Mayhem in the Morra

The Morra Gambit — 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 — is one of those openings that club players love and serious study books tend to dismiss. Marc Esserman disagrees. An international master and the foremost English-language expert on the Morra, he has used this gambit to defeat multiple 2700-rated grandmasters, and in this book he makes his case that the resulting positions are genuinely dangerous for Black at any level.

White sacrifices a pawn on move three for rapid piece development and persistent attacking chances. Esserman covers all the main defensive tries Black can employ, explaining both the tactical themes and the positional resources when the attack does not land immediately.

Crucially, the Morra Declined is covered too — 3...Nf6 and other cautious tries — so you have a complete answer to 1...c5 without needing a separate Sicilian repertoire alongside it.

Esserman writes with personality and obvious enthusiasm for the opening. Intermediate players looking for a sharp, principled weapon against the Sicilian will find 360 pages of exactly that here.