Smith-Morra Gambit
Encyclopedia
In chess
, the Smith–Morra Gambit (or simply Morra Gambit) is an opening
gambit
against the Sicilian Defence
distinguished by the moves:
White sacrifices a pawn to develop quickly and create attacking chances. In exchange for the gambit pawn, White has a piece developed after 4.Nxc3 and a pawn
in the center, while Black has nothing but an empty square at c7. The plan for White is straightforward and consists of placing his bishop
on c4 to attack the f7-square, and controlling both the c- and d-files with rooks
, taking advantage of the fact that Black can hardly find a suitable place to post his queen
.
The Smith–Morra is not common in grandmaster games, but at club level chess it can be an excellent weapon.
(1930–99). Hence in Europe the name Morra Gambit is preferred; names like Tartakower Gambit and Matulovic Gambit have disappeared.
Morra published a booklet and several articles about the Smith–Morra around 1950. Smith wrote a total of nine books and forty-nine articles about the gambit. When Smith participated in an international tournament against several top grandmasters in San Antonio in 1972, he essayed the Smith–Morra three times, against Donald Byrne
, Larry Evans
, and Henrique Mecking
, but wound up losing all three games. (In fact, when Mario Campos Lopez played the French Defence
, 1...e6, instead of the Sicilian against Smith, Bent Larsen
gave Lopez's move a question mark
along with the comment "stronger is 1...c5 which wins a pawn", presuming Smith would play his d4 gambit.)
Nevertheless, Mikhail Tal
used the opening to win a game in 24 moves, which included a queen sacrifice
offered by Tal, which if accepted would have led to forced mate
.
.
The latter has a bad reputation, as square c3 is free for the knight. Still 5...Nf6 (5...e5; 5...Nc6 6.Nf3 e5) 6.Nf3 e6 7.Nc3 Qd6 is likely to transpose to a main line of the Alapin: 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 e6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 cxd4 8.cxd4 Be7 9.Nc3 Qd6.
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, the Smith–Morra Gambit (or simply Morra Gambit) is an opening
Chess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
gambit
Gambit
A gambit is a chess opening in which a player, most often White, sacrifices material, usually a pawn, with the hope of achieving a resulting advantageous position. Some well-known examples are the King's Gambit , Queen's Gambit , and Evans Gambit...
against the Sicilian Defence
Sicilian Defence
The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4...
distinguished by the moves:
- 1. e4 c5
- 2. d4 cxd4
- 3. c3
White sacrifices a pawn to develop quickly and create attacking chances. In exchange for the gambit pawn, White has a piece developed after 4.Nxc3 and a pawn
Pawn (chess)
The pawn is the most numerous and weakest piece in the game of chess, historically representing infantry, or more particularly armed peasants or pikemen. Each player begins the game with eight pawns, one on each square of the rank immediately in front of the other pieces...
in the center, while Black has nothing but an empty square at c7. The plan for White is straightforward and consists of placing his bishop
Bishop (chess)
A bishop is a piece in the board game of chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops. One starts between the king's knight and the king, the other between the queen's knight and the queen...
on c4 to attack the f7-square, and controlling both the c- and d-files with rooks
Rook (chess)
A rook is a piece in the strategy board game of chess. Formerly the piece was called the castle, tower, marquess, rector, and comes...
, taking advantage of the fact that Black can hardly find a suitable place to post his queen
Queen (chess)
The queen is the most powerful piece in the game of chess, able to move any number of squares vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Each player starts the game with one queen, placed in the middle of the first rank next to the king. With the chessboard oriented correctly, the white queen starts...
.
The Smith–Morra is not common in grandmaster games, but at club level chess it can be an excellent weapon.
History
The Smith–Morra is named after two players, Pierre Morra from France (1900–69), and Kenneth Ray Smith of the Dallas Chess ClubDallas Chess Club
The Dallas Chess Club is one of the major chess organizations in the United States, with approximately 300 members, including a number of FIDE masters such as: Grandmaster Alejandro Ramírez, GM Amon Simutowe, IM Jacek Stopa, IM Marko Zivanic, IM John Bartholomew, FM Keaton Kiewra, FM Keith...
(1930–99). Hence in Europe the name Morra Gambit is preferred; names like Tartakower Gambit and Matulovic Gambit have disappeared.
Morra published a booklet and several articles about the Smith–Morra around 1950. Smith wrote a total of nine books and forty-nine articles about the gambit. When Smith participated in an international tournament against several top grandmasters in San Antonio in 1972, he essayed the Smith–Morra three times, against Donald Byrne
Donald Byrne
Donald Byrne was one of the USA's strongest chess players during the 1950s and 1960s.Born in New York City, he won the U.S. Open Chess Championship in 1953, was awarded the International Master title by FIDE in 1962, and played for or captained five U.S. Chess Olympiad teams between 1962 and 1972...
