When you see a good move...

[John Torrie]

Is there a method for searching specifically for a phrase? "When you see a good move..." look for a better one, is from Damiano. Although it is often attributed to Staunton or Lasker. Surprisingly, a search for Damiano only turned up one reference in ten years of posts.

[Wayne Komer]

When you see a good move…

September 27, 2018

Edward Winter discusses this quote in Chess Note #7637

http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/w...emorable_Games

The quote has been ascribed to Emanuel Lasker, to Siegbert Tarrasch and to Wilhelm Steinitz but Winter concludes the discussion with:

Many other such remarks could be quoted, but in any case the sentiments in question were expressed 500 years ago by Damiano in Questo libro e da imparare giocare a scachi et de le partite, as noted, for instance, by H.J.R. Murray on page 788 of A History of Chess(Oxford, 1913): ‘when you have a good move look for a better’. See too page 95 of Wonders and Curiosities of Chessby Irving Chernev (New York, 1974), in a feature entitled ‘Damiano’s centuries-old advice still good today’.

[John Torrie]

Thanks for the link to Mr. Winter's note. The first time I saw ' When you see a good move..." was actually in Hoffer's 'Chess', It impressed me as profound. Later I learned (from Murray) that it came from Damiano, which elevated Damiano in my esteem. Damiano's work followed Lucena's where the advice was "Place the light so that it shines in your opponent's eyes" and "Play him after he has eaten and drunk freely." Little is apparently known about Damiano aside from where he was from and that he was an apothecary. It pleases me to think that as an apothecary his adage was providing an antidote against Lucena-like opponents. Interestingly, Lucena records a pre-Damiano Gambit game that ends in a false mate due to an oversight. Queen takes bishop spoils it. Murray suggests this was perhaps due to confusion about the recent change to the power of the pieces. But perhaps it could have been faulty light, indigestion or drunkenness.

In asking about searching for a phrase, I was referring to this site specifically. I tried typing in "When you see a good move..." and ended up all over the board with posts with 'when' and 'good' and 'move' etc in them, Perhaps someone knows how to do this if it can be done.