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Very Hot Topic (More than 25 Replies) Esserman "Mayhem in the Morra" (Read 173636 times)
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Re: Esserman "Mayhem in the Morra"
Reply #143 - 11/09/21 at 00:55:59
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Good book
  
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Re: Esserman "Mayhem in the Morra"
Reply #142 - 05/23/20 at 09:56:17
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Tauromachie wrote on 04/22/17 at 12:29:31:
It's quite easy to overlook this variation when writing a book I would guess. Who plays a6+b5 without developing the bishop to b7 at first ?

I never encountered this fast Nc6-a5-xb3 plan up to this point. But it seems to be a pretty strong line and very straightforward.

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 e6 5.Nf3 a6 6.Bc4 b5 7.Bb3 Nc6 8.0-0 Na5!? 9.Re1 (I don't like the look of 9.Bc2. The bishop is just misplaced there and retreating a developed piece seems way to slow for the Morra-Gambit.)
9..Nxb3 10.Qxb3 Bb7 11.a4 (provoking a weakness) 11..b4 12.Bg5 (unrooting the weak pawn on b4) 12..Be7 13.Bxe7 Qxe7 14.Nd4!?

a) 14..Qc5 (14..a5 15.Nf5!) (14..Nf6 15.Nf5!) 15.Nc2 a5 (15..bxc3 16.Qxb7 Rc8 17.bxc3 Nf6 18.Nb4 looks alright for white)



I re-visited this thread based on the new one. Here Black has an improvement, which is 16...Qa7! instead of 16...Rc8. It seems the other lines you posted are not that bad for White, but this line gives Black some advantage.

Now, 17. Qb4 cxb2 18. Qxb2 Nf6 19. Qa3 d5 20. exd5 Nxd5 is more or less forced I think. It is probably not winning for Black, but I can't see any winning chances at all for anyone but Black.
  
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Tauromachie
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Re: Esserman "Mayhem in the Morra"
Reply #141 - 04/22/17 at 12:29:31
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It's quite easy to overlook this variation when writing a book I would guess. Who plays a6+b5 without developing the bishop to b7 at first ?

I never encountered this fast Nc6-a5-xb3 plan up to this point. But it seems to be a pretty strong line and very straightforward.

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 e6 5.Nf3 a6 6.Bc4 b5 7.Bb3 Nc6 8.0-0 Na5!? 9.Re1 (I don't like the look of 9.Bc2. The bishop is just misplaced there and retreating a developed piece seems way to slow for the Morra-Gambit.)
9..Nxb3 10.Qxb3 Bb7 11.a4 (provoking a weakness) 11..b4 12.Bg5 (unrooting the weak pawn on b4) 12..Be7 13.Bxe7 Qxe7 14.Nd4!?

a) 14..Qc5 (14..a5 15.Nf5!) (14..Nf6 15.Nf5!) 15.Nc2 a5 (15..bxc3 16.Qxb7 Rc8 17.bxc3 Nf6 18.Nb4 looks alright for white) 16.Nb5 Ne7 17.Nxb4! I would suggest looking depper into this line, it seems quite interesting. 17..axb4 18.Rc1 Qb6 19.Qxb4! (not grabbing the rook of course.) After 19.Qxb4 white has only one pawn for the piece but the black king remains uncastled and the knight on e7 is a problem. The critical line should be
19..Kf8 (19..0-0 20.Qxe7 Rxa4 21.Qxd7 should also be considered but I doubt that giving the piece back that easily will challenge white more than the mainline) 20.Rc7 Bc6 21.Qd6 Qa6 22.Nd4 (22..Bxa4 23.Qb4 f6 24.b3 Kf7 25.bxa4 Rhd8 26.Ra1 Rdb8 27.Qe1 e5 leads to a balanced position) 22..Kg8 23.Nxc6 Nxc6 24.Qxd7 Ne5 25.Qd4 Ng6 26.Qd7 Rf8 27.b4 black is tangled up on the kingside while the white pawns will roll forward. The Morra-Player should be happy with such an outcome.

However, I am not in love with the white position after

b) 14..Nh6!? I will give my sample line, maybe someone finds a neat improvement.
15.Nd5 Bxd5 16.exd5 0-0 17.dxe6 fxe6 18.Rad1 Rac8 19.Nf3 Rfd8 20.Qd3 a5 21.Re5 Ra8

And although white has some central pressure I have the impression that this is not nearly enough compensation. White needs to be caucious as well to not allow black to advance his central pawns..





