The YanYan Gambit: The Better Morra?

The other day, I was looking for a new opening to play against the Sicilian. I wasn't having too much fun with the Morra anymore like I used to, since now all my opponents know way too much theory and put me in a passive position. Then, I discovered the YanYan Gambit. It looks well... odd to say the least, so, obviously, I had to look into it.  As I found out. @yanyan012012 is the creator of this gambit. So thats where the name came from. Not from the biscuits.

The YanYan gambit is 1.e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. Na3?!. This move looks odd, but if black bites the bait, they are taking a huge risk.

Black almost has to take here, otherwise our center is way too good, and after all, it looks like a free pawn. After black take the pawn, we play d3, to develop our bishop, there is really not another way to respond other than with taking the pawn, and it doesn't look that bad for black. However, they are in for surprise. After pawn takes and bishop takes, we have reached a great position for ourselves.

Here, we plan to quickly castle queenside after Qe2 and Bf4, with our active pieces absolutely dominating black. If black does not play a6, Nb4 is always on the table, with a strong attack on the c4 square. If you want to look more into the theory, FM William Graif has made a great video about this opening, in which he goes into far more depth. 

My First Game: It's so Good!

My opponent took the bait, and accepted the gambit fully. After I took back, he played Nf6, which I then responded with Bf4, attacking the c7 square. My opponent then responded with a6, preventing any knight jumps to b5. 

My opponent then messed up quickly. After I castled queenside, he played Qa5?, which is a huge mistake. I missed a beautiful tactic here. See if you can find it.

The answer is..Nc4!. This looks bad for us, since black can take with the queen, but then we can play Nd6!, and it is practically game over for black. 

Instead, I just moved my king into defend the square, so I could then move my knight. My opponent then got to excited trying to attack me, and then suddenly the attack was on him, and I used a brilliant move to finish him off.

What a game that was! I'm definitely playing this again. Try out this gambit, and see how it goes! You may be pleasantly surprised. Credit to @yanyan012012 to discovering this gambit!