Englund Gambit: Soller Gambit: what to play after f6?

In the Englund Gambit: Soller Gambit (ECO A40), White achieves the strongest objective standing with the developing move Nf3. Black has offered a pawn sacrifice with f6 to accelerate piece activity, making coordinated development and control of central squares critical. White holds an engine evaluation of +1.55 after Nf3, outperforming the more direct capture in both evaluation and stability.

Developing with Nf3

The move Nf3 is chosen in 21.5% of games (776K recorded) and delivers a 53.6% score for White. Rather than rushing to open lines for Black's pieces, Nf3 develops the kingside knight and protects key central squares. An illustrative continuation demonstrating this approach is Nf3 fxe5 Nxe5 Nf6 g3 d5, where White accepts the pawn on e5 under more favorable terms and prepares a solid kingside fianchetto.

The Popular Capture exf6

By far the most frequent practical choice is exf6, played in 72.1% of games (2.60M recorded). Although it nets an immediate pawn and yields an evaluation of +1.18 with a 52.1% score, it assists Black's development. Following the line exf6 Nxf6 Bg5 h6 Bh4 Nc6, Black swiftly activates minor pieces, which explains why Nf3 is favored by engine assessment over the immediate capture.

Other Central Alternatives

White may also establish a broad pawn center with e4, appearing in 2.9% of games (105K recorded) with an evaluation of +1.53 and a 62.9% score; play can proceed e4 Nc6 Nf3 Bc5 Bc4 Qe7. Another active developing option is Bf4 (3.0% of games, 108K recorded, evaluated at +1.30), which can lead to Bf4 Nc6 Nf3 g5 Bg3 g4. Finally, e3 is seen in 0.6% of games (21K recorded, +0.95 evaluation), often continuing e3 Nc6 exf6 Nxf6 Nf3 d5.