Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Taimanov Formation
1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 e6 5. Bc4 a6 6. Nf3 Ne7
The Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Taimanov Formation is a chess opening classified as ECO B21, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 e6 5. Bc4 a6 6. Nf3 Ne7. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 16 times by this move order. White won 44%, 6% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 7. O-O (38% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 39; best line 7. Bb3 b5 8. Be3 Nbc6 9. O-O Na5)
- ECO
- B21
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/1p1pnppp/p3p3/8/2B1P3/2N2N2/PP3PPP/R1BQK2R w KQkq - 2 7- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 e6 5. Bc4 a6 6. Nf3 Ne7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 10 | |
| 2000+ | 6 | |
| All | 16 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. O-O | 6 (38%) | |
| 7. Bg5 | 6 (38%) | |
| 7. Qe2 | 2 (13%) | |
| 7. Be3 | 1 (6%) | |
| 7. Bf4 | 1 (6%) |
Master games
5 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 80%, draw 20%, Black 0%). The strongest:
- FM Borna Franc (2282) – GM Kayden Troff (2490) 1-0 · Titled Tue 5th Nov Late · 2024-11-05
- Muhammed Taskaya (2016) – Slaven Pastar (2230) 1-0 · 31st Belgrade Trophy · 2017-12-01
- CM Jan Enrique Zepeda Berlanga (1939) – FM Ruslan Kavyev (2282) 1-0 · Titled Tue 30th Jul Late · 2024-07-30
- WFM Mei-En Emmanuelle Hng (1997) – FM Gerald Hechl (2222) 1/2-1/2 · 41st St Veit Open 2022 · 2022-07-10
- Walter Peierl (1760) – Alfred Schramml (1854) 1-0 · 28th Feffernitz Open 2019 · 2019-08-24
Highest-rated Lichess games
- itzavr (2273) – sgrig1959 (2312) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- Dragkiller (2273) – Check_Push_MATE (1996) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- AJALICA61 (2128) – Glidingdong (2118) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3
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.