smith-mora variation

The line you posted would result in 7 Bxd8.

If you meant 5...Nf6, then there is one game in the chess.com database which goes like that.

Listed are 2 Smith Morra Gambit games that I played previously. See games below.

Best Regards
DarthMusashi

A Smith Morra type of gambit can also be played from the black side of the English
Opening. The moves are 1.c4 d5 2.cxd5 c6 3.dxc6 Nxc6  and later black can play
e5. See my article at Chessville in my column called "The Search for Dragons and
Mythical Chess Openings" and in an article called the Vector Gambit.

Best Regards
DarthMusashi

I enjoy your explorations of unorthodox openings, Evilone.  The Smith-Morra gives me fits as black.  Now I also need to fear the Vector Gambit!

I also play the Gran Prix Attack against the Sicilian 1.e4 c5 2.f4 however there
was a video about this opening and it recommended 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 to prevent
the 2...d5 pawn push. I have also played the Wing Gambit on the Sicilian 1.e4 c5 2.b4 and my latest has been the Halasz Gambit Sicilian Variation. 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.Bd3. The black pawn at d4 blocks any kind of counterplay on the queenside
because you cannot attack your own pawn. Usually White plays a3 and b4 in this
line effectively shuting down any kind of queenside counter. And if black castles queenside this is not good because whites pawns are already advanced on the queenside. I saw a recent game where a 1600+ player bumped off a player rated 2100+ in a very beautiful attacking game. Black got killed on the kingside.
And previously I was experimenting with the Sicilian Grob Attack with 1.e4 c5
2.g4.

I used to also play the Sicilian Dragon and the Sicilian Katalimov Variation 1.e4 c5
2.Nf3 b6 and have been experimenting with the Polish Sicilian Gambit 1.e4 c5
2.Nf3 b5 and have had good results with my Polish Sicilian Gambit.

Best Regards
DarthMusashi

DarthMusashi,

Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted

1.e4 c5                     or          1.e4 c5

2.d4 cd4                                2.d4 cd4

3.c3 dc3                                3.c3 dc3

4.Nc3 Nc6                              4.Nc3 Nc6

5.Nf3 d6                                5.Nf3 e6

6.Bc4 a6

In either one of these variations White has sacrificed a pawn for 1 maybe 2 tempi of compensation.  It is insufficient compensation as borne out by any chess game database.  Black's winning percentage simply cements in practice the theoretical assertion in the previous sentences

Smith-Morra Gambit Declined

1.e4 c5

2.d4 cd4

3.c3 Nf6

This variation simply puts White into a bad variation of the c3 Sicilian

This is all speculation. Over the board is another matter. Middlegame tactics
still decides the games. You can quote statistics but if you know the lines
better than your opponents then you have the edge. The Morra Gambit is full
of tricks and traps. Even you could fall into one of them. The Morra Gambit
is still a dangerous opening in the hands of a capable tactician. Unless you are a
GM you cannot prove the Morra Gambit is unsound. I have even torched opponents with my 3 pawn gambits. My Orang-Colorado Gambit is very
strong and opponents who have taken all 3 pawns have gone down in flames.
I even took down 13 year old kid master Jordy Mont-Renaud with my Smith Morra Gambit at a Hawaii International some years ago.

Best Regards
DarthMusashi

Listed are some Vector Gambit games. This is a reversed Smith Morra Gambit against
the English Opening 1.c4.

Best Regards
DarthMusashi

I don't speculate.  When I was building the tree for my opening repertoire I had to memorize 400 subvariations of the Sicilian Najdorf Poisoned Pawn.  As I am sure you well know the Poisoned Pawn is riddled with tactics.  In the same way I learned the Smith-Morra, which by the way was not nearly as difficult,  because White is always looking for a way to avoid the Sicilian.  The Smith-Morra is another failed attempt at thwarting the Sicilian, as Ken Smith learned all too well when he used it at the Church's Fried Chicken International in San Antonio, Texas   

I have noticed that the Smith-Morra produces harsher arguments than any other opening.

I'm so happy I'm not a strong player! When I play the morra, I just remember the ideas, typical variations, rooks on open files and bishops pointing kingside, and I start my journey!

To: transpo

If what you say is true that the Smith Morra Gambit is busted
then I would like to see you play chess engine Houdini v1.5a in a
4 game match at game 30 minutes. You would need to download
the chess engine at the Houdini web site and load it on
your computer (preferable at least dual core) and load Houdini
onto your chess program with a Fritz interface or run the match
using the Winboard or Areana chess graphical interface.

You would have to set the initial position at 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3
which is the starting positon of the Smith Morra Gambit. And you
will play the black side 4 times. If what you say is true that you
know all the variations of the Smith Morra Gambit then this should
be no problem for you. However chess engine Houdini 1.5a has never
been beaten by a human player, Your score in that match should be
4-0 and you can post those games here. I will examine them with my
Houdini 1.5a chess engine. Houdini 1.5a has a rating of about 3309
but that should not matter to you since you got all the lines analyzed.

I believe you are using IM Timothy Taylors book on how to bust the
Smith Morra Gambit. He is not a GM and probably has holes in his
analysis.

Best Regards
DarthMusashi

DarthMusashi,

Finally a good suggestion!  Since you have Houdini, you should try finding a friend that has Houdini and a computer with equal processing power.  Then let the two engines play against each other to see what results you get. 

I don't have any chess engines, and my laptop does not have the strong processing power to maximize any chess engines playing strength.  I do have a couple of friends that have the necessary technology to do this.  It will take me a few days to contact them and get them to try it.  It will be interesting to see what results we both get.

A question, have you tried your suggestion with two houdinis playing against each other? 

I will let you know what results we get.