As White

Smith-Morra Gambit

The Smith-Morra Gambit is a chess opening for White that starts with 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3.

An aggressive answer to the Sicilian: you give a pawn to develop very fast and attack along the open files.

Reviewed on November 6, 2026 · Prepared by Josep Serrano Ballestero

Basic · Elo 400 – 600

Train this level

  1. Opponent's mistake · 5...Ng4

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nf6 5.e5 Ng4 6.Qxg4

  2. Opponent's mistake · 6...Bg4

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 Bg4 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Ng5+ Ke8 9.Qxg4 Nf6 10.Qe6 Ne5 11.f4 Qd7 12.fxe5 Qxe6 13.Nxe6

  3. Opponent's mistake · 6...Nce7

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 Nc6 4.cxd4 e6 5.d5 exd5 6.exd5 Nce7 7.d6 Nc6 8.Qe2+ Nge7 9.Nc3 Nd4 10.Qe4 Qb6 11.dxe7 Bxe7 12.Nd5

  4. Opponent's mistake · 6...Nh5

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.e5 Nh5 7.g4 Nf4 8.Bxf4

  5. Opponent's mistake · 7...Qe7

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 e5 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.Ng5 Qe7 8.Bxf7+ Kd8 9.Ne6+ Qxe6 10.Bxe6

  6. Opponent's mistake · 7...Nxe5

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.e5 Nxe5 8.Nxe5 Qc7 9.Bxf7+

  7. Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted · 5.Nf3 d6

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 e5 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.Ng5

  8. Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Pin Defense

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bc4 Bb4 7.O-O

  9. Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted · 6.Bc4 Nf6

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.e5

  10. Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted · 5.Nf3 Nc6

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 e5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bc4 Bb4 7.Ng5

  11. Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Scheveningen Formation

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 e6 7.O-O Nf6 8.Qe2 Be7 9.Rd1

  12. 3.c3 Nc6

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 Nc6 4.cxd4 e5 5.d5 Nd4 6.Nf3 Nxf3+ 7.Qxf3

  13. Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted · 6.Bc4 Nf6

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 e5 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.Ng5 d5 8.exd5 Nd4 9.O-O

Intermediate · Elo 800 – 1000

Train this level

  1. Opponent's mistake · 6...Bg4

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 Bg4 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Ng5+

  2. Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Pin Defense

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 e6 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bc4 Bb4 7.O-O Bxc3 8.bxc3

  3. Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted · 5.Nf3 Bb4

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 e6 5.Nf3 Bb4 6.Bc4 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 Ne7 8.Ba3

  4. Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted · 5.Nf3 a6

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 d6 5.Nf3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bf4

  5. Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Scheveningen Formation

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 e6 7.O-O Nf6 8.Qe2

  6. Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted · 5.Nf3 e5

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 e5 6.Bc4 Bb4 7.Ng5 Nh6 8.O-O

  7. Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Paulsen Formation

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bc4 a6 7.O-O b5 8.Bd3

  8. Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted · 5.Nf3 Nc6

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 d6 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.e5 dxe5 8.Qxd8+

  9. 3.c3 Nc6

    1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 Nc6 4.cxd4 e6 5.Nf3 d5 6.e5 Bb4+ 7.Nc3

Frequently asked questions

Is the Smith-Morra Gambit good for beginners?

Yes. On OpeningCraft you learn it in these levels: Basic (Elo 400 – 600), Intermediate (Elo 800 – 1000). It suits players who like attacks, gambits and open positions.

What traps are there in the Smith-Morra Gambit?

OpeningCraft teaches 7 traps and opponent mistakes in this opening, for example: Opponent's mistake (5...Ng4); Opponent's mistake (6...Bg4); Opponent's mistake (6...Nce7).

How many lines of the Smith-Morra Gambit do you need to learn?

OpeningCraft teaches 22, in blocks of 5. They come from real Lichess games at each rating band, and the traps and opponent mistakes most common at your level come first.

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