Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...c5/2. d4/2...cxd4/3. c3/3...dxc3/4. Nxc3/4...Nc6/5. Nf3/5...d6/6. Bc4

Smith-Morra gambit accepted B21 Sicilian defence → Smith-Morra gambit → 5...d6 6. Bc4 White's bishop pressures Black's vulnerable f7 pawn. The strength of the bishop's pressure can be seen in a number of traps Black can fall into with imprecise play. Black can blunt its attack by pushing the pawn ...e6, though the question is, now or later? 6...e6 is the most straight forward and main move. This reaches a Scheveningen-style structure, otherwise reached after the line 5...e6 6. Bc4 d6. This only requires a small amount of patience: Black is preparing to play ...e5 and to allow the bishop back into the game. The line continues 7. O-O Nf6 8. Qe2 Be7 9. Rd1 e5 10. Be3 O-O 11. Rac1. Playing ...e5 in two moves (6...e6 then 9...e5) looks like a waste of tempo, but it is necessary for Black to manage the pressure on f7. 6...e5? allows 7. Ng5! for an attack on f7. 7...Nh6 8. Qf3 f6 is forced, but this allows 9. Ne6! Bxe6 10. Bxe6 ++. Black may think they have Nd4 with tempo and Nc2+, however Black can quickly become undone. 10...Nd4 11. Qh3 and White threatens Bxh6!! (the bishop cannot be recaptured because of Qh5+ and Qf7#!). 11...Nc2+ 12. Kf1 does nothing about the threat of Bxh6. 11. Nxe6? 12. Qxe6 Qe7 13. Qc4 and White threatens Nd4, Bxh6, and Black's position is tied up in knots. But by first playing ...e6, the bishop's pressure on f7 is nullified while Black plays ...Be7, ...Nf6 and ...O-O. Then, with their rook guarding f7, it is safe enough for Black to push ...e5. In this way, ...e6 is necessary preparation for ...e5. Since Black played 5...d6 to open a diagonal for their bishop, they may dislike the idea of spending another tempo to block it immediately. Is there a way to develop the bishop outside the pawn chain first? Yes, but not immediately. First it must be prepared by 6...a6. Why? 6...Bg4? runs into the classic trap where White sacrifices their bishop to draw the king into range of the pinned knight. 7. Bxf7+! Kxf7 8. Ng5+ Ke8 9. Qxg4 ++. Therefore Black must ensure the bishop will be defended on g4, by first controlling the square with ...Nf6. However, Black can't play 6...Nf6 and 7...Bg5 straight away either, again due to the pressure White exerts on f7. 7. e5! and: 7...Nxe5?? 8. Nxe5 and the threat is Bxf7#. 8...dxe5?? allows 9. Bxf7+! Kxf7 10. Qxd8. 8...e6 9. Bb5+, and after trading off the minor pieces, 9...Nd7 10. Bxd7+ Bxd7 11. Nxd7 Qxd7, 12. Qd4! ++. Black is down material and never getting to develop. 7...dxe5?! 8. Qxd8+ and either way to retake the queen leads to issues. 8...Kxd8 9. Ng5 threatens Nxf7+. 9...Na5 to attack the bishop is most resourceful, then 10. Bb5 Be6 (to deal with the threat of Nxf7+) 11. Nxe6+ fxe6, Black's left with triple isolated pawns + 8...Nxd8 9. Nb5! threatens Nc7+. The king can't move (9...Kd7?? 10. Nxe5+ Ke8 11. Nc7#) so the rook must, 9...Rb8, then 10. Nxe5 and 10...e6 is force to prevent Nc7#. The only way for Black to hold the position is 7...Ng4 8. exd6 exd6, and it looks like the bishop isn't getting to g4 anyway. (9. O-O Bf5? instead and there's a flashy sequence 10. Re1 Be7 11. Bxf7! Kxf7 Qd5+!) So in order to play ...Bg4, Black needs to play ...Nf6, and in order to play ...Nf6 they need to prepare it with 6...a6. This controls the b5 square, which means that after 7. O-O Nf6, reaching a classical Sicilian structure, the line 8. e5? dxe5 9. Qxd6 Nxd8 goes nowhere for White, because they don't have the resource of Nb5. The game continues 8. Bf4 Bg4 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3, where Black, having dispensed with the bad bishop, can now happily play 10...e6. Theory table 0 6...e6 Scheveningen structure(by transposition) 6...a6 7. O-O Nf6 8. Bf4 Bg4 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 e6 Classical structure 6...Bg4?? 7. Bxf7+! Kxf7 8. Ng5+ Ke8 9. Qxg4 ++ 6...Nf6 7. e5 Nxe5? 8. Nxe5 dxe5? 9. Bxf7+ Kxf7 10. Qxd8 +++ 6. ... ... 7. ... dxe5?! 8. Qxd8+ Nxd8 9. Nb5 Rb8□ 10. Nxe5 e6□ 11. O-O + References