Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit
B21 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3
Black scores 56.9% here across 1,297 club games — but the 2.5% who answer Nc6 score 53.0%, 4 points worse.
What Black actually plays here
Across 1,297 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, Black scores 56.9% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.
| Reply | Games | Share | Black scores | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| cxd4 | 1,130 | 87.1% | 57.9% | holds up |
| e6 | 83 | 6.4% | 55.4% | holds up |
| Nc6 | 33 | 2.5% | 53.0% | below the line |
| d6 | 28 | 2.2% | 32.1% | below the line |
"Below the line" means the reply scores at least three points worse than the position does overall. Replies played fewer than 25 times are left out: the sample is too small to read.
Is this costing you anything?
A table of averages cannot tell you whether you go wrong here — only your own games can. Opening Leak Lab reads your Chess.com or Lichess archive, finds the decisions you repeat, and checks each one against this book and a bundled Stockfish.