Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...c5/2. d4/2...cxd4/3. c3/3...dxc3/4. Nxc3/4...Nc6/5. Nf3/5...g6

Fianchetto defence B21 Sicilian defence → Smith-Morra gambit → 5. Nf3 5...g6 · Fianchetto defence Black prepares to fianchetto their bishop, playing in the style of the accelerated dragon Sicilian. This is a playable but sharp line, and Black needs to be accurate to hold the position. 6. Bc4 develops the bishop, prepares to castle, and places pressure on f7. 6...Bg7 and White has the interesting move 7. e5. The e-pawn is not in fact hanging because of tactics emerging from White's bishop (7...Nxe5?! 8. Nxe5 Bxe5 9. Bxf7+ Kxf7 10. Qd5+ Kg7only 11. Qxe5+ Nf6 +). While it is on e5, it prevents Black's knight from developing to f6, and if Black removes it with 7...d6 8. exd6 they may not recapture the pawn yet because of 8...exd6? 9. Nb5!. One difficulty Black faces in the 5...g6 move order is how best to address White's latent pressure on f7. In other lines like 5...d6 6. Bc4, Black can play 6...e6, however the combination of ...g6 an ...e6 is dangerous because of how much it weakens the dark squares around Black's king. For instance, 6...Bg7 7. O-O e6? 8. Nb5! Nf6 9. Qd6! (see diagram) and White is threatening Nc7+. 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 g6 6. Bc4 Bg7 7. O-O e6 8. Nb5 Nf6 9. Qd6 After 9. Qd6!, possible because both the e6 pawn and Black's king's bishop have left d6 undefended, White threatens Nc7+. Black's best continuation is 9...Qe7 10. Nc7+ Kd8 11. Qxe7+ Kxe7 12. Nxa8 +++. 1 Theory table References See also