Vienna Gambit - Ultra Aggressive Kingside Attacks

The Vienna Gambit is a great option for the cut-throat, straight for the jugular type players. It plays out on the kingside, the opposite side of the board from the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, which starts with 1.d4 and conducts operations mainly on the queenside and the center. This gambit plays a lot like the King's Gambit with White offering Black a pawn on f4. It's more solid though with knights developed and less vulnerability to ...Qh4+ from Black.

Many of the same themes and concepts from the King's Gambit apply here also. White wants to get a lead in development. He wants to get his king's bishop posted on c4, his king castled short, his rook bearing down an open f-file and several pieces ready to attack Black's soft underbelly (f7). The Vienna Gambit is a variation within the quite broad and versatile Vienna Game (C25-29). You'll find the gambit in question under the specific ECO Entry C29.

Vienna Gambit

This opening was hugely popular in the 19th Century at the height of the Romantic Era. It was right at home in this age of chess with it's dynamic attacking lines.

The Austrian-based Swiss master Carl Hamppe (1814-76) is credited as the main theoretician involved in it's development. So much so that when the gambit is not called after the city where he played it so many times, it is sometimes called the Hamppe Gambit.

Carl Hamppe's most well known variation in the Vienna Gambit is the Hamppe-Muzio Gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 exf4 4.Nf3 g5 5.Bc4 g4 6.O-O gxf3 7.Qxf3 which is similar to the Muzio Gambit in the King's Gambit.

Vienna Gambit - Frankenstein-Dracula Variation

As always the position can be defended by Black. However extremely accurate moves are required while White's moves almost speak for themselves.



One minor innaccuracy from Black is all you need to get your minor pieces into the game very quickly with a complete takeover of the f-file and castling completed.



f7 is the big target and in many lines, Black's Kingside pawn structure is in tatters. Take a look at the Vienna G Analysis using Fritz. It would also be good to check out some famous Vienna G games to see how it handles in the field.

Budapest Gambit

The Vienna can make you feel like you've got this game licked. Very often by move 12 you can have your bewildered opponent completely obliterated. He'll be asking for the number of that truck.


For you it will simply be a case of basking in the glory of a beautifully constructed demolition job. There's nothing like the feeling of watching your pieces working in concert, as one, completely blowing the enemy out of the water.


And there are yet more ideas on how to batter your opponents into submission. For instance you could try the Budapest Gambit.