How to Beat the Danish Gambit: Plans and Lines for Black

The simplest answer: 3...d5

The Sörensen Defense, 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 d5, is the low-risk choice. You do not take the c3 pawn at all. Instead you hit e4 and open your own pieces. After 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.cxd4 Nc6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.Be2, the engine line, White has an isolated pawn on d4 and you have easy development.

Your plan is to pressure d4. Put knights on c6 and f6, the bishop on g4 to pin the f3 knight, and later bring a rook to d8. Castle queenside with ...O-O-O if you want a sharp game, or kingside with ...Be7 and ...O-O if you want a quiet one. White scored only 44.3% in this line, so it works well in practice too.

Accepting and giving back: the Schlechter

If you want to take the material, play 3...dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 d5. You return one pawn at once to stop the attack. The engine line goes 6.Bxd5 Nf6 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qxd8 Bb4+ 9.Qd2, and after Black recaptures on d2 the queens are gone. Your king on f7 is safe in an endgame, and you have a healthy extra pawn or a fine, equal position.

This line scored very well for Black, with White at 37.2%. The point is simple: an attacking player wants queens on the board. Trade them and most of White's compensation disappears.

If you want a fight: the Copenhagen

For a sharper game, play 5...Bb4+ after the double gambit. White usually blocks with Nc3 or Nd2. You then play ...Nf6 and ...O-O, and later trade the bishop on c3 to weaken White's queenside and remove a defender of e4 and d5. The engine slightly prefers Black, and you keep material.

Castle before you grab anything else.
Answer Qb3 with ...O-O or ...Qe7, so f7 stays covered.
Look for ...d6 and ...Nc6 to complete development, then a rook to e8 to fight for the e-file.

Facing the one-pawn version: 4.Nxc3

Many White players do not offer the second pawn. After 3...dxc3 4.Nxc3 White has a knight on c3, open lines and a lead in development, while you have one extra pawn. The engine line goes 4...Bc5 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 Nc6 7.Qb3, and Black is fine.

Your setup is ...Bc5, ...d6, ...Nc6 and ...Nf6, with castling as soon as the f8 bishop is out. Against Qb3, the f7 pawn is the target, so be ready with ...Qd7 or ...Qe7, or simply castle and let the rook guard f7. Do not play ...Nf6 too early if e5 would hit it with tempo. A useful rule: put the pawn on d6 before the knight goes to f6, so an e5 push can simply be taken by the d6 pawn.

Once you castle, White has no extra target, and you are a clean pawn up. Trade the most active white piece, usually the c4 bishop, with ...Na5 or ...Be6.

Traps and lines to avoid

5...Qe7, the Chigorin Defense. The queen blocks the f8 bishop and stays in the way of your development. The engine prefers White.
A slow ...Nf6 with no follow-up. After e5 the knight has to move again, and White gains even more time.
Leaving f7 loose. With Bc4 and Qb3, any knight move away from f6 can allow a capture on f7 with check.
Grabbing more pawns. After two pawns, do not take a third. Develop, castle and trade.

Plans once the opening is over

Once you have castled and traded a pair of pieces, the game turns in your favor. In the accepted lines you are a pawn up with a solid structure, and White's open files help you as much as White. Bring rooks to d8 and e8, trade the light-squared bishops if you can, and head for an endgame.

In the Sörensen, play against the isolated d4 pawn. Blockade it with a knight on d5, trade minor pieces, and target it with rooks. White's attacking chances fade with each trade, while the weak pawn only gets weaker.

Lines we recommend for Black

Danish Gambit Declined: Sörensen DefenseThe simplest answer. Black declines the gambit, develops freely and gets play against an isolated d4 pawn.
Danish Gambit Accepted: Schlechter DefenseTake the pawns, give one back with 5...d5 and trade queens. White scored only 37.2% here.
Danish Gambit Accepted: Copenhagen DefenseA sharper option where Black keeps material, checks on b4 and castles quickly.

The main lines you will meet

Danish Gambit Accepted9,530 games · Black 43.2%
Danish Gambit Accepted: Copenhagen Defense937 games · Black 43.2%
Danish Gambit Declined: Sörensen Defense934 games · Black 55.7%
Danish Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense696 games · Black 44.0%
Danish Gambit Accepted: Chigorin Defense198 games · Black 41.2%
Danish Gambit Accepted: Schlechter Defense172 games · Black 62.8%

Questions

What is the best way to play against the Danish Gambit?

The Danish Gambit is risky for White, but it is not losing, so you beat it by playing sound moves rather than hunting for a knockout. The safest plans decline the gambit with 3...d5 or accept and give back a pawn with ...d5, so you finish development and reach a healthy position with no worse chances.

What does the engine play against the Danish Gambit?

Stockfish 17.1 at depth 20 prefers 3...dxc3 and rates the position −0.33 (a slight edge for Black).

Scores: Lichess rated games, September 2025 (blitz, rapid and classical). Engine: Stockfish 17.1. Updated October 2026. Method.