Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted
1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3
What Is The Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted?
Taking on c3 hands White what the gambit is designed to buy: a pawn's worth of time. White recaptures with the knight, plays Bc4 against f7, castles, and lifts the rooks to c1 and d1 with the queen on e2. Those two open files aim at c7, c6, d7 and d6, the squares Black's queenside develops through.
Black's task is not to cling to the extra pawn but to finish development and return it at the right moment. The Kan formation with ...e6, ...a6, ...Qc7 and ...Nf6 covers every entry square; the Chicago Defense adds ...Nge7 so the knight heads for g6 and the bishop uses e7. Every trade favors Black: White's initiative dies with the pieces. Miss one tactic on f7 or d5 and the game ends immediately.
How Should You Respond To The Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted?
85% recapture with 4.Nxc3, and you have a pawn plus two developing moves to survive. White gets the open c and d files, fast development and a very well known set of traps, which is the entire point of the gambit.
Give the pawn back at the right moment and the Smith-Morra becomes an ordinary position where White is a pawn short of compensation. The reliable plan is ...a6, ...e6, ...Nf6 and ...Be7, castling early and refusing to be greedy. Watch the rook on the c-file and the bishop on c4 aiming at f7, because almost every trap in this gambit uses both at once. The sides land on 50% and 47% over 1,588 games, so the pawn is real and so is the initiative.
How Does Play Continue From Here?
| Move | Share | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nxc3 | 85% | 1,608 | |
| Bc4 | 12% | 223 | |
| Nf3 | 3% | 56 | |
| bxc3 | 0% | 4 |
The Named Lines Of The Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted
| Line | Moves |
|---|---|
| Danish Variation | 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nf3 |
| Fianchetto Defense | 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 g6 |
| Kan Formation | 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 e6 5.Nf3 a6 |
| Paulsen Formation | 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bc4 a6 |
| Scheveningen Formation | 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 e6 |
| Taimanov Formation | 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 e6 5.Bc4 a6 6.Nf3 Ne7 |
| Morphy Defense | 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bc4 Bc5 |
| Pin Defense | 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bc4 Bb4 |
| Siberian Variation | 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bc4 Qc7 |
| Chicago Defense | 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Bc4 e6 6.Nf3 d6 7.O-O a6 8.Qe2 b5 9.Bb3 Ra7 |
| Classical Formation | 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 a6 7.O-O Nf6 |
| Sozin Formation | 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Bc4 e6 6.Nf3 d6 7.O-O a6 8.Qe2 b5 |
| Finegold Defense | 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 e6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 a6 7.O-O Be7 8.Qe2 Nf6 |
| Morphy Defense Deferred | 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 |
| Larsen Defense | 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bc4 Qc7 7.Qe2 a6 8.O-O Bd6 |
| Siberian Variation, Siberian Trap | 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 |