In chess, the Muzio Gambit, sometimes called the Polerio Gambit, is an opening line in the King's Gambit in which White sacrifices a knight for a large lead in and chances. It begins with the moves: 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 choice. The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings classifies the Muzio Gambit under code C37.

History

The opening was originally analysed by Giulio Cesare Polerio in the late 16th century; the first recorded game is by the Neapolitan player Geronimo Cascio in Alessandro Salvio's Il Puttino, published in 1634. The name "Muzio Gambit" originated with the early 19th-century English chess writer Jacob Sarratt, 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 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 and Wilhelm Steinitz; 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''' 6. Qxf3 Qf6 (diagram) 7. e5 7... Qxe5

Double Muzio Gambit: 8.Bxf7+!?

8. Bxf7+!? '''8... Kxf7 9. d4** (diagram) **Qf5'''

Main line: 8.d3

'''8. d3 Bh6 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. Bd2 Nbc6 11. Rae1 Qf5''' (Paulsen Variation ) 12. Nd5 Kd8

Other 8th moves for White