Smith-Morra gambit workshop

Originally posted by Squelchbelch
[b]Siberian trap (black wins a queen for 2 knights)


Not all the potential traps in the Morra gambit are of benefit to white!

1.e4…c5
2.d4…cxd4
3.c3…dxc3
4.Nxc3…Nc6
5.Nf3

This dangerous trap against white comes from the variation from the main line when black plays 5…e6 instead of the more usual 5…d6.
so, 5...e6

fi ...[text shortened]... 2.
so, [b]9.h3?? white tries to boot the knight away from its attack on h2 but overlooks...[/b]

How about 1e4 c5 2d4 exd4 3c3 dxc3 4Bc4 cxb2 5Bxb2 I think this is the challenge for both players.The only way to get compensation for two pawns is very quick development,and hoping that the black player doesn't know what to do.Openings like this and the Goering gambit,(1e4 e5 2Nf3 Nc6,and further equal as the Morra)can be decided in a few moves.I think the Goering is a little more safe for white than the Morra,in morra black can still play e5 later on.

Originally posted by Korch
Instead of 9.h3?? White have at least three good lines - 9.g3 9.Nb5 and 9.Nd5!? which leads to good positions for white.

Instead:

9.Nb5!

This does indeed look like a good reply. Let’s follow what I think is a likely line:
Obviously the move attacks the queen & also threatens further infiltration into black’s camp by Nc7 or Nd6. An earlyish Nc3-Nb5 move is a typical way of adding a further threat in the Morra in the main line.
9…Qb8 most likely I think, as it keeps the threat on the open b8-g3 diagonal alive & also still aims at h2 threatening an instant checkmate if white moves the Nf3.
10.h3 NOW you can kick the knight away, because your knight on b5 prevents Nd4 & the resulting queen loss. …a6 I think this is quite likely, as black may not be able to tolerate the Nb5 pressure, even though he will lose the exchange by a pawn.
11.hxg4…axb5 12.Bxb5 and white has equalised …Be7 allowing the safety of a kingside castle.
13.Rd1 white must attack the ½ open d-file …0-0 although the black king is reasonably secure, white looks pretty good here:

fig 14

Secondly:

9.Nd5?!

This option is a bold use of the pin on the e-pawn to attack the black queen …exd5 10.exd5 disc+ & attacking Nc6 also …N(c)e5 attacks white’s Bc4 with the queen, so 11.Bb3 staying on the f7 diagonal & also defending d5 …Be7 stops the pin on Ne5 & allows the ks castle. 12.Bf4 looks good here, pinning Ne5 against the queen this time! …d6 defends the knight & removes the pin. 13.h3 forcing the Ng4 away. Play here looks ok for both, but white needs to consolidate being a piece down by using the rooks to attack the open c-file & the d or e-file also, but it could go either way with 1 small mistake.
With careful play from black though, white could be in trouble.

fig 15

Finally:

9.g3

This breaks the black threats on the b8-h2 diagonal. I think many players may play …Be7 in reply, going for king safety.
10.Bf4 attacking the queen & asserting white’s new dominance on the diagonal …Qb6
11.R(a)d1 taking the ½ open central file …0-0 & 12.h3 attacking that knight
and white looks to have good chances:

fig 16




In summary:

On the face of it 9.Nb5! looks like a solid, attacking response to the Siberian trap threat. White can possibly get the gambit pawn back, at the expense of a fairly safe black king position.

9.Nd5?! is rather risky, at least in the line I tried above, but black must delay king safety & deal with some tactical exchanges. Very attacking play from white which could turn sour if he can’t find ways to keep the pressure up.
Maybe there is a better line here & a more convincing way to use the move?

9.g3 this line can lead to promising play for white, although his king does look rather exposed with g3 & h3 pawn pushes.

However, any option can be risky for white, best avoided altogether if you ask me!
Better to play 6.Bf4 after 5…e6 or maybe even an early & bold 6.e5 or, if you insist with playing with fire, 8.Bg5 in the trap line, instead of the rather dubious but habit-formed 8.Qe2 which leads to the trap & the 3 options above.

I usually decline Morra with 3. .. Nf6
Then i can usually transpose back in to a Sicilian line i'm more familiar with.

