In chess, the Muzio Gambit, sometimes called the Polerio Gambit, is an
opening
Opening may refer to:
* Al-Fatiha, "The Opening", the first chapter of the Qur'an
* The Opening (album), live album by Mal Waldron
* Backgammon opening
* Chess opening
* A title sequence or opening credits
* , a term from contract bridge
* , ...
line in the
King's Gambit
The King's Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. f4
White offers a pawn to divert the black e-pawn. If Black accepts the gambit, White has two main plans. The first is to play d4 and Bxf4, regaining the gambit ...
in which White sacrifices a knight for a large lead in and chances. It begins with the moves:
:1.
e4 e5
:2.
f4 exf4
:3.
Nf3 g5
:4.
Bc4 g4
:5.
0-0
0-0 or O-O may refer to:
* Emoticon for a person who wears glasses
* An informal instruction to watch the conductor of an orchestra, seen in orchestral parts
* Kingside castling in chess notation
* Nothing from Nothing (disambiguation), songs
*'' ...
White offers a knight, aiming to exploit Black's weakness on the f-file
to attack the black king. Other possibilities for White's 5th move are 5.Bxf7+ (Lolli Gambit), 5.Nc3 (
McDonnell Gambit), 5.d4 (Ghulam Kassim Gambit), 5.h4 (Australian Gambit), and 5.Ne5 (Salvio Gambit), but 5.0-0! is generally reckoned to be White's strongest option,
and in fact 4.Bc4 (rather than 4.h4) is usually played with the intention of playing a Muzio. Black can avoid the Muzio with
4...Bg7, and this has sometimes been recommended as a safe and practical over the board choice.
[Shaw, pp. 197–99]
The ''
Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
The ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' () is a reference work describing the state of opening theory in chess, originally published in five volumes from 1974 to 1979 by the Serbian company Šahovski Informator (Chess Informant). It is current ...
'' classifies the Muzio Gambit under code C37.
History
The opening was originally analysed by
Giulio Cesare Polerio
Giulio Cesare Polerio (c. 1550, – c. 1610; reconstruction of places and dates by Adriano Chicco) was an Italian chess theoretician and player.
Name affixes used for him are ''l'Apruzzese'', Giu io Cesare ''da Lanciano'' (Salvio/Walker), and ''L ...
in the late 16th century; the first recorded game is by the Neapolitan player Geronimo Cascio in
Alessandro Salvio
Alessandro Salvio (c. 1575 – c. 1640) was a leading Italian chess player in the early 17th century. He started a chess academy in Naples, and wrote a book called ''Trattato dell'Inventione et Arte Liberale del Gioco Degli Scacchi'', which was ...
's ''
Il Puttino'', published in 1634. The name "Muzio Gambit" originated with the early 19th-century English chess writer
Jacob Sarratt
Jacob Henry Sarratt (1772 – 6 November 1819) was one of the top English chess players of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Sarratt was renowned as a player and author and adopted the title "Professor of Chess". He was the first profession ...
, who misattributed the opening to Cascio's contemporary Mutio d'Allesandro in his translation of ''Il Puttino''. In its original form, White used Italian-style free
castling, placing the king on h1 and rook on f1, for an even stronger attack since
checks by a queen or bishop on the g1–a7 diagonal are no longer available as a defence.
The opening reached its peak popularity in the mid 19th century, the
Romantic era of chess, when
sacrifices
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...
and early attacks were considered the pinnacle of chess art. Its popularity declined with the improvements in defensive technique exemplified by players such as
Louis Paulsen
Louis Paulsen (15 January 1833 in Gut Nassengrund near Blomberg, Principality of Lippe – 18 August 1891) was a German chess player. In the 1860s and 1870s, he was among the top players in the world. He was a younger brother of Wilfried Pa ...
and
Wilhelm Steinitz
William Steinitz (born Wilhelm Steinitz; May 14, 1836 – August 12, 1900) was an Austrian and, later, American chess player. From 1886 to 1894, he was the first official World Chess Champion. He was also a highly influential writer and c ...
; however, it is still occasionally seen, usually at amateur level.
Analysis
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 g4 5. 0-0 gxf3
:If Black postpones taking the knight with 5...d5, White obtains a strong attack beginning either 6.exd5 or 6.Bxd5.
6. Qxf3 Qf6 (diagram)
:"The thematic starting position in the Muzio. Black's last move is very definitely best since it not only barricades the f-file but also impedes the formation of a white pawn centre with d4."
