Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne-Kloosterboer Gambit: what to play after c6?

In the Scandinavian Defense: Blackburne-Kloosterboer Gambit (ECO B01), White faces an early challenge to the d5 pawn and should proceed with dxc6. Accepting the offered pawn is the engine's top choice with a +0.78 evaluation, securing a material advantage before Black can establish central counterplay. It represents the overwhelming choice in practical play, appearing in 76.3% of games across 6.68M recorded encounters.

Capturing with dxc6

The primary continuation dxc6 captures on the c6 square and directly challenges Black to justify the gambit. White scores 48.7% from this position, as Black typically seeks rapid piece activity to offset the deficit. An illustrative engine continuation develops with dxc6 Nxc6 Nf3 e5 Nc3 Nf6, where White steadily develops the kingside knight and queenside pieces to consolidate the position against Black's central presence.

Declining the Gambit

White can also decline the pawn offer by establishing central support or advancing. The most common alternative is d4, played in 10.6% of games (925K recorded) with an evaluation of +0.25 and a 51.9% score for White, often leading toward d4 cxd5 Bd3 Nc6 c3 Qc7. Developing naturally with Nf3 is chosen in 10.0% of games (873K recorded), scoring 51.0% with an engine evaluation of +0.18, illustrated by the continuation Nf3 cxd5 d4 Nc6 Bb5 e6.

Flank and Pawn Alternatives

Other possibilities include c4, which occurs in 3.0% of games (261K recorded) and holds an evaluation of +0.14, scoring 52.7% via c4 cxd5 cxd5 Nf6 Nc3 Nxd5. A rarer option is c3, seen in 0.1% of games (12K recorded) with an evaluation of +0.15 and a 47.0% score for White, featuring the line c3 cxd5 Nf3 Nc6 d4 Bf5. While these options remain playable, taking the pawn with dxc6 remains the most principled response to test Black's gambit.