Caissa Codex
B21

Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Siberian Variation, Siberian Trap

Chess diagram: Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Siberian Variation, Siberian Trap after 8…Ng4

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.

Statistics from Lichess

46,625 games: White 36.4% / Draw 3.4% / Black 60.1%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
11,26411K
10,02010K
9,4379,437
8,8948,894
2,2092,209
2,1832,183
1,3671,367
455455

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.15 The position is about equal

Best play: 9. Rd1 Bc5 10. Nb5 Qb6 11. Nd6+ Ke7 12. e5 Nxf2 13. Rf1 Ne4+

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Siberian Variation, Siberian Trap (ECO B21, Semi-Open Games) is a gambit in the Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Siberian Variation, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 Qc7 7. Qe2 Nf6 8. O-O Ng4 (8 moves).

In 46,625 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 36.4%, Black 60.1% and 3.4% were drawn. White's most played move here is 9. g3, in 24% of those games.

Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.

Write a description or report a mistake
What would you like to send?

Markdown supported (headings ###, bold, lists, links). Submissions are reviewed before publishing.

How to play against the Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Siberian Variation, Siberian Trap

The most played answer, 9. g3, also scores best for White: 50.7%, with White winning 48.3% and Black 47.0% of 11K games. Of the main answers, 9. h3 scores lowest: 12.0%. Stockfish's first choice is 9. Rd1.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 7. Qe2 Nf6 8. O-O Ng4, the position after Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Siberian Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Siberian Variation, Siberian Trap (B21)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-smith-morra-gambit-accepted-siberian-variation-siberian-trap

https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-smith-morra-gambit-accepted-siberian-variation-siberian-trap