Damiano’s Defence, Refuted

The game, move by move

The pawn that should not move

1. 1. e4 King’s pawn
2. 1… e5 The same claim
3. 2. Nf3 The knight attacks e5
4. 2… f6 Defending with the f-pawn The move the book was written to warn against. It holds e5, and it opens the diagonal that ends on Black’s own king.

A knight for one check

1. 3. Nxe5 The knight, given away Not a combination and not an attack. A piece for one check, three moves in.
2. 3… fxe5 Taken — and it has to be Declining leaves White a pawn up with a knight in the middle of the position; taking opens the diagonal the f-pawn was standing on.
3. 4. Qh5+ Check, from h5 And nothing can block it. g6 is met by the queen taking it, and there is no piece Black can put on f7.
4. 4… Ke7 The king has to step up Four moves in, the king leaves the back rank, and he does not get back to it.
5. 5. Qxe5+ The pawn back, with check White has one of the two pawns back and is still a knight down, which is the whole of the material story of this game.
6. 5… Kf7 Forwards again

The king walks

1. 6. Bc4+ The bishop, with check The second piece arrives on the diagonal that ends at f7, and the king is pushed one square further out.
2. 6… Kg6 Onto the sixth rank
3. 7. Qf5+ Cutting off the way back The queen steps to f5 and takes g6, g4 and f7 at once. The king has one square, and it is forwards.
4. 7… Kh6 h6 — the far corner A king on h6 on move seven, with every one of his own pieces still on the square it started on.
5. 8. d4+ A pawn, with check d4 opens the diagonal of the bishop on c1, and that diagonal ends on h6.
6. 8… g5 Blocked with the g-pawn The only way to answer it — and the pawn that blocks the check is the pawn that gets taken at the end.

Mated by a pawn

1. 9. h4 h4, quietly The first move of the game that is not a check. It prepares hxg5, which is mate the moment the king is back on h6.
2. 9… Kg7 Out of the corner
3. 10. Qf7+ Check, on f7 The queen takes g8, g6 and h5 away and drives the king back onto the square the pawn is aimed at.
4. 10… Kh6 Back to h6 Forced. h5 and g8 are the queen’s, and g7 is where he has just come from.
5. 11. hxg5# Checkmate, by a pawn hxg5 opens the h-file for a rook that has not moved all game. The queen holds g6, g7 and h5; the rook holds h5 as well; the bishop on c1 holds g5; and h7 is Black’s own pawn. A knight down, and mated by the pawn that took the pawn.