The King's Gambit is the most daring and dangerous opening. White throws caution to the wind, and Black must know what he is doing to avoid early defeat. The King's Gambit was all the rage in the 19th century, but has an enduring popularity throughout the chess world. Remarkably, it is once more the focus of the top grandmaster attention, for example when Nigel Short played it three times in a row against the world's best at the Madrid 1997 tournament.