Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted
The Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted is 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3, Black's acceptance of the Smith-Morra Gambit. Read the guide
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
9,247,261 games: White 51.3% / Draw 4.0% / Black 44.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 8,153,2878.2M | ||
| 870,515871K | ||
| Danish Variation | 186,720187K | |
| 11,23911K | ||
| 9,0169,016 | ||
| 6,9036,903 | ||
| 3,8883,888 | ||
| 891891 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 8, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.14 The position is about equal
Best play: 4. Nxc3 e6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bc4 a6 7. O-O d6 8. Qe2 Be7
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 48% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up and 56% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 614K | |
| 1400–1799 | 4.1M | |
| 1800–2199 | 5.8M | |
| 2200 and up | 686K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,528 |
Master games
- Brodda, W. – Lecroq, M.
- Kamsky, G. – Andreikin, D.
- Adams, M. – Nunn, J. D.
- Berg, E. – Khairullin, I.
- Kharlov, A. – Dolmatov, S.
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
Description
The Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted is 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3, Black's acceptance of the Smith-Morra Gambit. After 4.Nxc3 White has a piece developed and a pawn in the centre, while Black has an extra pawn and a central pawn majority. The gambit is popular at club level and played occasionally by masters.
White's plan
White's plan is straightforward: put the king's bishop on c4 against f7, control the c- and d-files with rooks, and use the rapid development and open lines while Black struggles to find a good square for the queen. A typical scheme is Nf3, Bc4, O-O, Qe2, Rfd1 and Rac1. White also tries to stop or delay Black's castling, which opens the door to sacrifices such as Nd5, especially strong with a black pawn on e6, as well as Nxb5 and Bxe6.
Black's set-ups
After 4.Nxc3 Black has many possible formations:
- 4...Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 e6 7.O-O Nf6 8.Qe2 Be7 9.Rd1 e5 is the classical main line, a Scheveningen formation.
- In the Siberian Variation, 4...Nc6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.O-O Qc7 8.Qe2 Ng4, 9.h3? loses to the famous Siberian Trap, 9...Nd4, winning the queen.
- Other set-ups include the Paulsen, Kan and Taimanov formations with ...e6 and ...a6, the Fianchetto Formation with ...g6, and the Chicago Defense, in which Black plays ...a6, ...b5 and ...Ra7.
White can also play 4.Bc4 or 4.Nf3 instead of recapturing; after 4...cxb2 5.Bxb2 the play is similar to the Danish Gambit.
Black's task
To survive against a well-prepared opponent Black must first get through the traps of the opening, then hold out against White's long-term pressure. If Black manages this while keeping the extra pawn, the endgame offers good winning chances, but it is not easy, and many Sicilian players decline the gambit altogether.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 51.3% of the 9.2 million games and Black 44.7%. From 2200 up the results are closer, 48.4% against 46.0%. Masters have done well with Black: in 1,528 games over the board Black won 36.0%, White 23.1%, and 40.9% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted
The most played answer, 4. Nxc3, also scores best for White: 53.6%, with White winning 51.6% and Black 44.3% of 8.2M games. Of the main answers, 4. Bc4 scores lowest: 51.2%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4. Nxc3.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted has stayed between 0.33% and 0.38% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.35% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.33% | 116,672 |
| 2017 | 0.35% | 192,176 |
| 2018 | 0.37% | 291,732 |
| 2019 | 0.38% | 476,143 |
| 2020 | 0.35% | 1,029,313 |
| 2021 | 0.35% | 1,362,935 |
| 2022 | 0.36% | 1,369,734 |
| 2023 | 0.37% | 1,380,990 |
| 2024 | 0.36% | 1,273,041 |
| 2025 | 0.35% | 1,215,983 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.36% | 390,328 |
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 (13)
- B21 Chicago Defense 4. Nxc3 d6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. O-O a6
- B21 Classical Formation 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. Bc4 a6 7. O-O Nf6
- B21 Danish Variation 4. Nf3
- B21 Fianchetto Defense 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 g6
- B21 Finegold Defense 4. Nxc3 e6 5. Nf3 d6 6. Bc4 a6 7. O-O Be7 8. Qe2 Nf6
- B21 Kan Formation 4. Nxc3 e6 5. Nf3 a6
- B21 Morphy Defense 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 Bc5
- B21 Paulsen Formation 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 a6
- B21 Pin Defense 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 Bb4
- B21 Scheveningen Formation 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. Bc4 e6
- B21 Siberian Variation 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 Qc7
- B21 Sozin Formation 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Bc4 e6 6. Nf3 d6 7. O-O a6 8. Qe2 b5
- B21 Taimanov Formation 4. Nxc3 e6 5. Bc4 a6 6. Nf3 Ne7
All 17 named lines that continue from here
- B21 Chicago Defense 7 moves
- B21 Classical Formation 7 moves
- B21 Danish Variation 4 moves
- B21 Fianchetto Defense 5 moves
- B21 Finegold Defense 8 moves
- B21 Kan Formation 5 moves
- B21 Morphy Defense 6 moves
- B21 Paulsen Formation 6 moves
- B21 Pin Defense 6 moves
- B21 Scheveningen Formation 6 moves
- B21 Siberian Variation 6 moves
- B21 Sozin Formation 8 moves
- B21 Taimanov Formation 6 moves
- B21 Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Chicago Defense 9 moves
- B21 Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Larsen Defense 8 moves
- B21 Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Morphy Defense Deferred 8 moves
- B21 Siberian Trap 8 moves
Sources
- Theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Smith–Morra Gambit, version of 6 March 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted (B21)”. Lichess data as of 8 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-smith-morra-gambit-accepted