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I’ve REALLY been enjoying the Smith-Morra Gambit against the Sicilian Defense recently! This is another game where we ended up out of our mutual knowledge of opening theory on move 3, and we then ended up in enormously fun and tactical positions!

My opponent declined the Smith-Morra Gambit with d5, which is the “Scandinavian Formation” (1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 d5). One of the advantages of the Smith-Morra Gambit is that if Black declines the gambit, the position often ends up looking a bit weird, which means that Black’s superior theoretical knowledge of Sicilian lines won’t help! I played aggressively and took the pawn on d4 with my queen (4. Qxd4), not the most accurate move [-0.4], but ostensibly a force to be reckoned with in the centre.

Black attempted to develop normally with their knights, but this gave me the opportunity to push my uncontested e-pawn to e5, leading to a Vienna Gambit like conundrum for Black on how they would manage the threat to their king’s knight on f6. Like in the Vienna Gambit lines, the best move for the knight is to undevelop back g8, but this is difficult to see and contemplate. And thus, on move 6, my opponent makes an opening blunder (6… Ne4), which leads to their knight being trapped [+4.5].

Into the early middlegame, I’m completely winning. I’d smashed Black’s queenside, was up a minor piece in material, and although Black was trying to counterattack with their lone queen, Stockfish didn’t believe they had any hope giving the evaluation of [+9] on move 15.

And then on move 17, disaster! This was a daily game and I have the unfortunate habit of blitzing out a move on my phone on the go. Not uncommonly, I forget what I was trying to do, and sometimes, I simply misread the board on the small screen. Here, I straight up hang my knight, not seeing that Black’s bishop could capture the knight, and in moving off the d-file, revealing an attack on my queen by their rook (17. Nb5 Bxb5). My advantage was now completely erased, with Stockfish tipping the favour to Black [-1.2].

However, in practice, this part of the middle game was easier to play for Black. Firstly, their rook controlled the fully open d-file. And they had the bishop pair. Two bishops will often bully a rook, and my rook was my most active piece. By move 21, Black has managed to grab a decisive advantage at around [-5].

And from here, there is an instructive lesson about middlegame strategy. Black was winning not because of material (we were equal). Rather, they had a better coordinated attack, especially with the bishop pair. So, it would be a mistake for Black to trade down pieces, especially a bishop, until they gain an absolute material advantage. On the other hand, for me, that was my goal – to trade pieces as I could probably transform a losing position into a drawn endgame. And this is what happened. First, Black traded off one of their bishops, then the rook, and then another bishop. We entered a rook and pawn endgame with completely symmetrical pawns, and not surprisingly, the evaluation was [0.00].

Luckily for me, I might have been a little better at rook and pawn endgames than my opponent. Black sacrificed their a-pawn for king activity. Although Stockfish thinks that the position remained [0.00], in practical terms, the game suddenly became easier for me as I now had a passed pawn. And then, on move 38, based on Black’s previous “trading” behaviour, I predicted that they would trade rooks if placed in a scenario where it appeared that they had a winning attack, but then were forced to retreat. Psychological tactics! My prediction was true, and this transformed the game from [0.00] to [+M25]! The key was the passed a-pawn which now could not be stopped. Black played on valiantly but resigned on move 48 soon after I brought back a queen on the board. GG!

Game on chess.com: https://www.chess.com/game/daily/492947007

[Event "Let's Play!"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2023.03.22"]
[Round "-"]
[White "vitualis"]
[Black "RamenssesII"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Timezone "UTC"]
[ECO "B21"]
[ECOUrl "https://www.chess.com/openings/Sicilian-Defense-Smith-Morra-Gambit-Declined-Scandinavian-Formation"]
[UTCDate "2023.03.22"]
[UTCTime "12:33:12"]
[WhiteElo "1203"]
[BlackElo "1023"]
[TimeControl "1/86400"]
[Termination "vitualis won by resignation"]
[StartTime "12:33:12"]
[EndDate "2023.03.28"]
[EndTime "21:19:35"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/game/daily/492947007"]
[WhiteUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/3711094.82046355.50x50o.c8c8e6b7296c.jpg"]
[WhiteCountry "17"]
[WhiteTitle ""]
[BlackUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/184248867.792805d1.50x50o.0a7f659629d4.jpg"]
[BlackCountry "2"]
[BlackTitle ""]

