Damiano Defence
Encyclopedia : D : DA : DAM : Damiano Defence
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The Damiano Defense is an inferior chess opening characterized by the opening moves
- 1.e4 e5
- 2.Nf3 f6?
The name of the opening comes from the Portuguese master Pedro Damiano (1480-1544), who correctly condemned it as weak.
The ECO code for the Damiano Defence is C40 (King's knight Opening).
This opening is never seen in top-level play today. Perhaps the only chess expert to play the black side of it is Sam Sloan. Sloan has no significant improvement on the main line, however, and plays into it hoping that White doesn't know the line. After 3.Nxe5!, Sloan plays 3...fxe5? 4.Qh5+ Ke7 5.Qxe5+ Kf7 6.Bc4+ d5! 7.Bxd5+ Kg6 8.h4 h6 - see the diagram below (8...h5, with similar play, is "book");
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now when 9.Bxb7! Bd6 10.Qa5! Nc6 11.Bxc6 leaves White with a won position. The greatest player to play it in serious master competition was Mikhail Chigorin, who played it in a match with Emmanuel Schiffers in Saint Petersburg 1897, lost his queen on move 10, but Schiffers played so weakly that Chigorin later missed a brilliant forced mate and only drew.
References
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