My own game examples
Game 2:

Game 2972094
Squelchbelch vs japets



1.e4…c5
2.d4…cxd4
3.c3…dxc3
4.Nxc3…e6 Nc6 is the usual move order but this could just go back to a normal looking Morra.
5.Nf3…Bb4 this is not going back to a main line. Again, 5…Nc6 was expected. I was now sure that my opponent was just playing moves that felt natural to their style, without having any particular experience against the gambit.
6.Bd2 hmm - it un-pins the knight but is maybe rather passive. Looking back at it I had 6.Qd4! forking the Bb4 & pawn g8, forcing the bishop back & gaining time & central control. Maybe even 6.Bf4 was better.
…Ne7 I half expected 6…Bxc3 & the exchange. Black can castle now though, as I plan to soon.
7.Bc4…0-0
8.Qe2…N(b)c6
9.0-0

fig 17

Own game example game 2 cont…

9…b6? Does little for black, blocking the a5-d8 diagonal for his own dark-square bishop & queen & virtually loses another tempo
10.a3 so I attack the bishop, which only has 1 square …Bd6
11.Bg5 pinning the knight against the queen. I’m quite happy to trade down if necessary …h6
12.Bh4 I decide to leave the knight pinned & moving away …Bb7? Doesn’t do much, because my d-pawn is well defended. I think I expected …Qc7 & a future hack (with Bd6) at my h2 square.
13.R(f)d1 I go for the ½ open file & attack the undefended Bd6 …Qc7 defending the bishop
14.Nb5! I use one of the Morra’s standard attacking moves - here to fork the queen & bishop …Bxh2+ this is the best he can do I think. I have Nf3 defending & can win a piece for a pawn!
15.Nxh2…Qe5? centralizes the queen, but I can take the d7 pawn & will happily exchange down if needed, now I’m well ahead
16.Rxd7…Ng6 attacking my bishop & forcing it to a better looking square
17.Bg3 I move it away to a long diagonal & attack the queen. Bb7 is also still attacked by my Rd7.
Black looks in bad shape here. The black queen is running out of useful safe squares as can often happen in the Morra. However, I still need to untangle some of my pieces to get a really decent attack going:
…Qc5
18.Rxb7 Black has very few good moves & is down in material:

fig 18


2 bishops down, at move 18 black has had enough!
1-0

This example game shows the strengths of the Morra against someone who is unfamiliar with the gambit – even though my opponent is higher rated than me, & played mostly common sense moves, a few early mistakes lead to a won game for me.

nice game! but move 13 by black (queen to protect bishop) is a tactical blunder. black should move that bishop, Bf4 or Bc7.

Originally posted by laphroaig
nice game! but move 13 by black (queen to protect bishop) is a tactical blunder. black should move that bishop, Bf4 or Bc7.

What about the declined lines with 3... d3

I feel a certain amount of nostalgia for the Morra Gambit, since may years ago I won the Brilliancy prize at an Italian tournament playing it as white. However, though it works to an extent at many levels, I think that at the highest level it falls short. The last time I ever played the Morra was about 20 years ago when I had a depressing loss against the then Soviet GM Vasiukov. Of course, it's no disgrace to lose to such a player, but what made it worse was the post-mortem analysis. Pretty much every line we looked at Vasiukov muttered "nye kompensatsiye..." And he did seem to be right. For those who are interested, he used the defence with e6, a6, Nc6, and Nge7, which seems to be one of black's best, though there are others that seem to challenge the soundness of the Morra. There's also the point that if black declines the Morra (and many do), you have to be prepared to play a c3 Sicilian, for which nowadays most players are well prepared.

you make a very good point but i think for us within 1400-1600 on rhp it's still very appealing and good for tactics training, the resulting positions are sharp. i plan to carefully study this thread and probably chalenge Squelchbelch (thanks for your posts) when i'll feel ready ;-)

Originally posted by laphroaig
you make a very good point but i think for us within 1400-1600 on rhp it's still very appealing and good for tactics training, the resulting positions are sharp. i plan to carefully study this thread and probably chalenge Squelchbelch (thanks for your posts) when i'll feel ready ;-)