Smith-Morra Gambit: Win Rate by Lichess Rating

Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit · 1.e4 c5 2.d4 · CC0 name list

At 1500–1799 (Lichess rating), White scored 51.5% in 13,694 Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit games (±0.8; games from Oct 2025–Sep 2026).

White won 49.9% of them, Black won 47.0%, and 3.2% were drawn.

White scores above 50% at this level (outside the margin)

In games from Oct 2025–Sep 2026, White scored 51.5% (±0.8) with the Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit in sampled Lichess games at the 1500–1799 Lichess rating level (13,694 games). Observed results, not causation.

Data period: games from 1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026 (sample of the Lichess open database) · Page updated: 9 Oct 2026

52.1%

White's score at Lichess rating 1800–2099 · 14,757 games, Oct 2025–Sep 2026 sample

White scores 52.1% at 1800–2099 and 49.0% at 1200–1499.

Position after 1.e4 c5 2.d4. 49,507 games in this sample reached it — 1,157 of them by a different move order.

At a glance

In this sample, White's score ranged from 48.6% (Under 1200) to 52.1% (1800–2099).
Treat this spread with caution: the margins are approximate (see How it works).
It appeared most often in the 2100+ group (1.2% of that group's games).
Draws were most common in the 2100+ group (4.7%).

These are observed results for the selected games (rated, players within 200 rating points of each other). They describe what happened — they do not prove the opening caused the result.

Results by Lichess rating level

Each row shows how the Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit games at one rating level ended: White wins, draws and Black wins, across all time controls combined. Rating level is the average Lichess rating of both players.

White won drawn Black won. Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit — results by Lichess rating level, all time controls combined (minimum 300 games per row).

Under 12004,329 games

White wins 47.1% · draws 3.1% · Black wins 49.8% · White's score 48.6% ±1.5 · how common 0.5%
1200–14998,236 gamesCompared with

White wins 47.6% · draws 2.8% · Black wins 49.6% · White's score 49.0% ±1.1 · how common 0.7%
1500–179913,694 games

White wins 49.9% · draws 3.2% · Black wins 47.0% · White's score 51.5% ±0.8 · how common 0.9%
1800–209914,757 gamesIn the headline

White wins 50.3% · draws 3.6% · Black wins 46.1% · White's score 52.1% ±0.8 · how common 1.1%
2100+8,491 games

White wins 48.9% · draws 4.7% · Black wins 46.5% · White's score 51.2% ±1.0 · how common 1.2%

"White's score" = wins + half of draws. "±" is an approximate 95% margin based only on the number of games. It does not cover sampling bias or related games (the same players appear many times), so real uncertainty is larger. "How common" = share of all sampled games at that level that reached this position. Ratings are Lichess ratings; they are not interchangeable with Chess.com or FIDE ratings.

Compare it with another choice from the same position, at the Lichess level and time control you choose: Compare in Find Your Opening (the comparison needs JavaScript)

Results by time control

Each row shows how the Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit games ended in one Lichess time control, across all rating levels combined.

Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit — results by time control, all rating levels combined (minimum 300 games per row)
Time control	Games	White wins	Draws	Black wins	White's score
Bullet	19,643	49.6%	2.6%	47.8%	50.9%
Blitz	22,958	49.3%	3.9%	46.8%	51.2%
Rapid	6,682	48.0%	4.5%	47.6%	50.2%
Classical	224	Not enough games in this sample

This table and the rating rows are separate summaries: rating levels are not split by time control here, and time controls are not split by rating. Observed results only; approximate uncertainty applies as above.

Most played replies for Black at each level

Top replies with at least 150 games. "Score" is Black's score after that reply (wins + half of draws). These comparisons alone can't show that one reply is reliably better — the margins are approximate and stronger or weaker players may prefer different replies.

Replies to 1.e4 c5 2.d4 by Lichess rating level, all time controls combined
Rating level	Reply · share · games · score
Under 1200	2...cxd4 ·65.2% · 2,819 · 54.0% ±1.8 2...e6 ·10.2% · 442 · 49.0% ±4.6 2...Nc6 ·8.8% · 382 · 46.3% ±4.9
1200–1499	2...cxd4 ·72.7% · 5,981 · 51.6% ±1.2 2...e6 ·9.9% · 816 · 52.8% ±3.4 2...Nc6 ·8.7% · 719 · 48.5% ±3.6
1500–1799	2...cxd4 ·77.0% · 10,540 · 48.9% ±0.9 2...Nc6 ·8.7% · 1,189 · 44.2% ±2.8 2...e6 ·8.4% · 1,147 · 51.2% ±2.9
1800–2099	2...cxd4 ·77.5% · 11,429 · 48.0% ±0.9 2...Nc6 ·8.4% · 1,232 · 44.4% ±2.7 2...e6 ·7.8% · 1,150 · 50.7% ±2.8
2100+	2...cxd4 ·74.3% · 6,308 · 49.1% ±1.2 2...e6 ·8.9% · 759 · 47.6% ±3.5 2...Nc6 ·7.7% · 651 · 46.5% ±3.7

Up next: related positions with a page

Earlier position: Sicilian Defense 1.e4 c5
Related line: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 (Sicilian Defense: Open)
Related line: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 (King's Knight Opening)
Related line: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 (Italian Game)

Other choices from the same position for White: each one's own level and score, as on its page
Opening	Lichess rating level	Games	White's score
vs Sicilian Defense: Closed 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3	1500–1799	14,594	51.6% ±0.8
vs Sicilian Defense: Bowdler Attack 1.e4 c5 2.Bc4	1500–1799	17,399	48.4% ±0.7
vs Sicilian Defense: Alapin Variation 1.e4 c5 2.c3	1500–1799	10,189	52.0% ±1.0

Each row is a separate page with its own games. A difference smaller than the two margins combined is no clear difference. Observed results, not causation.

Deeper positions with this name

The free opening list gives the name Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit to 1 deeper position on this line as well. This page counts the first one; games in the 12-month sample that reached each deeper one:

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3: 17,736 games

Download these numbers: Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit (CSV), released under CC0. For move-by-move exploration with your own filters, see the free Lichess opening explorer. This independent page lists each rating level and each time control in its own row for comparison.