Bishop's Gambit or the King's Gambit

Originally posted by Bedlam
1.e4 e5
2.f4 exf4
3.Bc4 Qh4+
4.Kf1 d5
5.exd5?!

Try Bxd5.
Johansson covers this line and warns against 5.exd5

Interesting, that does indeed seem better than my previous analysis. But what about the more forcing 5. Nf3! Qh5 6. Bxd5?

Originally posted by exigentsky
Interesting, that does indeed seem better than my previous analysis. But what about the more forcing 5. Nf3! Qh5 6. Bxd5?

The queen can be hit at any time, if they didnt play Nf6 then id even play Nc3 before Nf3. However once Nf6 has been played then Nf3 is a must.

Originally posted by HomerJSimpson
Seriously guys, would Northern Lad be as high rated as he is if the Nf3 version is that bad?

Interesting question. Actually for a little time now I've been playing both 3.Nf3 and 3.Bc4 here and OTB. I think that maybe 3.Bc4 is a little easier to play, because there's probably less theory required and fewer critical lines in that it's not so easy for black to play to hold on to the gambit pawn with g7-g5. On the other hand, 3.Nf3 is more complex and ambitious and may present black with more problems if all he wants is to demonstrate equality.

One thing my games here have shown me is that 3.Bc4 d5 4.exd5 Qh4+ 5.Kf1, which I've been playing for a while, doesn't seem to offer very much to white, so maybe I'll give 4.Bxd5 a go soon. Interestingly, the line that Johannson recommends is in fact a transposition from the Knight's Gambit, i.e. 3.Nf3 d5 4.exd5 Nf6 5.Bc4 Nxd5 6.Bxd5!? Qxd5 7.Nc3. With the Johannson recommended move order from the Bishop's Gambit, I do wonder though whether black may have a reasonable alternative to 6...Qxd5.