Miniatures 40

IN this occasional series I am going through my decisive games of 20 moves or fewer.

Spanton (156 BCF) - Glenn Cross (148 BCF)

Isle Of Man Major 1991

Sicilian Irregular

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.Nf3!?

This is how Paul Morphy liked to play against the Sicilian.

3...d6 4.Bc4

But Morphy continued with 4.Nxd4. One point of the text is to leave open the possibility of a Morra Gambit.

4...Bg4?

Normal is 4...Nf6, but other moves are also liked by Stockfish17 and Dragon1, eg 4...e6 and 4...Qa5+.

Five games reach this position in ChessBase's 2025 Mega database

*****

*****

*****

*****

*****

5.0-0?

All five saw 5.Bxf7+!

5...Nc6? 6.Bxf7+! Kxf7 7.Ng5+ Ke8 8.Qxg4 Nf6 9.Qe6 Qd7??

The black king needs the d7 square, so the queen should probably go to b6 or c7.

10.Qf7+ Kd8 11.Ne6+ Kc8 12.Nxf8 Ne5 13.Nxd7 1-0

LESSON: bishop sacs on f7 are a common theme in openings where Black plays neither ...e6 nor ...d5.