Sicilian Defence, Smith–Morra Gambit

In chess, the Smith–Morra Gambit (or simply Morra Gambit) is an opening gambit against the Sicilian Defence 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 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.

The Smith–Morra is named after two players, Pierre Morra from France (1900–69), and Kenneth Ray Smith of the Dallas Chess Club (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 Morra Gambit Accepted : 3...dxc3 4.Nxc3

The Morra Gambit Accepted : 3...dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2

The Morra Gambit Declined : Advance Variation : 3...d3