Editing Gambit (section)

== Terminology ==
The Spanish word ''gambito'' was originally applied to chess openings in 1561 by [[Ruy López de Segura]], from an Italian expression ''dare il gambetto'' (to put a leg forward in order to trip someone). In English, the word first appeared in [[Francis Beale (writer)|Francis Beale]]'s 1656 translation of a [[Gioachino Greco]] manuscript, ''The Royall Game of Chesse-play'' ("illustrated with almost one hundred Gambetts"<ref>{{cite book |last=Greco |first=Gioachino |author-link=Gioachino Greco |translator-last=Beale |translator-first=Francis |translator-link=Francis Beale (writer) |title=The Royall Game of Chesse-play |publisher=[[Henry Herringman]] |date=1656 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cPxYAAAAYAAJ |access-date=6 January 2024}}</ref>). The Spanish ''gambito'' led to French ''gambit'', which has influenced the English spelling of the word. The metaphorical sense of the word as "opening move meant to gain advantage" was first recorded in English in 1855.<ref>{{cite web |last1=O'Conner |first1=Patricia T. |last2=Kellerman |first2=Stewart |url=https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2017/09/gamut-gambit.html |title=Run the gambit? |website=Grammarphobia |date=18 September 2017 |access-date=6 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Harper |first=Douglas |title=Gambit|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/gambit|website=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=11 June 2019}}</ref>

Gambits are more commonly played by [[White and Black in chess|White]]. Some well-known examples of a gambit are the [[King's Gambit]] (1.e4 e5 2.f4) and [[Evans Gambit]] (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4). A gambit employed by Black may also be named a gambit, e.g. the [[Latvian Gambit]] (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5), or [[Englund Gambit]] (1.d4 e5); but is sometimes named a "countergambit", e.g. the [[Albin Countergambit]] (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5) and [[Greco Countergambit]] (the original name for the Latvian Gambit). Not all opening lines involving the sacrifice of material are named as gambits, for example the main line of the [[Two Knights Defense]] (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5) in which Black sacrifices a pawn for active play is known as the "Knorre Variation", though it may be ''described'' as a "gambit". On the other hand, the [[Queen's Gambit]] (1.d4 d5 2.c4) is not a true gambit as Black cannot hold the pawn without incurring a disadvantage. As is often the case with chess openings, nomenclature is inconsistent.