Tree path 5 levels King's Pawn Game › Sicilian Defense › Smith-Morra Gambit › Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit › Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Declined, Center Formation
- Caissa Codex
- King's Pawn Game B00
- Sicilian Defense B20
- Smith-Morra Gambit B21
- Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit B21
- Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Declined, Center Formation B21 you are here
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Declined, Center Formation
Overview
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Declined, Center Formation 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.
The line arises from 6 plies — specifically the moves 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 e5.
The line refines Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit, 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
- 6
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
647,722 games · White 47.8% / Draw 4.8% / Black 47.4%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| cxd4 | 488,301 | |
| Nf3 | 122,561 | |
| Bc4 | 26,489 | |
| f4 | 8,304 | |
| Bd3 | 664 | |
| c4 | 550 | |
| Qxd4 | 176 | |
| Qb3 | 156 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 01:20:41
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