Tree path 7 levels King's Pawn Game › Sicilian Defense › Smith-Morra Gambit › Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit › Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted › Paulsen Formation › Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Morphy Defense Deferred
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game B00
- Sicilian Defense B20
- Smith-Morra Gambit B21
- Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit B21
- Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted B21
- Paulsen Formation B21
- Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Morphy Defense Deferred B21 you are here
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Morphy Defense Deferred
Overview
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Morphy Defense Deferred belongs to the gambit family of chess openings (ECO B21, Semi-Open Games). It trades material for attacking chances — a classic trade-off that has fascinated players from the Romantic era to modern correspondence chess.
The Semi-Open Games group covers semi-open games — replies to 1.e4 where Black declines the symmetrical 1…e5 in favour of an asymmetric pawn structure.
It is reached after 16 plies of play, with the move sequence 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 a6 7. O-O b5 8. Bb3 Bc5.
The line refines Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Paulsen Formation, which traces back to the root opening King's Pawn Game.
Explore the position on the interactive board, study its real-world results from Lichess, and challenge the engine when you are ready.
- ECO code
- B21
- Group
- Semi-Open Games (B)
- Plies
- 16
This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.
Statistics from Lichess
13,081 games · White 51.4% / Draw 3.8% / Black 44.8%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Qe2 | 6,554 | |
| Bf4 | 1,550 | |
| e5 | 1,427 | |
| Bg5 | 1,273 | |
| Re1 | 797 | |
| Nd5 | 524 | |
| Be3 | 329 | |
| a3 | 229 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 03:09:26
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