Sicilian Defense: Morphy Gambit
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Statistics from Lichess
3,089,072 games: White 48.3% / Draw 4.4% / Black 47.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Sicilian Defense: Open | 1,772,0361.8M | |
| Sicilian Defense | 356,032356K | |
| Sicilian Defense: French Variation, Open | 229,813230K | |
| 202,903203K | ||
| 187,825188K | ||
| 140,242140K | ||
| 71,96672K | ||
| 54,83155K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.01 The position is about equal
Best play: 3... e5 4. c3 Nc6 5. cxd4 exd4 6. Nxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nf6 8. Nxc6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 49% under 1400, 51% at 2200 and up and 54% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 410K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.5M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.9M | |
| 2200 and up | 266K | |
| Masters, over the board | 398 |
Master games
- Balogh, C. – Moiseenko, A.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Nakamura, H.
- Nakamura, H. – Postny, E.
- Noble, M. F. – Pirs, M.
- Noble, M. F. – Efremov, A. G.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 26, 2026
Overview
Sicilian Defense: Morphy Gambit (ECO B21, Semi-Open Games) is a gambit in the Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. Nf3 (3 moves).
In 3,089,072 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.3%, Black 47.3% and 4.4% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…Nc6, in 57% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Sicilian Defense: Morphy Gambit, Andreaschek Gambit.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Sicilian Defense: Morphy Gambit
3…e5 scores best for Black: 51.4%, with Black winning 49.7% and White 46.8% of 203K games. The most played, 3…Nc6, scores 49.1% in 1.8M games, and 3…Nf6 scores lowest: 47.8%. Stockfish's first choice is also 3…e5.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
The Sicilian Defense: Morphy Gambit has stayed between 0.11% and 0.13% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.12% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.11% | 40,773 |
| 2017 | 0.12% | 67,584 |
| 2018 | 0.13% | 99,979 |
| 2019 | 0.13% | 167,054 |
| 2020 | 0.12% | 359,003 |
| 2021 | 0.12% | 464,899 |
| 2022 | 0.12% | 443,388 |
| 2023 | 0.12% | 437,755 |
| 2024 | 0.12% | 419,421 |
| 2025 | 0.12% | 407,883 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.12% | 129,842 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (1)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Morphy Gambit (B21)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-morphy-gambit