  
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Re: Esserman "Mayhem in the Morra"
Reply #140 - 04/21/17 at 20:45:48
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CraigEvans wrote on 04/20/17 at 13:44:57:
Depressing, but I think this line is really critical. A shame, as much of Esserman's book is excellent and, along with the Langrock and Palkovi books, had given me faith that the Morra may be playable... but I can find nothing in this line.

I suppose the question, now, is one of integrity - have these three authors all not seen this idea? Or have they seen it, not found anything either, and therefore omitted it from their texts? I would like to think the former, but I'm a natural cynic...


I don't like Esserman's book at all. He hides some of Black's best lines in an obscure foot note. Langrock has tried to stay objective and not present hope chess. Therefore, I think that Langrock might not have seen the idea. Esserman might have, and left it out, or maybe did not. The style in his book leaves both option as likely IMO.
  
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CraigEvans
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Re: Esserman "Mayhem in the Morra"
Reply #139 - 04/20/17 at 13:44:57
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Depressing, but I think this line is really critical. A shame, as much of Esserman's book is excellent and, along with the Langrock and Palkovi books, had given me faith that the Morra may be playable... but I can find nothing in this line.

I suppose the question, now, is one of integrity - have these three authors all not seen this idea? Or have they seen it, not found anything either, and therefore omitted it from their texts? I would like to think the former, but I'm a natural cynic...
  

"Give a man a pawn, and he'll smell a rat. Give a man a piece, and he'll smell a patzer." - Me.

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Re: Esserman "Mayhem in the Morra"
Reply #138 - 04/12/17 at 20:32:53
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I thought the point would be 17.d6 Qd8 18.Qxb4. But looking at it again, I slightly prefer black. The queenside play is automatic and the kingside seems solid.
  
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Re: Esserman "Mayhem in the Morra"
Reply #137 - 04/12/17 at 19:25:28
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CraigEvans wrote on 04/12/17 at 14:13:30:
it looks just about as critical as any other line I know against the Morra, if played in the right way as a souped-up ...Nge7 line.

This is basically why I dropped the Morra Gambit - I got tired of finding remedies against every new defensive line.

an ordinary chessplayer wrote on 04/12/17 at 17:39:35:
1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 e6 5.Nf3 a6 6.Bc4 b5 7.Bb3 Nc6 8.O-O Na5 9.Re1 Nxb3 10.Qxb3 Bb7 11.a4 b4 12.Bg5 Be7 13.Bxe7 Qxe7, it seems like a good moment for 14.Nd5.

14...Bxd5 15.exd5 Nf6 16.Rad1 O-O 17.Rd4 a5 18.d6 Qd8 and White doesn't seem to have enough. So 16.dxe6 fxe6 17.Rac1 O-O but I don't see how White can prevent Black from consolidating.
  

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Re: Esserman "Mayhem in the Morra"
Reply #136 - 04/12/17 at 17:39:35
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In this line that CraigEvans gives, 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 e6 5.Nf3 a6 6.Bc4 b5 7.Bb3 Nc6 8.
O-O Na5 9.Re1 Nxb3 10.Qxb3 Bb7 11.a4 b4 12.Bg5 Be7 13.Bxe7 Qxe7, it seems like a good moment for 14.Nd5.
  
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Re: Esserman "Mayhem in the Morra"
Reply #135 - 04/12/17 at 14:13:30
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Djy wrote on 01/29/14 at 08:56:13:
gunnar wrote on 10/03/13 at 12:31:51:
Hello everybody!

PLEASE HELP, dear Morra fans!!

I just recently started out the Morra and I simply love it, but I got a variation that it is not included in Esserman's book nor Langrock's book.
And it seems quite a good variation for black.

Here it is:

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 e6 5. Nf3 a6 6. Bc4 b5 7. Bb3 Nc6 (!?) 8. 0-0 Na5!?

Black plays Nc6 instead of Bb7 and a fast Na5. And because no Re1 yet, Nd5 simply not works.
Also Bc2 is not an option and if black can take white's Bishop, he is simply better.

What's more annoying that I couldn't find too many games in database. And many players play this variation during internet blitz and I don't know what to do...

THanks for your help!! Smiley


i think 9.Bc2 is the best move here and black still have problems to solve


Sadly, I fear things are not this simple. I have recently had this line played against me in a correspondence game - after 9.Bc2 I got less than nothing, it's still going so I cannot post it yet but suffice to say, white gets no compensation at all - on move 21 I am entirely busted.

