Damiano Defense

The Damiano Defense, 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f6, meets the attack on e5 by supporting the pawn with the f-pawn. It falls under ECO C40 and takes its name from the 16th-century Portuguese author Pedro Damiano, who in fact condemned the move and recommended 2...Nc6. Following Lopez, older writers called 2...f6 itself "Damiano's Gambit", whereas George Walker applied the name Damiano Gambit to White's knight sacrifice on the third move, the usage the named variation here follows.

The support offered by 2...f6 is illusory. The move also takes f6 away from the g8-knight and opens the e8-h5 diagonal toward the uncastled king. After 3. Nxe5 fxe5 4. Qh5+ g6 5. Qxe5+ the queen forks king and rook, and 5...Qe7 6. Qxh8 leaves White the exchange and a pawn ahead. Declining the fork with 4...Ke7 fares worse: 5. Qxe5+ Kf7 6. Bc4+ d5 7. Bxd5+ Kg6 8. h4 h5 9. Bxb7 Bd6 10. Qa5 Nc6 11. Bxc6 Rb8 12. Qxa7 nets five pawns, which is why Bruce Pandolfini records the nickname "five pawns gambit" for the line.

Black's best answer to 3. Nxe5 is 3...Qe7, which also sets a trap: 4. Qh5+ g6 5. Nxg6 Qxe4+ 6. Be2 Qxg6 leaves Black a piece for a pawn. The correct reply is to return the pawn with 4. Nf3 Qxe4+ 5. Be2, after which material is level but Black's queen is exposed and will be chased by Nc3 or by O-O, Re1 and a bishop move, adding to White's lead in development. Modern Chess Openings examines 4...d5 instead, when 5. d3 dxe4 6. dxe4 gave White a small edge in Schiffers–Chigorin, St. Petersburg 1897; Chigorin is the strongest player known to have used the defense in serious competition. Robert McGregor chose 3...Qe7 against Bobby Fischer in a 1964 simultaneous exhibition and drew after Fischer misplayed the advantage.

Plain development is also effective. 3. Bc4 is the most common reply in practice, ahead of 3. d4 and 3. Nc3, and I. A. Horowitz recommended 3. Bc4 d6 4. d4 Nc6 5. c3, leaving Black cramped. The engine rates the position as a large advantage for White and prefers 3. Nxe5. The defense does not appear in top-level play, but it is frequent in online games, where White scores well and draws are rare.