Dutch Defense:Staunton Gambit

Named after Howard Staunton: White strikes at once with 2. e4, sacrificing a pawn.

It is reached after 3 moves: 1. d4 f5 2. e4. It is a line of the Dutch Defense.

Black is to move and has 21 legal moves. Over the next four moves — two for each side — the game can branch into 689,311 different games. Those games reach 232,662 different positions: most positions can be reached in more than one way, 3 on average.

The Lichess opening list names 9 further lines after this position, such as Staunton Gambit Accepted (2... fxe4).

The same moves can be played in 2 different legal orders that all reach this position. For example 1. e4 f5 2. d4, which starts as the King's Pawn Game.