Is the King's Gambit dying out?

Alpha zero vs Stock fish this year had some amazing games. Surprisingly the Sicicilian, From Gambit, and the kings gambit were all ending in a draw, funny enough, alpha zero won with the Goring Gambit.

I play f4 (the Bird) and if e5 I play e4 transposing to the Kings Gambit. It adds some spice to my game. As said above there are a lot of replies black has. Kevin from the chess.con website says 3 goals for the openinng...

1. Gain a lead in development
2. Gain central control
3. If you can't do one then do the other. ( I may have missed the third one..

Tim Sawyer has a 50 game b overview of the opening with some notation why a move was made on the Kings Gambit.. I even have it on my Kindle.

@swarminglocusts said in #11:
> Alpha zero vs Stock fish this year had some amazing games. Surprisingly the Sicicilian, From Gambit, and the kings gambit were all ending in a draw, funny enough, alpha zero won with the Goring Gambit.
>
> I play f4 (the Bird) and if e5 I play e4 transposing to the Kings Gambit. It adds some spice to my game. As said above there are a lot of replies black has. Kevin from the chess.con website says 3 goals for the openinng...
>
> 1. Gain a lead in development
> 2. Gain central control
> 3. If you can't do one then do the other. ( I may have missed the third one..
>
> Tim Sawyer has a 50 game b overview of the opening with some notation why a move was made on the Kings Gambit.. I even have it on my Kindle.

Awesome! AlphaZero and Stockfish playing the King's Gambit! Whether these modules chose the opening or whether the programmers chose it, both options are wonderful evidence that the King's Gambit is not going away!

I really like the Schallop variation vs the King's Gambit. It shows how the attack can turn against White. King's Gambit is somewhat appealing because White has to account for many many lines, several of which White is sort of defending rather than attacking--main line 3...g5, Schallop, and fischer variations chiefly. Also black can just kill the game with the modern.

I think it's a question of "fashion". people want results, not really aesthetics. the king's gambit dates back a little, it is characteristic of the early 20th century and the theory does not spare it. From there to say that this opening is dead, no, it is enough for someone famous to make it fashionable again. but the question is who and when.

"... over the past few years, the King's Gambit has been played at the very highest level by such players as Morozevich, Short and others. As a result, it has been thoroughly tested against the very best opposition in the world, and occasionally tested to destruction. ... it is very difficult for a professional GM to continue using the opening as his main weapon. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2003)

You mean since the 19th century?

Wow incredible what we can read...

Players in top level gets so strong with time and information/software that they want usually good opening (by stockfish objective assessment).
King's gambit is objectively not strong for white, black even get a slight edge.
Not a problem until a very high level, for grand master and above they cannot afford playing a VERY sub-optimal opening.

Until today I had been influenced by those comments that called the King's Gambit a museum piece, a dead opening. But today I have learned, reading the evidence in this post, that this opening is still being played, even at the top level! A world title contender playing the King's Gambit! Wow! Right now I'm starting to study it.

@Janellemax20 said in #18:
> Until today I had been influenced by those comments that called the King's Gambit a museum piece, a dead opening. But today I have learned, reading the evidence in this post, that this opening is still being played, even at the top level! A world title contender playing the King's Gambit! Wow! Right now I'm starting to study it.

Many a time I have quit reading an opening book because it had a forced drawing line. However, sometimes knowing the forced draw helps you from the other side of the board. Sometimes its about the journey as much as it is finding new treasures.

What do you mean dying out? The king's gambit has been dead since about the time Morphy went into retirement or something. I understand the nostalgia for the golden era of romantic chess and all that but the reality is that opening theory developed and I guess at one point people just realized that blundering a pawn on move 2 isn't so smart after all.