Colorado Gambit | The Refutation

Course 17 episodes
(49 min)

Creators GM Avetik Grigoryan

The Colorado Gambit is an aggressive gambit that arises from the Nimzowitsch Defense. After 1.e4 Nc6 2.Nf3 – Black makes the surprise move 2...f5?!

While the move is dubious, if you’re not sure how to react to it and don’t know how to avoid the traps, you can definitely find yourself in trouble very quickly!

Black’s main idea is to exchange their f5 pawn with White’s e4 pawn. This gains the center and Black uses the “f” half-open file for their Rook. If achieved, this can lead to a quick attack and a very pleasant game...

Luckily there’s a problem. When Black plays 2...f5?! they weaken their king and the h5-e8 diagonal. Additionally, they weaken their control over the highly important e5 square and can end up with a backward “e” pawn, this is huge!

This course will teach you a very easy way to take the initiative and refute the Colorado Gambit. While there are various options that White could play, our choice is easy to remember and will teach you a key positional concept that can be applied to many future games.

After 2...f5, we will take the pawn with 3.ef5. Black then plays 3.d5 after which we’ll play 4.Bb5! We give back the f5 pawn in order to slowly torture our opponent and win the game positionally.

Below are some positions taken from the course:

Colorado Gambit

Ready to refute the Colorado gambit? Let’s go!

Additional reading: You may also find it useful to click here and read our introductory article about the Colorado Gambit.

What you'll learn

How to refute the Colorado Gambit and get a huge advantage.
The correct move order to get an advantage.
The ideas of the Colorado Gambit.
The downsides of this gambit.
Key concepts that'll help you understand the arising position better.
How to convert your winning advantage, explained with the help of model games and more