Originally posted by SquelchbelchI think if there is any future at the higher levels, it may be with a delayed Morra after 2...e6, i.e. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.c3. At least black has fewer possibilities this way, either in the Accepted or Declined. Nevertheless, white still needs an improvement in the line I mentioned before (the one Vasiukov played).
No problem. It's nice to know that others are interested in this opening as well.š
Northern Lad suggests that the gambit isn't worth it at higher levels & while that may well be true, the average white ELO rating is significantly lower than the average black players' ratings.
You could argue that it has simply been dismissed by the GM's, but I'd l ...[text shortened]... e KG springs to mind) this gambit could also find new favour & more robust lines for white.
Here's a game I played against my buddy last night. Having only started training him about a year ago, he's now winning about 30-40% of our games. Anyway, he's only read a little bit about the Morra, and made a very weak move, 7...Bg4, which lead to me regaining the pawn, sticking the black king in the centre, blocking his kingside development and getting 2 knight outposts on d5 and e6.
Annotated
1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. Bc4 a6 7. O-O Bg4?? 8.
Bxf7+! Kxf7 9. Ng5+ Ke8 10. Qxg4 Ne5 11. Qe2 Qc8
12. f4! Nd7? (better was Nf7 attacking my strong knight)
13. f5 g6? (Black can't capture the pawn due to 15.Qh5 Kd8 16. Ne6# )
14. Be3 (Preventing the ...Nc5 which would have allowed black to attack my knight outpost on e6) Bg7
15. Nd5 Bf6 16. Ne6
Clean PGN
1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. Bc4 a6 7. O-O Bg4 8.
Bxf7+ Kxf7 9. Ng5+ Ke8 10. Qxg4 Ne5 11. Qe2 Qc8 12. f4 Nd7 13. f5 g6 14. Be3 Bg7 15. Nd5 Bf6 16. Ne6
and black resigned out of frustration at his underdevelopment, his lack of options, and the imminent loss of material.
D
Refusing the Morra gambit – black defences
Bearing in mind you are playing someone who instinctively answers 1.e4 with the Sicilian, it is likely that they will try to change back to lines in their favourite opening.
I will touch on such things as the c3 Sicilian only very briefly & show some other common sense ways for yellow – I mean black – to decline the Morra to avoid being on the defensive for most or all of the game!
The c3 Sicilian
This is not a bad system for white anyway, it can often lead to a very open position, so if black wants to steer the game this way, then bring it on…
This is the usual way of playing the c3 Sicilian:
1.e4…c5
2.c3 (threatening a strong center with a future d4)…d5
3.exd5
3.e5 may be tempting, but black can play
3…Nc6 4.d4…Bf5 5.Nf3…e6 which looks ok
or maybe
3…Bf5 leading to maybe 4.d4…e6 which looks very good for black early on as well
back to the main line:
3…Qxd5
4.d4
But you can get to the same situation in the Morra by changing the move order:
1.e4…c5
2.d4…cxd4
3.c3…d5
4.exd5…Qxd5
and we have:
fig 19
...or a fascinating c3 Sicilian in which both sides suffer knight forks!
5.cxd4...Nc6 this time
6.Nf3...Bg4
7.Nc3...Bxf3
8.gxf3...Qxd4
9.Qxd4...Nxd4
10.Nb5...Nc2+!
11.Kd1...Nxa1
12.Nc7+!...Kd8
13.Nxa8
Maybe it's drawish, but it's still amusing & there's enough left on the board for some tactical play for both sides.
fig 21
Originally posted by sannevssrHere's what I think you mean:
very interesting all of this,
I refuse the morra with 3...Nf6 transposing to a harmless line in the alapin. (Harmless, but very playable for white)
1.e4...c5
2.d4...cxd4
3.c3...Nf6 (as mentioned)
4.e5...Nd5
5.cxd4...d6
6.Nf3...Nc6
And as you said, good for both
fig 22
My own game examples
Game 3:
Squelchbelch vs captainzep
Game 3036402
This game has an improved 6th move than in example game 2 & also has an aggressive (but maybe unsound) bishop sac on move 11 to open the game right out & prevent the black king castling.