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 d5 {Smith-Morra Gambit Declined, Scandinavian
Formation - a fascinating variation [+0.3]} 4. Qxd4 {[%c_arrow
e4d5;keyPressed;none;from;e4;opacity;0.8;to;d5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d5;persistent;false] Completely out of
theory, I decided to go all in with aggressive play $1 [-0.4]} 4... Nf6 5. e5 Nc6
6. Bb5 Ne4 $4 {[%c_effect e4;square;e4;type;Blunder;persistent;true][%c_arrow
f6g8;keyPressed;none;from;f6;opacity;0.8;to;g8;persistent;false][%c_highlight
g8;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;g8;persistent;false] This position with e5
attacking the knight is similar to the Vienna Gambit Accepted, and just like in
that line, undeveloping the knight is best. This is a blunder [+4.5]} 7. f3 $1
{[%c_effect f3;square;f3;type;GreatFind;persistent;true] The knight is trapped $1}
7... Nxc3 8. Qxc3 d4 $6 {[%c_arrow
e7e6;keyPressed;none;from;e7;opacity;0.8;to;e6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e6;persistent;false][%c_effect
d4;square;d4;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] An inaccuracy [+6]} 9. Bxc6+ bxc6
10. Qxc6+ Bd7 11. Qd5 e6 12. Qxd4 Qa5+ 13. Bd2 Qb5 14. Nc3 Qxb2 15. Rb1 Qc2 $6
{[%c_effect c2;square;c2;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true][%c_arrow
b2a3;keyPressed;none;from;b2;opacity;0.8;to;a3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
a3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;a3;persistent;false] Stockfish doesn't
believe in this queen counterattack [+9] but it is tricky to navigate} 16. Rb7
Rd8 $6 {[%c_arrow
d7c6;keyPressed;none;from;d7;opacity;0.8;to;c6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
c6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;c6;persistent;false][%c_effect
d8;square;d8;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] Black decides to double down on
the attack. I think I'm winning, but the position is getting complicated [+13]}
17. Nb5 $4 {[%c_effect b5;square;b5;type;Blunder;persistent;true][%c_arrow
d2g5;keyPressed;none;from;d2;opacity;0.8;to;g5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
g5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;g5;persistent;false] And in a fit of
madness (playing a move in a complicated position on my phone on the move is a
weakness of mine $1), I straight up hang my knight $1 [-1.2]} 17... Bxb5 $1
{[%c_effect b5;square;b5;type;GreatFind;keyPressed;undefined;persistent;true]}
18. Qc3 $1 {[%c_effect c3;square;c3;type;GreatFind;persistent;true]} 18... Qxc3
19. Bxc3 Ba4 $6 {[%c_arrow
a7a6;keyPressed;none;from;a7;opacity;0.8;to;a6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
a6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;a6;persistent;false][%c_effect
a4;square;a4;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] An inaccuracy, and we're back to
equality [0.00]} 20. Bd2 $2 {[%c_effect
d2;square;d2;type;Mistake;persistent;true][%c_arrow
b7a7;keyPressed;none;from;b7;opacity;0.8;to;a7;persistent;false][%c_highlight
a7;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;a7;persistent;false] I was worried about
Black's rook and bishop lining up on d1. Stockfish, however, calls this a
mistake and was unafraid and recommended that I immediately capture the hanging
a-pawn [-3]} 20... Bc5 $1 {[%c_effect c5;square;c5;type;GreatFind;persistent;true]
Black takes an advantage with their bishop pair} 21. Rc7 $6 {[%c_effect
c7;square;c7;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true][%c_arrow
e1e2;keyPressed;none;from;e1;opacity;0.8;to;e2;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e2;persistent;false] Bishop pairs often
bully rooks and it can be difficult to navigate [-5]} 21... Bb6 22. Rc4 Bb5 23.
Rb4 Rd5 24. f4 Ba5 $2 {[%c_effect
a5;square;a5;type;Mistake;persistent;true][%c_arrow
b5a6;keyPressed;none;from;b5;opacity;0.8;to;a6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
a6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;a6;persistent;false] This is a mistake for
Black as a bishop trade implies a loss of the bishop pair [-2]} 25. Rb2 Bxd2+ $2
{[%c_effect d2;square;d2;type;Mistake;persistent;true] A mistake. By trading
down and simplifying, we move back towards equality and Black loses their
positional advantage [-0.4]} 26. Rxd2 Rxd2 27. Kxd2 O-O 28. Ne2 Bxe2 {And we're
back to equal [0.00]. This is a symmetrical drawn rook and pawn endgame.} 29.
Kxe2 f6 30. Rd1 Rf7 31. Rd8+ Rf8 32. Rd6 fxe5 33. fxe5 Re8 34. Ra6 Kf7 35. Rxa7+
{This is still technically a drawn position [0.00] but with my passed a-pawn,
it's easier for White to play the position compared to Black $1} 35... Kg6 36. g4
Rf8 37. Ke3 Rb8 38. Rd7 {And here, some psychological play. I expected Black
will try to fork my pawns on the second rank. According to their moves in the
game, I had a feeling that if I offerred a trade of rooks, they would accept,
and there was a high likelihood that my a-pawn would promote.} 38... Rb2 39. Rd2
Rxd2 $4 {[%c_effect d2;square;d2;type;Blunder;persistent;true][%c_arrow
b2b4;keyPressed;none;from;b2;opacity;0.8;to;b4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
b4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;b4;persistent;false] My prediction came
true $1 This is a blunder that loses the rook and pawn endgame. Stockfish 15.1
NNUE finds a forced checkmate line in no more than 25 moves at depth 50 [+M25].}
40. Kxd2 Kg5 41. a4 Kxg4 42. a5 Kf4 43. a6 Kxe5 44. a7 g5 45. a8=Q Kf6 46. Qd8+
Kg6 47. Qe8+ Kf6 48. Qh5 {[%c_effect
d2;square;d2;type;Winner,f6;square;f6;type;ResignBlack] Black resigns. GG $1} 1-0