Kings Gambit Accepted Dodo Variation
King's Gambit Accepted – Dodo Variation
Definition
The Dodo Variation of the King’s Gambit Accepted is a rare sideline that begins with the moves: 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 Ne7. Instead of the common 3…g7-g5 (Classical) or 3…d7-d5 (Abbazia) defences, Black immediately retreats the king’s knight to e7. The idea is to redeploy the knight to g6 or f5, lend lasting support to the extra f-pawn, and avoid the sharp, heavily analysed main-lines.
Why the Name “Dodo”?
The variation was christened by the Belgian theoretician Henri Rinck in a tongue-in-cheek article from the 1920s. He likened the awkward knight move (g8 → e7) to the waddling gait of the extinct dodo bird. Much like its avian namesake, the line never gained a large following and is considered something of an endangered curiosity in modern practice.
Typical Move Order
After the starting position White has several main tries:
- 4. d4 – the most direct centre grab.
4…d5 5.Bxf4 dxe4 6.Ng5 (or 6.Ne5) with a complex, unbalanced middlegame. - 4. Bc4 – continuing normal King’s-side development.
4…Ng6 5.d4 Be7 keeps Black solid. - 4. Nc3 aiming for d4 later; Black often replies 4…d5.
Strategic Ideas
Because the line sidesteps the fashionable 3…g5 thrust, the strategic contours differ from most King’s Gambits:
- For Black
- Maintain the extra f-pawn while completing development rapidly.
- Via ...Ne7-g6, place a piece directly in front of the f-pawn, anchoring it and eying h4 – f3 squares.
- Break in the centre with ...d7-d5 when tactically justified.
- For White
- Exploit Black’s temporary lack of pressure on the central dark squares.
- Target the slow knight on g6 with h2-h4-h5 ideas, or chase the f4-pawn with Bxf4.
- Castle long in some lines and launch a typical g- and h-pawn storm against Black’s king once it settles on g8.
Historical Significance & Notable Games
Although never a staple of top-level repertoires, the Dodo Variation periodically surfaces as a surprise weapon:
- O’Kelly de Gallegos – Tartakower, Nice (sim) 1935
Tartakower trotted out the line in a simultaneous exhibition, steering the game into a quiet positional struggle before outplaying his opponent in the endgame. - Kavalek – Timman, Wijk aan Zee 1974
Timman’s resourceful piece play after 4.d4 d5 5.Bxf4 dxe4 revived interest, but computer analysis later showed that White could have secured an edge with the accurate 6.Ng5!
Typical Tactics & Traps
- Pinned-Knight Trap
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 Ne7 4.Bc4 d5? 5.exd5 Nxd5?? 6.O-O! White threatens 7.Re1+, winning the pinned knight on d5. - Premature …g5?!
Black sometimes forgets the point of 3…Ne7 and plays …g7-g5 anyway. After 4.Nxg5!, the rook on h8 is suddenly hanging in many lines.
Illustrative Example
The following miniature demonstrates both sides’ main ideas. After 15 moves Black’s king is stuck in the centre while the extra pawn is meaningless.
Interesting Facts & Anecdotes
- The move 3…Ne7 violates the classical dictum “Knights on the rim are dim.” In the Dodo, the knight is dimmer still — it retreats before it even had a chance to be active!
- Because the ECO codes for the King’s Gambit (C30–C39) do not assign a separate sub-code to 3…Ne7, databases often lump the Dodo with “miscellaneous” lines, making statistical preparation against it harder.
- French GM Christian Bauer used the Dodo in a blitz game versus chess-engine FireBird, commenting afterward that he chose it “partly for the comic relief of seeing a silicon monster think about an obviously suboptimal move.”