The Mafia Defense

Morphy - Thrupp, London 1859.

1. e4 e5
2. f4 c5



Here's another move which Black can try against the King's Gambit. This position can also be reached through the Sicilian (1. e4 c5 2. f4 e5).

3. Nf3 d6
4. Bc4 Qf6?



5. Nc3 Be6
6. Bb5+ Nc6



7. f5 Bd7
8. 0-0 Qd8
9. d3 Be7



10. g4 h6
11. Be3 Nd4
12. Bxd7+ Qxd7
13. Nd5



White has, at best, a slight advantage. In my opinion, White failed to take advantage of a superior position. Without going into specifics, playing a bit more assertively might have given him the winning game. The actual game ended in a draw.

Full game at http://www.chessgames.com/perl/nph-chesspgn?text=1&gid=1075137

The Mafia Defense appears dull and it could be said that it takes the fun out of the King's Gambit, at least in some of the variations. Also, it is a rare opening. In the 365chess database, there are a mere 75 games in it. Considering it is only the first two moves and that the 365chess database is the "Biggest Chess Games Database Online" (with more than 3.5 million games), it would probably be wasteful to over analyze it over the much more popular openings.

After 2 ... c5, White should play 3. Nf3. The database has 45 games with this move, with a win percentage of 53.3, a draw percentage of 24.4, and a loss percentage of 22.2. The most common response is taking the pawn on f4 (3 ... exf4). Now let's look at this position, with White to move.



At the start of all chess games, White moves first. That means White has a slight advantage because he gets to develop a move faster. But by playing 3 ... exf4, Black has just moved his e-pawn two times. He could have used this move to develop a piece into play but instead he took the pawn and weakened his center in the process, something that King's Gambit players know how to exploit. If he uses his moves to try to protect that pawn, White will simply create a dominant center. A strong center is what leads to successful attacks, at least in the words of "The Art of Attack" author Vladimir Vukovic.

White should continue to develop and strength the center by playing 4. Bc4. This move also prevents d5. I would suggest that White try playing c3 followed by d4 and should Black take the pawn with his own, White would take back with his c3 pawn to create two strong center pawns. But the position gives White a lot of possibilities and the database percentages confirm that. After 4. Bc4, White has a win percentage of 64.7, draw and loss percentage of 17.6 (based on 34 games).