Smith Morra Gambit – The Chess Page

Blitz Game

Leave a Comment / Blitz, Smith Morra Gambit / March 23, 2012

It has been a while since I have shared a blitz game on this blog.

The truth is I have not played that many games recently and have not played many games that I would consider good to share. I haven’t won many games with interesting tactics or positions. I looked through to see if there where any good games to show where I had lost but generally my losses came from making blunders and dropping pieces (I seem to drop pieces far to often in blitz, or get them trapped or forked?!) and I did not find them that instructive.

This game I have chosen is a Smith Morra Gambit game. I love this opening for the tactics and the fun that it brings to a game. It is a great one for blitz! There are a few interesting tactical moves and the final position leaves Black with a lost position where Black cannot stop checkmate occurring without giving up substantial material.

The following game was played on Chesscube. I really enjoy playing on Chesscube and find the site quite easy to use. My online chess name is Clivek if you are ever on Chesscube and see my name or find yourself playing me! Hope you enjoy!

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Newcastle Open 2012 – Round 5

In this game I was paired off against one of the strongest players at the tournament.

I was keen to give the Smith Morra Gambit a go against a strong player to see what defence they would play. I did not expect to come up against what I did. I have played the Smith Morra Gambit numerous times and never seen the trap that I feel into in this game. It was really good to analyse the game after with Ronald and learn about the trap that can occur in the opening and think of the continuations that I might play next time if I come up against this line.

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Country Teams Tournament – Rounds 3 & 4

Leave a Comment / Country Teams Tournament, Goring Gambit, Smith Morra Gambit / December 29, 2011

In round 3 of the tournament I had my quickest win after an opening error by my opponent who was forced to go down a minor piece. I unfortunately wrote down my annotations incorrectly and could not recreate the game after move 12 but with the advantage of the minor piece it was not long after that I won the game by coordinating my minor pieces well and using my Rook to trap in my opponents Rook and Knight. So here is the small portion of the game that I recorded correctly. The opening is the Goring Gambit.

In my Round 4 game I opened with the Smith Morra Gambit but it was declined in a way I had not encountered before. I manage to keep a solid position but find it difficult to complicate things for my opponent. I miss the winning opportunity on move 32 and the game continues on to a drawn endgame.

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