[Keene (1993), p. 157] A sideline is 6...Qe7, where White's strongest reply begins 7.d4 Nc6 8.Nc3 as in
Steinitz Steinitz may refer to:
* Steinitz, Germany, a town in the district of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel in Saxony-Anhalt in Germany
* Steinitz (surname)
{{Disambiguation ...
–
Anderssen Anderssen is a surname, and may refer to:
*Adolf Anderssen (1818–79), German chess grandmaster, unofficial first world champion from 1851–58, 1860-1865 and 1867–68
**Anderssen's Opening, chess opening named after Adolf Anderssen
*Justus Ander ...
(), London 1862.
[Korchnoi & Zak (1986), p. 29] Walter Korn
Walter Korn (May 22, 1908 in Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary (now Czech Republic) – July 9, 1997 in San Mateo, California, United States) was an Austro-Hungarian writer of books and magazine articles about chess. Despite his status as a writer, ...
gives simply 7.d3! followed by 8.Nc3 for slight advantage to White.
:
GM Dmitry Andreikin
Dmitry Vladimirovich Andreikin (russian: Дмитрий Владимирович Андрейкин, born 5 February 1990) is a Russian chess grandmaster, World Junior Chess Champion in 2010 and two-time Russian Chess Champion (2012 and 2018 ...
played the rare move 6...Bh6 against
Hikaru Nakamura
Christopher Hikaru Nakamura[World Blitz Chess Championship
The World Blitz Chess Championship is a chess tournament held to determine the world champion in chess played under blitz time controls. Since 2012, FIDE has held an annual joint rapid and blitz chess tournament and billed it as the World Rapid ...](_blank)
, eventually losing.
and Sušić wrote that 6...Bh6 is unhelpful to Black, due to 7.d4 Qh4 8.Nc3 Ne7 9.g3 fxg3 10.hxg3 Qh3 11.Rf2. According to
Keres
In Greek mythology, the Keres (; Ancient Greek: Κῆρες), singular Ker (; Κήρ), were female death-spirits. They were the goddesses who personified violent death and who were drawn to bloody deaths on battlefields. Although they were pre ...
, Black is less than after 6...Bh6 7.d4 Qf6 8.e5 Qf5 9.Nc3.
7. e5
:"The most logical. With this extra sacrifice of a pawn White opens up new lines for attack."
A more reserved continuation is 7.d3 Bh6 8.Nc3 Ne7, when 9.e5! Qxe5 10.Bd2 to the 7.e5 main line, whereas 9.Bxf4 Bxf4 10.Qxf4 Qxf4 11.Rxf4 f5! leads to an advantage for Black. Also possible is 7.c3 Nc6 8.d4 Nxd4 9.Bxf7+ Qxf7 10.cxd4 Bh6 11.Nc3 d6 12.Nd5 Be6 13.Nxf4 Bxf4 14.Bxf4 0-0-0 15.d5 Bd7 16.Qc3 Qf6 17.e5 Qg7 18.Rae1 (18.e6) 18...Bb5 19.Rf2 Ne7 20.Qa5 Nxd5= (
Korchnoi).
7... Qxe5
:and now White's main choices are 8.Bxf7+ and 8.d3:
Double Muzio: 8.Bxf7+!?
8. Bxf7+!?
:This is known as the Double Muzio, "the best version of the Muzio" according to
Keene.
[Keene (1993), p. 159] It is very dangerous against an unprepared opponent; however, its has been called into question.
8... Kxf7 9. d4 (diagram) Qf5
:Traditionally, the most popular move has been 9...Qxd4+; then after 10.Be3 Qf6 11.Bxf4 British correspondence grandmaster
Peter Millican
Peter Jeremy Roach Millican (born 1 March 1958) is Gilbert Ryle Fellow and Professor of Philosophy at Hertford College, University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. His primary interests include the philosophy of David Hume, philosophy of reli ...
asserts that the position is "objectively equal",
while Scottish grandmaster
John Shaw says "If I was guaranteed to reach this position, I would recommend 4.Bc4 and the Muzio...". Shaw sharply criticises 9...Qxd4+ which "grabs a meaningless pawn, opens another line for White's attack and makes the black queen vulnerable on the dark squares";
[Shaw (2013), p. 198] grandmaster
Neil McDonald even goes so far as to suggest that 9...Qf5 may be the only playable move.
