Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nf6/3. Nxe5/3...Nxe4/4. Qe2/4...Nf6

Damiano variation Russian game → Damiano variation → 4. Qe2 4...Nf6?? This appears to protect Black's knight, but in reality loses their queen. This famous trap, sometimes called the "copycat trap", has ensnared countless amateurs. Better was 4...Qe7, the Kholmov gambit. The problem for Black is that 5. Nc6+ is both an attack on Black's queen and a discovered check. However Black stops the check, 5...Be7 or 5...Qe7, White's knight takes the queen next. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nxe4 4. Qe2 Nf6 5. Nc6+ Position after 5. Nc6+. White's knight attacks d8 and e7, so however the check is blocked, White will be able to take the queen next turn. 1 History Pedro Damiano (1480–1544) describes this line. He writes (in Renaissance-era Italian):Libro da Imparare a Giocare a Scacchi Damiano Pedro c. 1500 Italian, Spanish https://dp.la/item/af410efe1b27fa99492ce74d9343e713 & se lui giocara il cauallo del Re a tre case del delfinoIn modern Italian, the bishop is alfiere, meaning standard-bearer and coming via the Arabic word for the piece, al-fil, elephant. In Damiano's book he calls the piece delfino, "meaning prince [i.e. dauphin], so is nearer to the king and queen than the other pieces". del Re, tu li pigliarai la Pedona del Re co il Cauallo, & se lui te pigliara la tua con il cauallo, giocha la donna denanzi al Re, & se lui leuara il Cauallo li darai scacho per la Donna in discoperta giocando il Cauallo alla terza casa del delfino suo della donna. & if he plays the king's knight three squares from the king's bishop (2...Nf6), you will take the king's pawn with the knight (3. Nxe5) & if he takes yours with the knight (3...Nxe4), play the queen in front of the king (4. Qe2), and if he removes the knight (4...Nf6??) you will give him discovered check with the queen by playing the knight to the third square of his queen's bishop (5. Nc6+). This is described in chapter two of Damiano's book (chapter one explains how the pieces move), which is one of the earliest books ever written on the modern formulation of the game. Therefore this trap might be, literally, the oldest trick in the book. References See also