Winning With the Smith-Morra Gambit (Batsford Chess Library)

Rating:
Summary: Best book on the gambit
Review: Graham Burgess does a great job in not only organizing his work, but also presenting the tactical pitfalls that come up so frequently in this wild gambit. I do admit that his book is a little optimistic, but there is no proven way to get anymore than equality for black.

I recommend the Smith-Morra Gambit to anyone who plays 1. e4, is tactically inclined (positionally impaired?!), and doesn't mind a sharp struggle. And if you want to play the Smith-Morra Gambit there's no better book than Winning With The Smith-Morra Gambit. Note: Winning With The Smith-Morra Gambit is part of the Winning With... series (even though you may very well win with it.)

The Smith-Morra Gambit isn't for everyone, and consequently this book is not for everyone, however if you are failing to comprehend the complexities of the Open Sicilian, or your failing to make progress with your anti-Sicilian pet line, give the Smith-Morra Gambit a try, you'll be surprised at how many people blunder when only following common opening principles. For example, after 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cd 3. c3 dc 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. Bc4 e6 7. O-O Nf6 8. Qe2 Be7 9. Rd1 the natural developing move ...O-O leads to a hopelessly lost game for black after 10. e5!.

Contrary to common belief, The Smith-Mora Gambit is a sound and very dangerous weapon against the Sicilian, notwithstanding a player has to have an excellent instinct for tactics, thus I cannot recommend it to anyone less than 1700, and of course, the timid.

5 stars because it's the best representation of the Gambit (it's organization is second only to Pirc Alert, it shows tactical patterns, and it's all you need in oder to play the opening confidently.)

Rating:
Summary: Best book on the gambit
Review: Graham Burgess does a great job in not only organizing his work, but also presenting the tactical pitfalls that come up so frequently in this wild gambit. I do admit that his book is a little optimistic, but there is no proven way to get anymore than equality for black.

I recommend the Smith-Morra Gambit to anyone who plays 1. e4, is tactically inclined (positionally impaired?!), and doesn't mind a sharp struggle. And if you want to play the Smith-Morra Gambit there's no better book than Winning With The Smith-Morra Gambit. Note: Winning With The Smith-Morra Gambit is part of the Winning With... series (even though you may very well win with it.)

The Smith-Morra Gambit isn't for everyone, and consequently this book is not for everyone, however if you are failing to comprehend the complexities of the Open Sicilian, or your failing to make progress with your anti-Sicilian pet line, give the Smith-Morra Gambit a try, you'll be surprised at how many people blunder when only following common opening principles. For example, after 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cd 3. c3 dc 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. Bc4 e6 7. O-O Nf6 8. Qe2 Be7 9. Rd1 the natural developing move ...O-O leads to a hopelessly lost game for black after 10. e5!.

Contrary to common belief, The Smith-Mora Gambit is a sound and very dangerous weapon against the Sicilian, notwithstanding a player has to have an excellent instinct for tactics, thus I cannot recommend it to anyone less than 1700, and of course, the timid.

5 stars because it's the best representation of the Gambit (it's organization is second only to Pirc Alert, it shows tactical patterns, and it's all you need in oder to play the opening confidently.)

Rating:
Summary: Not quite a "winning with" opening
Review: Of course, every gambit has its ups and downs. The main up point in the Smith-Morra is that it can catch black off balance and destroy him if he doesn't play precisely. There are many clever traps that white can lay and many positions where black can just be overwhelmed by white's initiative. The downside to the Smith-Morra is that it is refuted. If black plays the correct moves and knows basically what he is doing (about 1 hour total for this opening as black and you can refute it) then he should have no problem winning. I gave the book 2 stars because Burgess gave it a good try, but unfortunately the gambit has been refuted for years. 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Bc4 e6 6.Nf3 a6. As you will notice most of white's play comes from Nb5 or attacks against f7. I guess that all of those attacks are voided with this variation.

Rating:
Summary: Best current reference work on the Morra Gambit
Review: The Smith(Morra)gambit is an exciting way for an agressive player to oppose the siclian defense (1. e4 c5). However, the gambit does involve some risk (for both players, really) which is why many players are put off by the variation.

If you are an attack minded 1. e4 player and you like razor sharp positions in which you may be more familar than your opponent - look no further. If you like to push wood for hours and play safe, unassuming chess - forget it!

Burgess does a very nice job of explaining the ideas behind the Morra gambit in the introductory chapters - something that I wish a whole lot more opening books would emulate! The book contains a large number of master game references for study. There is even a game featuring World Champ Garry Kasparov as black (and he nearly lost against the Morra!!).

The only reason I have given this book four stars instead of the full five, is that there are some places where I feel that Burgess is a tad optimistic about whites chances. All openings have good and bad points and the Morra is no exception. However, the book sometimes stretches a bit and tries to convince you that white can hardly ever lose. (If an opening could really promise all that everyone would start to play it and the game would become obsolete).