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Pedro Damiano
P Damiano 
 

Number of games in database: 2
Years covered: 1497 to 1512


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PEDRO DAMIANO
(born 1480, died 1544, 64 years old) Portugal

[what is this?]

Pedro Damiano was a Portuguese chess player, and a pharmacist by trade. He wrote one of the oldest comprehensive chess books, Questo libro e da imparare giocare a scachi et de li partiti published in 1512. In this treatise, Damiano describes the rules of chess, offers advice on strategy, advice for playing blindfold chess, presents a selection of chess problems, and offers some opening analysis.

In the section on opening analysis, Damiano stated that 1.e4 and 1.d4 are the only good first moves, and that 1.e4 is better. He examined the Giuoco Piano, the Petroff Defense, and the Queen's Gambit Accepted. He also asserted that after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 the reply 2...Nc6 is best, and condemned 2...f6 as the worst reasonable defense. In spite of his denunciation of 2...f6, the opening 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f6 is now known as "Damiano's Defense".

Sources: "Damiano, O Português E A Sua Obra" by Mario Silva Araújo.
English Wikipedia entry for Pedro Damiano - Wikipedia article: Pedro Damiano
Portuguese Wikipedia entry Wikipedia article: Pedro Damiano de Odemira

Last updated: 2018-07-08 23:57:51

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 page 1 of 1; 2 games  PGN Download 
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. P Damiano vs NN 1-0141497CasualC42 Petrov Defense
2. P Damiano vs NN 1-0131512analyseC40 King's Knight Opening
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Damiano wins | Damiano loses  

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 3 OF 3 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Oct-26-09  Qb6: I can see that. Face it, if you want to play 3. ... ♕e7 to skewer, why not play 2. ... a6? That doesn't weaken your king position.
Aug-30-10  Nightsurfer: In case that somebody would like to do more research on Senhor Damiano: Herewith a (German-language) interview with Senor Araujo who has written a biography on that great chess writer from Portugal, please see http://www.chessbase.de/nachrichten... , and in case that somebody speaks Spanish, herewith the Spanish-language version of the interview + annex: http://www.chessbase.com/espanola/n... , apart from that the text seems to be pretty self-explanatory because of the optics. Greetz, Nightsurfer
Aug-30-10  Nightsurfer: OOPS!! I have got the two links wrong in my foregoing post. The German-language version of the interview with Lisbon-based author Mario Silva Araujo on his biography on Damiano can be found here: http://www.chessbase.de/nachrichten... , and the Spanish version of that interview can be found here: http://www.chessbase.com/espanola/n... , sorry, folks!
Sep-02-10  Lil Swine: nobody likes to play the damiano or the phillidor
Nov-30-10
Premium Chessgames Member
  Breunor: I think Sam Sloan plays the Damiano defense.
Apr-11-11  squaresquat: Qb6: moves like 2...a6 shouldn't even enter your mind; in the opening, you play in the center.
Jun-28-11  bartonlaos: Public Domain:

The origins of Castling-

In 1283, the first Spanish Chess Code was compiled in deference to the wishes of Alphonso X. The manuscript is in the library of the monastery of St. Lorenzo del Escorial. It contains the rules of chess, the rules for playing dice and "tit-tat-to" or Fox and Geese, as well as the rules for playing on a 12x12 board and of a four-handed chess variant known as the "game of the four seasons".

The document contains five drawings, representing the king teaching chess to a noble youth, a Moorish prince playing with an expert, the different chessmen then in use, and the king dictating the rules of dice in the presence of the people. The fifth chapter deals with the invention and rules of the game, and gives a few problems, mostly of an Arabian origin. The resemblance of the game to Shatranj is shown by the remark of the author in the introduction: <"Men are more fond of problems, as they are apt to get tired of the game if played to the end. For this reason dice are employed in order to hasten its progress."> The rules were those used by the Arabians, but the King was allowed to jump once in the game to the third square, in any direction, provided he had not been moved and that he did not leap into check.