9.Re1 doesn't fill my heart with joy either, as in these ...Nge7 lines (which is what black is aiming for, his dream position in the early ...Nge7 lines is ...Ng6, ...b5, ...Na5, ...Bb7 and ...Rc8 usually if allowed, and black is simply doing the queenside expansion bit first as otherwise white can normally throw a spanner in the works) white usually wants to play Nd4 and f4, so wants his rooks on d1 and f1 - the Re1 looks misplaced. Also 9.Re1 Nxb3 10.Qxb3 Bb7 11.a4 b4 12.Bg5 looks best, but here black can just play 12...Be7 13.Bxe7 Qxe7 14.Nd4 Qc5!? and I think black seems just better - though it's a huge amount better than the 9.Bc2 that I played - the weakness on c4 is absolutely critical.

So this plan, which seems to be rejected in the textbooks, deserves serious consideration - it looks just about as critical as any other line I know against the Morra, if played in the right way as a souped-up ...Nge7 line.
  

"Give a man a pawn, and he'll smell a rat. Give a man a piece, and he'll smell a patzer." - Me.

"If others have seen further than me, it is because giants have been standing on my shoulders."
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Re: Esserman "Mayhem in the Morra"
Reply #134 - 01/29/14 at 08:56:13
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gunnar wrote on 10/03/13 at 12:31:51:
Hello everybody!

PLEASE HELP, dear Morra fans!!

I just recently started out the Morra and I simply love it, but I got a variation that it is not included in Esserman's book nor Langrock's book.
And it seems quite a good variation for black.

Here it is:

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 e6 5. Nf3 a6 6. Bc4 b5 7. Bb3 Nc6 (!?) 8. 0-0 Na5!?

Black plays Nc6 instead of Bb7 and a fast Na5. And because no Re1 yet, Nd5 simply not works.
Also Bc2 is not an option and if black can take white's Bishop, he is simply better.

What's more annoying that I couldn't find too many games in database. And many players play this variation during internet blitz and I don't know what to do...

THanks for your help!! Smiley


i think 9.Bc2 is the best move here and black still have problems to solve
  

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Re: Esserman "Mayhem in the Morra"
Reply #133 - 10/03/13 at 17:01:26
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kylemeister wrote on 10/03/13 at 16:51:58:
Offhand I would have thought that, say, 9. Re1 Nxb3 10. Qxb3 looks "compensationy." 


I'm going to start using "compensationy" in everyday speech, awesome!
  
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Re: Esserman "Mayhem in the Morra"
Reply #132 - 10/03/13 at 16:51:58
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Offhand I would have thought that, say, 9. Re1 Nxb3 10. Qxb3 looks "compensationy."  I wonder how much study has gone into such statements as "if black can take white's Bishop, he is simply better."
  
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Re: Esserman "Mayhem in the Morra"
Reply #131 - 10/03/13 at 15:10:03
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You're right, this just refutes the Morra Gambit. Thanks for the tip: now I can give my Morra-loving friend heaps in our next encounter!  Grin
  

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Re: Esserman "Mayhem in the Morra"
Reply #130 - 10/03/13 at 12:31:51
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Hello everybody!

PLEASE HELP, dear Morra fans!!

I just recently started out the Morra and I simply love it, but I got a variation that it is not included in Esserman's book nor Langrock's book.
And it seems quite a good variation for black.

Here it is:

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 e6 5. Nf3 a6 6. Bc4 b5 7. Bb3 Nc6 (!?) 8. 0-0 Na5!?

Black plays Nc6 instead of Bb7 and a fast Na5. And because no Re1 yet, Nd5 simply not works.
Also Bc2 is not an option and if black can take white's Bishop, he is simply better.

What's more annoying that I couldn't find too many games in database. And many players play this variation during internet blitz and I don't know what to do...

THanks for your help!! Smiley
  
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Re: Esserman "Mayhem in the Morra"
Reply #129 - 03/06/13 at 06:33:31
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Fromper wrote on 03/05/13 at 19:30:31:
So I noticed a lot of talk in this thread about black declining the gambit with Nf6, which apparently is covered in this book. What about other ways of declining it? Does Esserman cover d5, d3, g6, etc instead of Nf6?

Also, I have the original edition of Langrock's Morra book, and I noticed references to a 2nd edition, which was apparently published during my 1.5 year break from chess. Is it worth the money to upgrade?


Q1 Yes, yes, yes
Q2 Dunno
  
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