Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Ne7

Colman Gambit

2...Ne7

The Colman Gambit is an unorthodox and rare response to White's 2. Nf3. While it is seldom seen at high levels of play, the gambit seeks to confuse the opponent and create dynamic, unbalanced positions. Black's idea is to support a later ...f5 pawn push or prepare unexpected central play. White has several responses to take advantage of Black's unusual move:

• 3. Nxe5 is a critical response, directly challenging Black's setup. After 3...d6, White can retreat with 4. Nf3, where Black must play carefully to justify the unorthodox knight placement.
• 3. d4 is the Classical Variation, striking in the center and exploiting Black's delayed development. Black typically responds with 3...exd4, leading to an open game where White has a central advantage.
• 3. Bc4 develops another piece actively, aiming at Black's weak f7 square. This often forces Black to play defensively with moves like 3...d6 or transpose into a reversed King's Gambit setup with 3...Ng6 followed by ...f5.
• 3. c3 prepares to establish a strong pawn center with d4. Black may reply with 3...d6, maintaining flexibility, or even 3...f5, leading to sharp play.
• 3. Nc3 develops a piece and prepares to control the center. Black can transpose into standard openings or continue with ...Ng6 or ...d6, aiming for later counterplay.

Theory table

For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Ne7

	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
Classical Variation	d4 exd4	Nxd4 d5	exd5 Qxd5	Be3 Nbc6	Nb5 Qd8	Bf4 Nd5	Qxd5 Qxd5	Nxc7+ Kd8	Nxa8 Bf5	c3 Kc8	0-0-0 Be7	Balanced
3. Nxe5	Nxe5 d6	Nf3 f5	exf5 Bxf5	Bc4 Qd7	0-0 O-O-O	d4 Ng6	Be3 Kb8	Balanced
Reversed King's Gambit	Bc4 Ng6	Balanced

How to read the theory table: The rows of the table represent different variations of the Colman Gambit. The columns show the sequential moves in each variation, with Black's responses listed below White's moves. The final column provides an evaluation of the resulting position, such as "Balanced," indicating an equal game. Chess notations are written in algebraic notation.

Example Games

The Colman Gambit has been used in a few notable games. Below are some examples with full game details:

• Jadanowski, Lukasz vs. Toczek, Grzegorz

 Event: Warsaw AIG Life Rapid  
 Site: Warsaw  
 Date: 12/18/2005  
 Round: 9  
 Score: ½-½  
 ECO: C40 King's Knight Opening  
 Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Ne7 3. d4 d5 4. exd5 Nxd5 5. Bc4 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Bxd5 Qxd5 8. Bf4 c6 9. Nc3 Be6 10. Qe1 Nd7 11. Ng5 Qe4 ½-½  

• Keskin, Ilkin Zeynep vs. Halpert, Alexandra

 Event: Eskisehir EU Fest-B Girls 3rd  
 Site: Eskisehir  
 Date: 04/20/2004  
 Round: 2.9  
 Score: 0-1  
 ECO: C40 King's Knight Opening  
 Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Ne7 3. Nxe5 Na6 4. Nc3 Nf5 5. exf5 Bc5 6. Bc4 d6 7. Nf3 Kf8 8. O-O Bxf5 9. b4 Bb6 10. Re1 h5 11. Ba3 h4 12. b5 Bxb4 13. Bxb4 h3 14. g4 Rh6 15. Rxb7 Kg8 16. g5 Rh8 17. Ne2 Be6 18. Nf4 Re8 19. Rxe6 Rxe6 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Ne5 Qxg5 22. Rb8+ Kh7 23. Qd3+ g6 24. Qxh3+ Kg7 25. Qh8# 0-1  

• Balog, Marton vs. Foldi, Martin

 Event: Gyongyos Matra Cup  
 Site: Gyongyos  
 Date: 07/23/2003  
 Round: 2  
 Score: 1-0  
 ECO: C40 King's Knight Opening  
 Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Ne7 3. Nxe5 f6 4. Nf3 g6 5. d4 Bg7 6. Bc4 d6 7. Nc3 Bd7 8. O-O Nb6 9. h3 a6 10. a4 Rb8 11. Re1 b5 12. axb5 axb5 13. Bxb5 Nb4 14. Bxd7+ Qxd7 15. b3 O-O 16. Ba3 Na6 17. e5 fxe5 18. dxe5 dxe5 19. Qxd7 1-0

References

• Kasparov, Garry, & Keene, Raymond 1989 Batsford chess openings 2. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.