Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit: what should White play?

In the Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit structure, White's strongest and most common continuation is dxc5, which resolves central tension and exposes Black's queen. With an engine evaluation of +1.20 and a 55.4% scoring rate across 1.95 million recorded games, capturing on c5 directly challenges Black's early pawn play. White immediately targets the weakness of Black's extended center while securing rapid piece mobilization.

Strategic rationale of dxc5

Opting for dxc5 is the dominant choice, appearing in 46.9% of the 4,159,773 recorded games from this position. By capturing the pawn, White forces Black to spend tempo regaining material rather than developing minor pieces. The illustrative engine line continues dxc5 Qa5+ Nc3 Qxc5 Be3 Qa5, where White develops the queenside bishop to e3 with a gain of time against the black queen.

Alternatives in the center

White also frequently selects central expansion or piece development instead of capturing. The spatial push d5 represents 20.0% of games (834K recorded) with an evaluation of +0.75, leading toward closed setups via d5 Nf6 Bd3 g6 c4 Bg7. Alternatively, transitioning back into open Sicilian setups with Nf3 occurs in 16.5% of games (687K recorded, evaluated at +0.32), featuring lines such as Nf3 cxd4 Nxd4 Nf6 Nc3 a6.

Morra-style setups and bishop checks

Players aiming to maintain the true pawn-gambit character often select c3, which accounts for 15.9% of games (662K recorded) and holds an engine evaluation of +0.66, yielding White 53.5% of points in lines like c3 Nf6 Bd3 g6 h3 cxd4. A rarer resource is the tactical disruption Bb5+, seen in just 0.7% of games (28K recorded, evaluated at +0.43), which trades light-squared bishops after Bb5+ Bd7 Bxd7+ Qxd7 dxc5 dxc5.