Another Sicilian book is Bob Ciaffone and Ben Finegold's Smith-Morra Gambit, Finegold Defense. This is a presentation of the variation 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 d6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.0-0 a6 8.Qe2 Nbd7 (the preferred order) 9.Rd1 b5, intending ...Be7 and ...Qb6, ...0-0 and/or ...Bb7, depending how the play goes. I have great confidence that this system gives Black the advantage against the Smith-Morra. Of course, so do many other systems, and it's no coincidence that no strong player has tried the Smith-Morra for many, many years (I don't know of any such games, anyway). Having said that, Ciaffone (a genial U.S. Master who is by far the main contributor) has worked hard to prove that this rare idea works well for Black in all lines, and he has a large assortment of Internet games and analysis to prove it. If you need an anti-Smith-Morra weapon, I should say that this one is positionally extremely logical.

Specifics? I only looked at a couple of lines and found some odd points about both, so I'm a little skeptical about the quality of analysis. Let me rush to add that these are details, which don't remotely threaten the fundamental soundness or ultimate validity of Black's system. But let me show you what I mean, since there are some fun ideas.

My first instinct in trying to get play for White was to skip the relatively pointless Rd1 and try some Nd4, perhaps exploiting Black's knight on d7 to sacrifice on e6, and at least preparing a real attack by f4-f5 or f4 and e5. So I went to look up those lines. Under the order 6...Be7 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Qe2 a6 9.Rd1(?) b5 10.Bb3 Nbd7,Ciafone and Finegold answer 11.Nd4 with 11...Qb6!. Good move. After 12.Bxe6 fxe6 13.Nex6, however, they give the awful 13...Kf7? (claiming a winning advantage). But this allows 14.Nd5!, with a great attack after 14...Nxd5(?) 15.Qh5+ Kg8 16.Qxd5 Bb7 17.Qb3 d5 18.exd5, e.g., 18...Nc5 (18...Bd6 19.Be3 Qa5 20.Bd4!) 19.Qe3 (19.Nxc5 Bxc5 20.d6+ Kf8 21.Qg3 Rd8 22.Bg5 Rxd6 23.Be7+ seems to draw) 19...Re8 20.b4 Na4 21.Qg3 Bf6 22.Be3, winning. Probably better is 14...Qb7 15.Ng5+ Ke8 16.Ne6 (there may be something else) 16...Nxd5 17.Nxg7+ Kf7 18.Qh5+ Kg8! 19.Nf5 Ne5 20.Rxd5 Bxf5 21.Qxf5 Qc8 22.Qh5, which ultimately seems to draw (22...Qc2 23.Rxe5, =). Anyway, this is all fun, but instead, 13...g6! pretty much wins immediately and avoids these problems.

The other line they give with a Nd4 theme is 6...Nf6 7.0-0 a6 8.Qe2 Nbd7 9.Nd4 (we're getting closer--no waste of time by Rd1!) 9...b5 10.Bb3 Qb6 11.Be3 Qb7 12.Bg5 Be7 13.a3 0-0 14.Kh1 Nc5 15.Bc2 Qc7 16.f4 Bb7, in which they like Black's solid position. Okay, 15...e5 16.Nf3 Be6 (or 16...Bg4!?) preserves the advantage, as do other moves earlier. But in the author's order (after 15...Qc7 16.f4 Bb7). White plays 17.e5! with a dangerous attack, e.g., 17...Nd5 (one nice line after 17...dxe5 18.fxe5 Nd5 is 19.Nxd5 Bxd5 20.Bf6! Bxf6 21.exf6 g6 22.Qe3!) 18.Nxd5 Bxd5 19.Bf6! intending 19...Bxf6 20.exf6 gxf6 (20...g6 21.f5! e5 22.Qd2) 21. Qg4+ Kh8 22.Qh4 Be4! (22....f5 23.Qf6+ Kg8 24.Rf3! Bxf3 25.gxf3; 22...Ne4 23.Bxe4 Bxe4 24.f5!) 23.Qxf6+ Kg8 24.f5 Bxc2 25.Rf4 Bxf5! and somehow Black seems to hold the draw. Instead, 19...gxf6 20. Bxh7+ guarantees at least a draw after 20...Kxh7 (not 20...Kh8 21.Qh5 Kg7 22.Qg4+ Kh8 23.Rf3!!), and White can try for more with Rf3 at some point. At any rate, Black's claim to advantage in this line would be threatened after the authors' order.

Anyway, I see no serious way to equalize for White if Black plays better earlier. I feel that I should offer some hope to White. Maybe he should skip 8.Qe2 and play something like 8.a3 (a move which White probably plays anyway, and stops ...b4 as well as multiple time losses by Bb3-c2). The idea is to get a Bc4 Najdorf with a convenient Ba2 retreat, looking at Nd4 and f4 later later. Then ...Nbd7 is probably no longer the best plan, and Black has some problems to solve. Of course, by normal development, I'm sure that Black is still better (this IS the Smith-Morra, after all). In conclusion, I can recommend this well-reasoned book to Sicilian players, and especially those who would like to learn about the nature of gambit play. The price is excellent, by the way: I have seen it listed at only $12 and selling for less.