, Larry Evans
Larry Evans
For the football player of the same name, see Larry Evans .Larry Melvyn Evans was an American chess grandmaster, author, and journalist. He won or shared the U.S. Chess Championship five times and the U.S. Open Chess Championship four times...
, and Henrique Mecking
Henrique Mecking
Henrique Mecking was a leading Brazilian chess Grandmaster in the 1970s. He was a very strong player at an early age , drawing comparisons to Bobby Fischer, although he did not achieve the International Grandmaster title until 1971...
, but wound up losing all three games. (In fact, when Mario Campos Lopez played the French Defence
French Defence
The French Defence is a chess opening. It is characterised by the moves:The French has a reputation for solidity and resilience, though it can result in a somewhat cramped game for Black in the early stages...
, 1...e6, instead of the Sicilian against Smith, Bent Larsen
Bent Larsen
Jørgen Bent Larsen was a Danish chess Grandmaster and author. Larsen was known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play and he was the first western player to pose a serious challenge to the Soviet Union's dominance of chess...
gave Lopez's move a question mark
Punctuation (chess)
When annotating chess games, commentators frequently use question marks and exclamation points to denote a move as bad or good. The symbols normally used are "??", "?", "?!", "!?", "!", and "!!". The corresponding symbol is juxtaposed in the text immediately after the move When annotating chess...
along with the comment "stronger is 1...c5 which wins a pawn", presuming Smith would play his d4 gambit.)
Nevertheless, Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
used the opening to win a game in 24 moves, which included a queen sacrifice
Sacrifice (chess)
In chess, a sacrifice is a move giving up a piece in the hopes of gaining tactical or positional compensation in other forms. A sacrifice could also be a deliberate exchange of a chess piece of higher value for an opponent's piece of lower value....
offered by Tal, which if accepted would have led to forced mate
Checkmate
Checkmate is a situation in chess in which one player's king is threatened with capture and there is no way to meet that threat. Or, simply put, the king is under direct attack and cannot avoid being captured...
.
Continuations overview
Black has a wide choice of reasonable defences after 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3. White sometimes plays 2.Nf3 and 3.c3, which depending on Black's response may rule out certain lines.The Morra Gambit Accepted: 3...dxc3 4.Nxc3
- Classical Mainline: 4...Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 e6 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Qe2 Be7 9.Rd1 e5 10.h3 or 10.Be3
- Scheveningen setup: 4...Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 e6 7.0-0 Nf6 (or Be7) 8.Qe2 a6 9.Rd1 Qc7 (probably inferior Qa5) 10.Bf4 (10.Bg5) Be7
- Siberian Variation: 4...Nc6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bc4 Nf6 and 7...Qc7
- Nge7 Variations: 4...Nc6 (or 4...e6) 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bc4 a6 (Nge7) 7.0-0 Nge7 (d6 8.Qe2 Nge7 9.Bg5 h6) 8.Bg5 f6 9.Be3
- 6...a6 Defence: 4...Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 a6 eventually 7...Bg4
- Fianchetto: 4...g6 (4...Nc6 5.Nf3 g6 allows 6.h4!?) 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.Bc4 Nc6
- Chicago Defence: 4...e6 5.Bc4 a6 6.Nf3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.0-0 and Black plays ...Ra7 at some stage
- Early Queenside Fianchetto: 4...e6 5.Bc4 a6 6.Nf3 b5 7.Bb3 Bb7
The Morra Gambit Accepted: 3...dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2
This line is similar to the Danish GambitDanish Gambit
The Danish Gambit, known as the in German, and the in Dutch, is a chess opening that begins with the moves:...
.
The Morra Gambit Declined
- Advance Variation: 3...d3
- First transpostion to the Alapin: 3...Nf6 4.e5 Nd5
- Second transposition to the Alapin: 3...d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 (Nf6) 5.cxd4
The latter has a bad reputation, as square c3 is free for the knight. Still 5...Nf6 (5...e5; 5...Nc6 6.Nf3 e5) 6.Nf3 e6 7.Nc3 Qd6 is likely to transpose to a main line of the Alapin: 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 e6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 cxd4 8.cxd4 Be7 9.Nc3 Qd6.
See also
- Another anti-Sicilian gambit is the Wing GambitWing GambitIn chess, Wing Gambit is a generic name given to openings in which White plays an early b4, deflecting an enemy pawn or bishop from c5 so as to regain control of d4, an important central square...
(1.e4 c5 2.b4). - List of chess openings
- List of chess openings named after people