The Latvian Gambit (or Greco Countergambit) is a chess opening characterized by the moves:
1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 f5?!
It is one of the oldest chess openings, having been analyzed in the 17th century by Gioachino Greco, after whom it is sometimes named. The opening has the appearance of a King’s Gambit with colors reversed. It is an aggressive but rather dubious choice for Black which often leads to wild and tricky positions. FIDE Master Dennis Monokroussos even goes so far as to describe it as “possibly the worst opening in chess”. As assessed by Paul van der Sterren:
What is required to play the Latvian Gambit with any degree of success is a sharp eye for tactics and a mental attitude of total contempt for whatever theory has to say about it.
— Paul van der Sterren, Fundamental Chess Openings
The Latvian is uncommon at the top level of over-the-board play, but some correspondence chess players are devoted to it.
The ECO code for the Latvian Gambit is C40 (King’s Knight Opening).
The opening was originally known as the Greco Counter-Gambit, and some modern writers still refer to it as such. That name recognised the Italian player Gioachino Greco (1600–34), who contributed to the early theory of the opening. The name Latvian Gambit is a tribute to the Latvian players, notably Kārlis Bētiņš, who analysed it in the early part of the 20th century.
