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Today’s game was against one of my earliest subscribers, @the_nut_job who has made some amazing growth in the past year or so. In fact, they’ve been playing over-the-board as well and recently contacted me with some fantastic results in live competitions!

My subscriber has recently been playing with the Sicilian Defense with the black pieces, and so, I responded with the Smith-Morra Gambit to which they accepted (1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3). The point of the Smith-Morra is that it takes the Sicilian player out of theory, something that is good for the player with the white pieces who doesn’t want to get mired in Sicilian complexity!

Interestingly, up to move 7 we were in theory. I believe that my sub had studied some Smith-Morra lines. However, the Smith-Morra has tactical resources good for White!

In my recently published book, “50+2 Chess Quick Wins: Tactical ideas for exciting chess and beginner players”, I describe the “Knight + Bishop checkmate” tactical pattern on page 40. This is sometimes available in the opening when the opponent delays moving their e-pawn. This is sometimes the case for Black in the Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted.

On move 9, Black blunders with what seems like an entirely sensible and tactical move (9… Ne5). Black had a double attack on my knight on f3, with their bishop pinning the knight to my queen. “Place pressure on the pinned piece”.

However, I had a devious ploy! I play (10. Nxe5), “oh no my queen!”. Of course, it’s a trap, but Black couldn’t resist the allure, especially with the bishop seemingly having a follow-on attack on my rook. After (10… Bxe2), I have the devastating and seemingly impossible (11. Bxf7#)! GG!

Game on chess.com: https://www.chess.com/game/daily/575954333

[Event "Let's Play!"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2023.10.21"]
[Round "-"]
[White "vitualis"]
[Black "the_nut_job"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Timezone "UTC"]
[ECO "B21"]
[ECOUrl "https://www.chess.com/openings/Sicilian-Defense-Smith-Morra-Accepted-Classical-Formation"]
[UTCDate "2023.10.21"]
[UTCTime "22:41:42"]
[WhiteElo "1197"]
[BlackElo "945"]
[TimeControl "1/604800"]
[Termination "vitualis won by checkmate"]
[StartTime "22:41:42"]
[EndDate "2023.10.23"]
[EndTime "01:45:11"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/game/daily/575954333"]
[WhiteUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/3711094.f52a0759.50x50o.ab18600a8723.png"]
[WhiteCountry "17"]
[WhiteTitle ""]
[BlackUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/199491106.f41b848c.50x50o.43108c9453dc.png"]
[BlackCountry "102"]
[BlackTitle ""]

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 {Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted
[-0.2]} 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Bc4 d6 6. Nf3 a6 7. O-O Nf6 {All theory so far $1 [-0.1]}
8. Qe2 Bg4 9. Rd1 Ne5 $4 {[%c_effect
e5;square;e5;type;Blunder;persistent;true][%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] A blunder $1 The
seeming powerful attack on my knight on f3 is an illusion [+5.8]} 10. Nxe5 $1
{[%c_effect e5;square;e5;type;GreatFind;keyPressed;undefined;persistent;true] Oh
no my queen $1} 10... Bxe2 $4 {[%c_effect
e2;square;e2;type;Blunder;persistent;true] The allure was too strong...} 11.
Bxf7# {[%c_effect
g1;square;g1;type;Winner,e8;square;e8;type;CheckmateBlack][%c_arrow
f7e8;keyPressed;none;from;f7;opacity;0.8;to;e8;persistent;false,e5f7;keyPressed;none;from;e5;opacity;0.8;to;f7;persistent;false,e5d7;keyPressed;none;from;e5;opacity;0.8;to;d7;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e8;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e8;persistent;false,d7;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d7;persistent;false,f7;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f7;persistent;false]
Knight+Bishop opening checkmate pattern for the win $1} 1-0