Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Qh5/2...Nf6

Kiddie countergambit
	a b c d e f g h 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 a b c d e f g h
	Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) rnbqkb1r/pppp1ppp/5n2/4p2Q/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNB1KBNR
	Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Qh5 Nf6
	ECO code: C20
	Parent: Parham attack

2...Nf6!? · Kiddie countergambit

2...Nf6 attacks White's queen, forcing it to move away, but does not defend the e5 pawn which was under attack. Though the attack on their queen prevents White from replying Bc4 to threaten mate on the f7 square, they may now win a pawn with 3. Qxe5+.

In return for the sacrificed pawn, Black gets compensation in terms of a development lead, first having developed their king's knight and forced White's queen to move again, then can continue to develop with tempo once White's queen is on e5. A typical continuation is 3...Be7 (defends check) 4. Bc4 Nc6 (attacks queen) 5. Qf4 d5 6. exd5 Nxd5 7. Bxd5 Qxd5, where 8. Nc3?? is a blunder because it allows ...Qxg2! winning the rook.

History

Though 2...Nc6 is considered the best move, this variation is still playable. It is the second most common move in amateur games (2. Qh5!? is virtually unknown in tournament chess).

It was played in 1881 by the chess "automaton" Mephisto, which was a sort of puppet operated by a hidden chess master that gave demonstrations.^[1]

An early recorded game in this line in tournament chess appeared in a match between Boston and New England, played between G. T. McClure and F. Mathewson, 1905. It was reported in the American Chess Bulletin, which did not name this particular line, calling it just "'Danver's' Attack" (complete with scare quotes).^[2]

It's not clear how this line ended up with the name "Kiddie".