Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Paulsen Formation
1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 a6
The Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Paulsen Formation is a chess opening classified as ECO B21, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 a6. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 520 times by this move order. White won 50%, 4% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 7. O-O (75% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.12 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 7. O-O d6 8. Qe2 Nf6 9. Rd1 Qc7)
- ECO
- B21
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/1p1p1ppp/p1n1p3/8/2B1P3/2N2N2/PP3PPP/R1BQK2R w KQkq - 0 7- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 a6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 13 | |
| 1500-1999 | 280 | |
| 2000+ | 227 | |
| All | 520 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. O-O | 388 (75%) | |
| 7. Qe2 | 51 (10%) | |
| 7. a4 | 25 (5%) | |
| 7. a3 | 22 (4%) | |
| 7. Bf4 | 22 (4%) | |
| 7. e5 | 5 (1%) | |
| 7. Bg5 | 3 (1%) | |
| 7. Be3 | 2 (0%) |
Master games
465 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 31%, draw 12%, Black 57%). The strongest:
- GM Evgeny Postny (2600) – GM Aleksandar Indjic (2618) 1-0 · PNWCC Online Blitz JP 14 · 2020-06-20
- GM Emanuel Berg (2549) – GM Ildar Khairullin (2651) 1/2-1/2 · Bronstein Mem Open A 2014 · 2014-02-15
- GM Masoud Mosadeghpour (2511) – GM Alexey Sarana (2685) 1-0 · Titled Tue 1st Mar Early · 2022-03-01
- GM Jaime Alexander Cuartas (2492) – GM Axel Bachmann (2653) 0-1 · 12th American Continental · 2017-06-13
- IM Roman Lovkov (2419) – GM Peter Svidler (2714) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 2nd Mar · 2021-03-02
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Blagoslavlenny_Bogom (2548) – pandastique (2760) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- IM MassterofMayhem (2611) – xiangzichess (2626) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- vdinsk52 (2564) – BlackPoplar (2562) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3
Continuations
- Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Morphy Defense Deferred B21 · 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
More Sicilian Defense lines (all)
- Sicilian Defense (1. e4 c5) B20
- Sicilian Defense: Amazon Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Big Clamp Formation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Bowdler Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Brick Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Czerniak Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Czerniak Attack, Queen Fianchetto Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Euwe Attack, Prins Gambit B20
- Sicilian Defense: Gloria Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Grob Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Keres Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: King David's Opening B20
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.