: Traditional Variation is a sacrificial opening line filed under ECO C38 in the Open Games group. The defining idea is the early concession of material to seize the initiative and unbalance the position.

The Open Games group covers open games — classical 1.e4 e5 openings where both sides contest the centre directly with pawns.

Play reaches this position via 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 Bg7, after 8 plies of opening development.

In the opening tree, this line branches off from King's Gambit Accepted: King's Knight's Gambit, part of the broader King's Pawn Game system.

3 named variations grow from this line, including King's Gambit Accepted: Hanstein Gambit, King's Gambit Accepted: Mayet Gambit, King's Gambit Accepted: Philidor Gambit.

In total, the branch covers 4 sub-variations across all depths.

Use the board to walk through every move, check how the position has scored on Lichess, or take it head-to-head against Stockfish.