Multiple variations of the king's leap existed, some allowing a leap of two or three squares (steps), while others restricted that the king's leap should be executed in the manner of the knight, with allowance if necessary, to simultaneously move a pawn out of the way to provide a space for the king on a single turn. Nevertheless, the King's leap was always considered as an essential part of strategy and given by Damiano in the Gottingen Manuscript (1450) as one of the rules to follow - here added to the list of <whiteshark> above:

< 7. It is especially desirable to place the king in safety by means of a leap to a good square. >

Jul-09-11  bartonlaos: <the king's leap> may be one reason why Chess had to wait so long to advocate the use of the fianchetto. Here is an excerpt from about page 88 of <Lasker's Manual of Chess>:

"The Queen's Fianchetto:

Ancient Openings presumably invented at a time before our rule of Castling was introduced, and when another form of Castling, a jump of the King over two squares was lawful. These were sane rules, and it would have been better if they had not been changed. After that unforunate change, the Fianchetti lost their original purpose of providing a safe square for the King and developing the Rooks. To-day they present a weakness in that they leave the centre of the board in the control of the enemy. True, they do not present targets in the centre either, but a fighter is used to being a target as well as a shot."

Jul-17-11  squaresquat: Damiano's defense is good for strong players to play against rote beginners; it's a good way for lovers to get the game over with.
Apr-09-12  Nightsurfer: Herewith a statue that Odemira has erected in order to commemorate the great son of that city, <Pedro Damiano>: http://comunidade.sol.pt/photos/xad...

But the way the artist has depicted Damiano that is fiction, however, since it is not known how Damiano has looked like.

Apr-09-12  Nightsurfer: The notorious <"Damiano's Defense"> has been wrongly attributed to <Pedro Damiano>, since <"Damiano's Defense"> has been assessed by <Pedro Damiano> as being an insufficient defense, please compare the German-language feature <"Damiano war es nicht ...">, herewith the link http://www.chessbase.de/nachrichten..., and the Spanish-language version of that feature <"No fue Damiano ...">, herewith the link: http://www.chessbase.com/espanola/n... (for those members of the community here who can speak Spanish, and I think that should be more than those who eventually speak German ... :-) ...).

That very feature is based on an interview with <Mario Silva Araujo> who has published a biography on Damiano, the title: <"Damiano, O Portugues E A Sua Obra">. Herewith the link that leads to a photo that depicts <Damiano>'s biographer <Mario Silva Araujo>: http://www.chessbase.com/espanola/i...

Aug-02-13  GumboGambit: In a just world 2 Nc6 would be known as the Damiano defense.
May-02-14  kevin86: Damiano actually refuted the defense he is "credited" for. He was a Portuguese Pharmacist- maybe history will record him as a "drug dealer"
May-12-14
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: If he were time-slipped to the present day he'd need just a few minutes to learn the modern moves, rules and opening & endgame theory then he'd be off like a rat-up-a-drainpipe winning game after game after game against these <so-called> super-grandmasters AND he'd do it blindfold and with a time handicap!
Dec-27-14  Oliveira: The Portuguese contribution to chess:

<A book written in Italian by an apothecary>

Typical.

Oct-29-15  Avun Jahei: 'When you have a good move, look for a better one'

I often remember this good advice.

Oct-29-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  moronovich: <Avun Jahei: 'When you have a good move, look for a better one'

I often remember this good advice.>

Yes,it is a fine piece of advice.And I often use it in life,in other areas as well.

Oct-29-15  john barleycorn: <moronovich: ...
Yes,it is a fine piece of advice...>

as long as it does not lead to paralysis by analysis.
Oct-29-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  moronovich: <john barleycorn: <moronovich: ... Yes,it is a fine piece of advice...>
as long as it does not lead to paralysis by analysis>

Shure ! It has to be taken by a grain of salt.Otherwise one can sit and think for weeks ;)

Nov-02-15  Avun Jahei: While the clock keeps ticking...
Jul-08-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: He died at the chessic age of 64, like Fischer, Steinitz, Staunton, C. H. O'D. Alexander, Planinc, Mednis, Maximilian Ujtelky, Octavio Troianescu, Claude Bloodgood, and Karl Marx.
Jul-08-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: They say he gave a dam
Jul-26-19  Chesgambit: Mistake f6 Mistake petrov defense Nxe4 ( early )
Jul-26-19  Chesgambit: best move every time
Jul-05-23  generror: I've had a closer look at Damiano's analyses of openings and I was indeed quite surprised because the lines he recommends are mostly pretty good. Not today's masters level of course, but he seems to have some understanding of positional chess: blocking pawns, creating isolated pawns, trading pieces when appropriate, creating winning endgames. I can't remember anything of this in Lucena's earlier book.

It's truly unfortunate for him that he is remembered for the Damiano "Defense" (which he clearly refutes here), although at least there's also the Damiano Variation in the Russian Game which also isn't completely accurate but at least playable. <GumboGambit> is completely right, his analyses show he clearly preferred <2...Nc6>, which should be named after him, while <2...f6?> should be named the "Pseudo-Defense".

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