Landing on the mined c-file naturally leads to doom . A few thematic examples follow. 1 2 .1'%ac l i.e? 1 2 . . . lD e 5 ? ? 1 3 . .ixe5 dxe5 1 4. ttJ b5+1 3 . .ib3! 1'%c8 1 3 . . . 0-0 1 4.lDd5 A Ia lDd5! in the Scheveningens Part I I . 1 4 . . . exd5 1 5 .exd5 lDxd5 1 6 . .ixd5 l:!ac8 1 7.b4 'Wb6 1 8.'\1Be4 l:!fe8 1 9.'11B f5 !!ffi ( 1 9 . . . .if6 20 . .ie4+-) 20 . .ixf7t �h8 2 l ..ixd6 .ixd6 22.l:!xd6 'Wxb4 IO.i.e3 0-0 1 1 J3acl i.e6!? On e6, the bishop's other main path, it now actively fights for control of the critical d5square. We will examine this move in greater detail in the theoretical section. The sensitive e6/f7 complex While an early sacrifice on d5 may give rise to the most fantastic possibilities in the Morra Gambit, there are definitely other outlandish ways to find yourself down a full piece after ten moves in the gambit and still objectively play Potpourri Crushing 3...d3 with the Morra-Maroczy: squeeze, squeeze, destroy! The Noxious 3... tt::lf6 with 1 2.ih6) under a spell? How else could White lose such a position? Well, I've botched better. 12J�xe7t!! A gorgeous blow, pleasing the masters of the old guard.

xe4?? 1 5 .g5!+- must be a blind spot for my opponents, as I 've won like this in blitz probably a dozen times, even against titled players. So is 14 . . . ltJ xe4?? 1 5 .lLlxg6 lLl xc3 1 6.lLlxe7t +-. 14 . . . ltJ d7!? Here, and in this whole variation, you must decide whether to play for long-term positional pressure after taking the g6-bishop, or for a kingside pawn assault after bringing the knight to f5 . In this exact position, both moves promise an advantage, bur at other moments, perhaps only the stable exchange on g6 suffices. 1 5 . ltJ xg6 ( 1 5 .lLl f5 ! ? �xf5 1 6.exf5 E!.c8 1 7.'1Wd2 lLl b6 1 8 .�fl ;!; For all you positional grinders out there, this may be your c!thd5 19 ..ixg7 ggs 20J�xd5+- �d7 21 .fl:lc5t �c6 22.fl:lxb7 gxg7 23.YlYe4 �c7 24.b3 �b6 25.gcl t �d7 26.fl:lc5t �e8 27.B:xd6 With "refutations" and egos at stake, Finegold resists until the bitter end, whereas I, savoring the moment, purposely prolong the inevitable, if only to send an encrypted message that he has not heard the last of the Morra Gambit. l .e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4 . .!Llxc3 .!Ll c6 5 . .!Llf3 d6 6.i.c4 e6 7.0--0 i.e7 8.�e2 .!Llf6 9J�dl e5 IO.i.e3 0--0 l l .gacl i.d7!? I4.� b5t! c;!?cs 1 4 . . . 'it>e7 1 5 .lLl g6t Neeeeigh! 1 5 . . . hxg6 1 6 . .ixb8+- Antipova - Lihovid, Nizhnij Novgorod 1 999.Chapter 9 -Taylor's Temple of Doom Esserman - Taylor, Las Vegas 2003, a haunting tale I have buried in the supplemental games section along with my memory of it. If you remain blinded by the darkness of White's prospects after 8 . . . i.g4 9 . b 5 axb 5 1 o.tLlxb5 e6, then move along to the last corridor, as we finally visit the pounding, pulsating heart of Taylor's Temple. ia4! a5 1 7.Wh4! Swinging to the kingside for the final assault. 1 7 . . . Wd8 1 8 . .ic2+Sometimes, it's best to play for the most elementary mates, especially when there is no defense! 1 8 .c!Lld4!?± is also strong, but less direct. A clever castling attempt, but . . . 1 3 . .id5 ! ! Bond: "You know I've missed your sparkling personality." Zhao: "How's that for a punch line." (Die another Day) 1 3 . . . exd5 1 3 . . . �b8 1 4.b4� 1 4.ll'lxd5! ig7 1 4 . . . ll'lxd5 1 5 .exd5 .ie7 ( 1 5 . . . f6 1 6.lt'lc6 ll'lxc6 1 7 . .ib6t �e7 1 8 .dxc6 .ie6 1 9.�e3±) 1 6.b4± 1 5 .ll'l f5 ! V;Vest E:xe8 2 1 .llJ d7# ,t, d7 1 3 ."Ll r:.. b 5 ! A standard Morra c-fil e 1 2 . .� clearance theme, already seen in Esserman .

Theory 11 Earlier Van Wely Imp rovements l .e4 c5 2.d4 c:x:d4 3.c3 dxc3 4.�xc3 � c6 5.�a e6 6 ..ic4 a6 7.0-0 � ge7 8 ..ig5 f6 9 ..ie3 b5!? I O . .ib3 In the "Finegold Defense" , the authors dismiss this line, giving only 1 2 .'\Wxc4?! ib7+. Of course, nothing could prepare them for the dazzling supernova explosion to come.Now, I digress. Groggy in the morning while visiting my family, I logged onto the ICC, sending out an open 3-minute challenge. Low and behold, ex-FIDE World Champion Ponomariov accepts and the game abruptly begins (ah, the joys of Internet chess} . Somewhere around the first few seconds, I hear a shout from across the house: "Honey, come downstairs, pancakes are ready. . . " Chapter 6 - Slaying the Dragon voluntarily uncorks a move that White would spend a whole tempo to force after 6 . . . d6 7.'&b3! . Perhaps after seeing this game they will learn once and for all!

l U�acl 0-0 1 2.h3 Only now, with all of our pieces developed and in optimal central positions, do we start with the flank pawn moves. d5! It only takes one slip! Even the world champion can succumb to the awesome power of ltJd5! "Let the mayhem begin!" (Elliot Carver, Tomorrow Never Dies) I 6 .. ..id8 1 6 . . . exd5 1 7.exd5 +- The famous pawn advance, found principally in the Open Sicilian, is extremely effective in ripping apart the e6/f7 complex. i��-�;f.fJ i ,; i tii' -� ---� 41) ·----���-�----�. J·1.·��--- --�· � � � %%' "/� �- � Jf@� � � � �

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Still, the bishop belongs on g7 after 3 . . . d3, when it will at least exert a powerful grip over the critical h8-a l diagonal. l .e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.�xc3 d6 5.�f3 e6 6 .lc4 a6 7.0-0 j,e7 s.YlYe2 �f6 9.gd l ! b5 1 0.e5! bxc4 l l .exf6 gxf6 12.�d2!!± .lb7!? • Even super-grandmasters cannot help but move listlessly when facing the Morra-Maroczy squeeze. 1 6 . . . Wfh 5!? 1 7.l"i:fe l 1he rook targets e7 from its perch. 1 7 . . . tLle5 1 8 .tLl xe5 Wfxe2 1 9.l"i:xe2 �xe5 20.tLld5 �xd5 2 l .exd5 �f6 (2 l . . .a6 22.g4 b5 23.c5!±) 22.g4!± Banishing the bishop. Chase #3 In our next display, also a main line, White has two different methods of pursuing the queen.