Editing Gambit (section)

== Strategy ==

{{col-begin|width=auto; float:right; clear:right}}
{{col-break}}
|{{Chess diagram small
|tright
|
|rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|bd|nd|rd
|pd|pd|pd|  |pd|pd|pd|pd
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 
|  |  |pd|pl|  |  |  | 
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 
|pl|pl|  |  |pl|pl|pl|pl
|rl|nl|bl|ql|kl|bl|nl|rl
| Queen's Gambit Accepted
}}
{{col-break}}
{{Chess diagram small
|tright
|
|rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|bd|nd|rd
|pd|pd|pd|  |  |pd|pd|pd
|  |  |  |  |pd|  |  | 
|  |  |  |pd|  |  |  | 
|  |  |pl|pl|  |  |  | 
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 
|pl|pl|  |  |pl|pl|pl|pl
|rl|nl|bl|ql|kl|bl|nl|rl
| Queen's Gambit Declined
}}
{{col-end}}

Gambits are described as being "offered" to an opponent, and that offer is then said to be either "accepted" or "declined".

In modern chess, the typical response to a moderately sound gambit is to accept the material and give the material back at an advantageous time. For gambits that are less sound, the accepting player is more likely to try to hold on to their extra material. A rule of thumb often found in various primers on chess suggests that a player should get three moves (see [[tempo (chess)|tempo]]) of {{chessgloss|development}} for a sacrificed pawn, but it is unclear how useful this general maxim is since the "free moves" part of the [[compensation (chess)|compensation]] is almost never the entirety of what the gambiteer gains. Often, a gambit can be declined with no disadvantage.