Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Declined, Wing Formation
1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 Qa5
The Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Declined, Wing Formation is a chess opening classified as ECO B21, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 Qa5. 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 83 times by this move order. White won 53%, 0% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 4. Nf3 (39% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.24 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. b4 Qc7 6. Be2 d3)
- ECO
- B21
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnb1kbnr/pp1ppppp/8/q7/3pP3/2P5/PP3PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 Qa5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 17 | |
| 1500-1999 | 47 | |
| 2000+ | 19 | |
| All | 83 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. Nf3 | 32 (39%) | |
| 4. Bd2 | 25 (30%) | |
| 4. Qxd4 | 15 (18%) | |
| 4. Bc4 | 4 (5%) | |
| 4. b4 | 3 (4%) | |
| 4. f4 | 2 (2%) | |
| 4. Qd2 | 1 (1%) | |
| 4. Qb3 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
12 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 16%, Black 42%). The strongest:
- IM Inigo Lopez Mulet (2420) – GM Yuriy Kuzubov (2606) 0-1 · ch-ESP Rapid 2024 · 2024-08-17
- IM Melkior Cotonnec (2399) – IM Jonathan Dourerassou (2515) 1/2-1/2 · 89th ch-Paris IdF 2014 · 2014-07-06
- Paolo Ciuffoletti (2106) – IM Emmanuel Jimenez Garcia (2437) 1-0 · Titled Tue 13th Jun Early · 2023-06-13
- FM Nikolay Khnykin (2309) – FM Egor Kovalev (2217) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 3rd Aug · 2021-08-03
- CM Jakobeit, D. (2210) – IM Jaime Vaglio Munoz (2174) 0-1 · Titled Tue 4th Jul Late · 2023-07-04
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Edobus (2237) – Calzoncillo (2363) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- samurau (2228) – sherlock2001holmes (2348) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Edobus (2253) – ezrarosan (2294) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit (2… cxd4 3. c3) 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3
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.