Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3

The Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted is a chess opening classified as ECO B21, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. White is to move. 16 named lines continue from this position.

In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 27,227 times by this move order. White won 51%, 4% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 4. Nxc3 (87% of games).

Engine evaluation: −0.13 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 4. Nxc3 e6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Be2 Bc5)

ECO: B21
Moves: 6 plies
FEN: rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/8/8/4P3/2p5/PP3PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 4
PGN: 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3

Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess

Results by rating

Average rating	Games	White / draw / Black
0-1499	3,303	50%47%
1500-1999	17,772	52%45%
2000+	6,152	50%45%
All	27,227	51%45%

Most played moves

Move	Games	White / draw / Black
4. Nxc3	23,585 (87%)	52%45%
4. Bc4	2,878 (11%)	49%47%
4. Nf3 Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Danish Variation	644 (2%)	49%48%
4. bxc3	41 (0%)	32%68%
4. Bd3	38 (0%)	34%61%
4. Qb3	12 (0%)	50%42%
4. Qc2	11 (0%)	36%64%
4. f4	10 (0%)	40%60%

Master games

2,398 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 11%, Black 48%). The strongest:

Stoofvlees II d9 (3541) – Reckless 0.10.0-dev-9057bc13 (3749) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 29 Gambit Bonus 2026 · 2026-05-29
Reckless 0.10.0-dev-9057bc13 (3749) – Stoofvlees II d9 (3541) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 29 Gambit Bonus 2026 · 2026-05-29
GM Hikaru Nakamura (2775) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2764) 0-1 · Chessable Masters Div 1 W · 2023-04-07
GM Hikaru Nakamura (2794) – GM Hans Moke Niemann (2688) 1-0 · Titled Tue 11th Jun Early · 2024-06-11
GM Nikolas Theodorou (2561) – GM So, W. (2778) 0-1 · American Cup Blitz 2022 · 2022-04-29

Search all games of the Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted and its sub-variations

Highest-rated Lichess games

BishopAndSons (2653) – evg85 (2800) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
BishopAndSons (2648) – evg85 (2805) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
IM MassterofMayhem (2663) – Tempstream (2708) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s

Comes from

Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit (2… cxd4 3. c3) 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3

Continuations

Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Danish Variation B21 · 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nf3
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Fianchetto Defense (4. Nxc3 g6) B21 · 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 g6
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Fianchetto Defense (4… Nc6 5. Nf3 g6) B21 · 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 g6
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Fianchetto Defense (4… d6 5. Nf3 g6) B21 · 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 d6 5. Nf3 g6
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Kan Formation B21 · 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 e6 5. Nf3 a6
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Fianchetto Defense (6. Bc4 g6) B21 · 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. Bc4 g6
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Morphy Defense B21 · 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 Bc5
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Paulsen Formation B21 · 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 a6
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Pin Defense B21 · 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 Bb4
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Scheveningen Formation B21 · 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. Bc4 e6
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Siberian Variation B21 · 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 Qc7
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Taimanov Formation B21 · 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 e6 5. Bc4 a6 6. Nf3 Ne7
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Chicago Defense (7. O-O a6) B21 · 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 d6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. O-O a6
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Classical Formation B21 · 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. Bc4 a6 7. O-O Nf6
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Finegold Defense B21 · 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
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Sozin Formation B21 · 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

More Sicilian Defense lines (all)

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.