[McDonald (1998), p. 62]
:After 9...Qf5, Shaw cites the game
Showalter
The Showalter/Schowalter family originates from the Swiss village Strengelbach. The first known member, Hans Schonwalder, was mentioned in a 1566 record tax record. Later, the family converted to Anabaptism. Because of religious persecution and pov ...
–
Taubenhaus, New York 1889, which continued 10.g4 Qg6 11.Nc3 Nf6 12.Bxf4 d6 13.Bg3 Kg7, as an example of a successful defence by Black.
Yakov Estrin
Yakov Borisovich Estrin (Russian: Я́ков Бори́сович Эстрин, April 21, 1923 – February 2, 1987) was a Russian chess player, chess theoretician, writer, and World Correspondence Chess Champion who held the chess titles of I ...
suggests 11.Bxf4 Nf6 12.Be5 d6 13.Bxf6 Bxg4 14.Qg2 Rg8 15.Kh1 Bf5 16.Qd5+!, assessing the position as better for White. McDonald disputes this assessment, saying Black should win after 16...Kxf6 17.Nc3 Nc6 18.Rxf5+! Ke7!
Both Millican and Shaw recommend 10.Bxf4 rather than the "loosening" 10.g4,
though Shaw describes it as "unconvincing" after 10...Nf6
(to which Millican considers 11.Qe2 "!?").
[
]
Main line: 8.d3
8. d3 Bh6 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. Bd2 Nbc6 11. Rae1 Qf5
:White was believed to be better until this move was suggested in 1858 by a Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
player identified only as "W.S.";Louis Paulsen
Louis Paulsen (15 January 1833 in Gut Nassengrund near Blomberg, Principality of Lippe – 18 August 1891) was a German chess player. In the 1860s and 1870s, he was among the top players in the world. He was a younger brother of Wilfried Pa ...
introduced the new move during his match with leading Austrian master
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
* Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
*Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
Ignatz Kolisch
Baron Ignatz von Kolisch (6 April 1837 – 30 April 1889), also Baron Ignaz von Kolisch (German) or báró Kolisch Ignác ( Hungarian), was a merchant, journalist and chess master with Jewish roots.
Kolisch was born into a Jewish family in Pres ...
in 1861, winning the game after a well-conducted defence.
12. Nd5 Kd8
:with continuations:
:* 13.Qe2 (a move attributed to the British amateur R. E. Lean, sometimes misidentified as "Maclean") and now:
:**13...Qe6 14.Qf2 (neither 14.Nxe7, 14.Qf3, nor 14.Bc3 is better) 14...Qf5= (draw by repetition
In chess, the threefold repetition rule states that a player may claim a draw if the same position occurs three times during the game. The rule is also known as repetition of position and, in the USCF rules, as triple occurrence of position.Article ...
); if 14...Qg4 15.h3 Qg6 16.Bxf4 White is better ( Znosko-Borovsky).[Korchnoi & Zak (1986), p. 33]
:**13...b5 14.Nxe7 (according to Tim Harding, 14.Bxf4! gives White the advantageBerger
Berger is a surname in both German and French, although there is no etymological connection between the names in the two languages. The French surname is an occupational name for a shepherd, from Old French ''bergier'' (Late Latin ''berbicarius'', ...
Pfleger
A ''pfleger'' was a mediaeval office holder in the Holy Roman Empire, a type of burgrave or ''vogt'', who was responsible for the management and defence of a castle or abbey. In Bavaria there was also the title of ''pflegskommissär'', given to ...
, Montilla 1974).[Matanović 1997 (Vol C), p. 205 n. 19][Korchnoi & Zak (1986), p. 32]
Other 8th moves for White
8. Nc3 Qd4+ 9. Kh1 Qxc4 10. d3 Qc6 11. Qxf4 f6 with equality.
:Analysis by Korn.[Korn (1982), p. 7 n. j]
See also
* List of chess openings
This is a list of chess openings, organized by the ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' () code. In 1966, Chess Informant categorized the chess openings into five broad areas ("A" through "E"), with each of those broken down into one hundred subcat ...
* List of chess openings named after people
''The Oxford Companion to Chess'' lists 1,327 named openings and variants. Chess players' names are the most common sources of opening names. The name given to an opening is not always that of the first player to adopt it; often an opening is nam ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
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External links
*
{{Authority control
Chess openings