I frequently hear the same question from many club players. Mayhem in the morra by im marc esserman free chess. The french player pierre morra 19001969 analysed the opening extensively and thus got the opening named after himself. A copy that has been read, but remains in excellent condition. Drawing upon his own experience and analysis, lawrence trent put together a complete dvd on the smithmorra gambit, 1. I have played the morra gambit for almost 10 years, but abandoned it when my opponents began to outprepare me. Declined push variation matulovic vs z vospernik, 1955 b21 sicilian, 2. White sacrifices a pawn to develop quickly and create attacking chances. Winning with the smithmorra gambit batsford chess library burgess, graham on. The smithmorra gambit or simply the morra gambit the morra gambit is a less popular opening among grandmasters, but a rather popular one between club players. Nxc3 against the sicilian defense is known as the morra gambit after the frenchman who advocated it several decades ago, or usually in the u. After studying this chess opening book, i now know that white has sacrificed a pawn a material advantage for black for a temporary advantage in rapid development a time advantage for white to.
Most players that play e4 run into the sicilian and if they want to get out of book lines. Most players that play e4 run into the sicilian and if they want to get out of book lines and take an aggressive approach the smith morra gambit. The chess tempo chess database provides over two million searchable chess games. Win with the smith morra gambit batsford chess book. Buy win with the smith morra gambit batsford chess book by burgess, graham isbn. Armed with im marc essermans book, i was initially persuaded that this gambit was sound or close to it. His is a good example of how a video dvd can provide a solid starting point even if it isnt as analytically complete as a fulllength book on the subject. I own every book on the morra in english but the new book by marc esserman is now my new favorite.
Im marc essermans brilliant mayhem in the morra arrived in the mail this weekend and has not been out of my hands very much since. Behind a door that many, if not most will never look, is romantic chess. Limited support at the source code level is available via email from the programmer. What are the best resources for white in the morra gambit.
Winning with the smithmorra gambit batsford chess book. Qxd4 really isnt a promising option, since the queen will be pushed around, while black makes developing moves like nc6. Hannes langrock uses just the name morra and no smith. I feel that there are three lines for black that stand out above all the others. Drawing upon his own experience and analysis, lawrence trent put together a complete dvd on the smithmorra gambit, 1 e4 c5 2 d4 cxd4 3 c3. I have enjoyed this dvd tremendously, especially the videos, which are very nicely presented and easy to absorb in one sitting. I used to think that the smithmorra gambit was a dangerous attacking weapon. Search the chess games database, download games, view frequent practitioners and browse the opening explorer.
First of all, let me reassure the numerous fans of this opening. Smith morra gambit morra gambit il diritto delle banche concetta morra il diritto delle banche concetta brescia morra management accounting information for creating and managing value langfieldsmith smith gambit the seattle gambit kurtherian gambit kings gambit chess gambit tennison gambit princes gambit princes gambit pdf budapest gambit. I used to think that the smith morra gambit was a dangerous attacking weapon. Winning with the smithmorra gambit batsford chess library graham burgess on. So, i have to resort to d4 and the smithmorra gambit. As an active chess player, with about 80 to 100 tournament games a year, i tend to worry about my openings a lot. In chess, the smith morra gambit or simply morra gambit is an opening gambit against the sicilian defence distinguished by the moves. Mayhem in the morra by marc esserman, opening chess book.
Trents presentation is systematic and clearly outlined and the morra is a great opening with which to teach younger players basics like the value of development, while developing their tactical skills. Kenneth ray smith vs larry melvyn evans 1972 morra the same. The offer to purchase the source code is available only to registered users of the professional version. If you play e4 as white for any length of time you probably run into the sicilian defense quite often. In this case, i suppose its just an innocent teenager, using his computer to earn some extra cash on the chessable platform. By sacrificing a pawn, white aims to rapidly develop his pieces with the objective of delivering a swift knockout blow to the unprepared black camp. Nf3 and decides by the reaction of black whether to enter the gambit theory table. Chess opening statistics can been viewed on the display to the right of the board. Ordinarily a chess author would be eviscerated for such marketing tactics. Winning with the smithmorra gambit batsford chess library. He was a noted practitioner of the morra gambit against the sicilian, viz 1. Chesspub forum chess publishing openings antisicilians morra.