The game shows how you can dominate the center in the Morra, quickly building up good chances. The mobility & rapid development of the white pieces contrasts with the lack of movement from black - Ra8 & Bc8 in particular…
1.e4…c5
2.d4…cxd4
3.c3…dxc3
4.Nxc3…e6
5.Nf3…Bb4 This is the same slightly surprising move order for black as in my example game 2. In that game I chose the rather passive un-pinning move 6.Bd2. As I mentioned in the notes on that game, I realised afterwards that I had a much more dynamic response & I wanted to give this a try:
6.Qd4 defending the pinned Nc3 & attacks the bishop & black’s g7 pawn.
fig 23
example game 3 cont...
6…Bxc3+
7.Qxc3 she is well placed & the g7 pawn is still pinned. Black already needs to tread carefully.
7…f6 I was expecting the developing/defensive Nf6, as the f6 pawn-push weakens the Kingside somewhat
8.Bc4…Ne7 we both look to king safety
9.0-0…Nc6
10.Rd1…d5 although black stakes some claim to the center, the fork on Bc4 & my e4 pawn is irrelevant, because of the standard Rd1 Morra move pinning the d-pawn against black’s queen. 10…Qc7 would be slightly stronger here I think, stopping e4-e5 & un-pinning the d-pawn
11.Bg5?! Maybe this bishop sacrifice isn’t entirely sound, but the chance to rip into my opponent’s KS & prevent him castling with Qxg7 next move looks very strong. I considered 11.Bb5, Bf4, Be3 or maybe even exd5 looking to exchange & clear the e-file, but went with my gut instinct
fig 24
11…fxg5 perhaps not surprisingly, black takes the offered bishop
Originally posted by SquelchbelchI`ts not drawish, but much better (if not winning) for white.
...or a fascinating c3 Sicilian in which both sides suffer knight forks!
[b]5.cxd4...Nc6 this time
6.Nf3...Bg4
7.Nc3...Bxf3
8.gxf3...Qxd4
9.Qxd4...Nxd4
10.Nb5...Nc2+!
11.Kd1...Nxa1
12.Nc7+!...Kd8
13.Nxa8
Maybe it's drawish, but it's still amusing & there's enough left on the board for some tactical play for both sides.
fig 21
[fen]N2k1bnr/pp2pppp/8/8/8/5P2/PP3P1P/n1BK1B1R b - - 0 13[/fen][/b]
example game 3 cont...
12.Qxg7 I need attacking & positional compensation fast as I’m now a piece down after a dozen moves …Ng6 - good move & the one I saw when I looked through the bishop sac – developing the knight a little & defending the Rh8 at once
13.exd5 I can open the center, exposing the king, going for a fast win & at the same time try to stop …Qe7, kicking my queen away …exd5 black looks in bad shape now
14.Bxd5 threatening Qf7mate …Qa5
15.Bxc6+…bxc6
16.Re1+…Kd8 only move as anything else pretty much loses on the spot
17.R(a)d1+ black’s material advantage will be turned around to give up his queen & g5 pawn for a rook just to keep playing
Black’s king is under fire:
fig 25
example game 3 cont...
17…Qd5
18.Rxd5…cxd5
19.Nxg5 I snap-up the pawn & bring my knight into the attack, threatening the beginner’s favourite - king/rook fork - here on f7. If now 19…Rf8 I can play 20.Ne6+ forcing the bishop to take & I can re-capture with my rook & black is hopeless
so, 19.…Re8 forcing the exchange of rooks.
20.Rxe8+…Kxe8
21.Qf7+ forking king & d5 pawn …Kd8 the only move
22.Qxd5+ another fork, this time against the king & dormant a8 rook
Now if 22…Kc7 (defending bishop) then for instance, 23.Qxa8…a6 - defends pawn 24.Qa7+ & black goes further behind
Black resigns
1-0
fig 25
Arr a good chess discussion. However the Smith-Morra gambit should be part of your repertoire if you want to stay under 2000 for ever. In chess above club-level it means playing a pawn down for the rest of the game, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith-Morra_Gambit
Originally posted by z00tIt is basically untested at the very highest levels so that is hard to prove or dis-prove.
Arr a good chess discussion. However the Smith-Morra gambit should be part of your repertoire if you want to stay under 2000 for ever. In chess above club-level it means playing a pawn down for the rest see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith-Morra_Gambit
Maybe white will be a pawn down for all the game, but at even the levels you mention (2000+) black will have been on the defensive for most if not all the game.
The purpose of this thread is to show how the opening can be used against intermediates (1400-1700 or so) & demonstrate how to get a powerful win against someone who habitually plays 1...c5
Oh yeah, & have a whole lot of fun in the process!