I will provide only slight annotations for this game, since smithmorra is a very sharp, tactical system, in which the engine can find best moves with ease but i play against humans, not computers. Gambitguidesmithmorragambit1 play chess with friends. However, this opening is not famous among top chess players and i wonder why. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. For explanation of theory tables see theory table and for notation see algebraic notation 1. Review of mayhem in the morra and a smith morra update. A bust to the smithmorra gambit logozars refutation theres a huge difference between a refutation and a very narrow advantage. Nxc3 and a pawn in the center, while black has an extra pawn and a central pawn majority. The gambit is also often known as the smithmorra, especially in the usa, after ken smith 19301999 who heavily promoted the gambit and frequently employed it himself. On move two white sacrifices a pawn for fast development and good attacking chances, and black can easily. Developments in the smithmorra gambit 198089 by neil carr and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Is the smithmorra gambit still worth playing at a 1600.
While it is indeed dangerous against an unprepared opponent, someone thats armed with the best lines for black can expect equality at the worst, and in many cases an advantage. Not only is it chock full of interesting ideas and original games in the smithmorra gambit 1. The database can be searched via many criteria, including chess players, chess opening, player ratings, game result, and the year the chess game was played. The smithmorra gambit against the sicilian defense 1 e4 c5 2 d4 cxd4 3 c3 dxc3 4 nxc3 is perhaps not common in grandmaster chess, but at club level it can be a very potent attacking weapon. Mayhem in the morra by marc esserman, opening chess book by. In chess, the smithmorra gambit or simply morra gambit is an opening gambit against the sicilian defence distinguished by the moves. Ken smith 19301999 was well known as one of the gambits biggest exponents. Gambitfan, smithmorra gambit all at a way to learn the smithmorra is to play over a bunch of games online, and this link offers you a quick and easy way to do so. Over thirty years ken wrote nine books and fortynine articles on this gambit. Next up is a nameless system that langrock the man that wrote the definitive book on the smithmorra called, clever.
In exchange for the gambit pawn, white has a piece developed after 4. It is also not my ambition to describe every tactical motive that appears in this opening, as this would require writing a damn book. Whilst i know the opening is generally known as the smith morra, if smith had very little involvement, apart from writing about it, then this should be mentioned. Morra gambit chess gambits harking back to the 19th. First off, let me state that i have little to no respect for the smithmorra gambit. The smithmorra gambit chess opening software on dvd. In response to e4, when the opponent plays c5, i dont have much options left. In those days ken kept the dallas chess club supplied with books and study materials even though he probably lost money on this consignment arrangement. The smith morra gambit is a sharp and aggressive line against the sicilian defense from black. The modern morra gambit introduction when i began writing this book, after having played the morra gambit for some years, i was of the opinion that i knew my opening. One book recently published modern morra gambit, the.
It is almost an outright refutation of the smithmorra gambit accepted. Armed with im marc essermans book, i was initially persuaded. Some say that the smithmorra has been refuted, but its still fun to play in the club. Playing the morra gambit is a kind of hope chess see dan heisman on. This gambit is only for very aggressive players as are most gambits. Pages are intact and are not marred by notes or highlighting, but may contain a neat previous owner name. This used to be in the back of ken smiths chess digest book catalog. The smith morra gambit is such an exciting weapon against the sicilian defense, why dont grandmasters play it. The smith morra gambit is a sharp and aggressive line for white against the very popular sicilian defense.
A bust to the smith morra gambit by elijah logozar. Esserman is the worlds leading expert on the morra gambit and he shares all. Ken was a great believer in gambit play, and the smithmorra gambit, 1. I noticed that emanuel berg, who played the smith morra a number of times some years ago, essayed 8. For ten years, marc has been a central player of modern morra chess practice. The smithmorra gambit is a popular, aggressive response to the sicilian. The morra gambit might be theoretically correct, but it. Trents presentation is systematic and clearly outlined, and he doesnt ignore challenging lines. The smithmorra gambit is such an exciting weapon against the sicilian defense, why dont grandmasters play it.
28 1279 1011 112 685 696 210 468 536 407 1515 1559 1210 763 1585 122 1088 66 1570 370 1535 639 173 44 1568 1227 1021 471 1464 1350 909 1192 159 817 1544 288 920 1396 103 1066 1265 153 206 182 854 462 269 720