What is the Siberian Trap? In the Smith-Morra Gambit, after 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bc4 Qc7 7.O-O Nf6 8.Qe2 Ng4, White's 9.h3? Nd4 attacks the queen, and if White takes the knight, 10.Nxd4?? Qh2# is mate. We found this position in only 32 of 3,062,092 games.
The trap
- e4 c5
- d4 cxd4
- c3 dxc3
- Nxc3 Nc6
- Nf3 e6
- Bc4 Qc7
- O-O Nf6
- Qe2 Ng4
- h3? Nd4
- hxg4 Nxe2+
- Bxe2 Bc5
White's pawn move h3 chases the knight but opens the diagonal from c7 to h2. 9...Nd4 attacks the queen on e2. If White takes the knight with 10.Nxd4, the black queen goes to h2 with checkmate. If White takes the knight on g4 instead, Black wins the queen for two knights, and Stockfish still rates Black clearly better. Stockfish 18 rates the position after 9...Nd4 at -2.9 for White, and 10.hxg4 Nxe2+ 11.Bxe2 Bc5 at -2.8.
The safe move
9.Rd1. It is rated +0.3 for White, level or slightly better. 9.Nb5 is nearly as good. Of the 40 legal moves, only 8 keep within one pawn of the best, and one, 9.Ng5, allows an immediate mate.
Safe line: 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bc4 Qc7 7.O-O Nf6 8.Qe2 Ng4 9.Rd1 Bc5 10.Nb5 Qb6 11.Nd6+ Kf8
How often does it happen? Almost never
| What we counted | Games | Share of all games |
|---|---|---|
| All games in the sample | 3,062,092 | 100% |
| Smith-Morra (1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3) | 10,439 | 0.34% (1 in 290) |
| Gambit accepted (3...dxc3) | 6,712 | 0.22% |
| This exact position reached (after 8...Ng4) | 32 | 0.001% |
| White then played 9.h3 | 7 | 0.0002% |
Source: Lichess rapid and blitz, September 2026. The Smith-Morra is not rare among strong players: 1 game in 145 at 1800+. It is almost never played below 1400 (1 game in 6,000 under 1000). But the Siberian line needs the right sequence of eight moves by both sides, and no game below 1600 reached it.
White scored 51.8% in the Smith-Morra overall, about the same as the 1.e4 average of 51.6%. So the gambit is sound as a surprise, and the trap is a curiosity.
What to learn from it
Before kicking a piece near your king, look at what your opponent's queen can see. A pawn move such as h3 can open a line to your king. The same lesson applies in 100 other positions.
Practise it
The free Trap Lab Siberian drill lets you check all 40 moves, then play Black and find the jump to d4.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Siberian Trap? A trap in the Smith-Morra Gambit: after 8...Ng4, White's 9.h3? Nd4 hits the queen, and 10.Nxd4 Qh2 is checkmate.
How do you avoid the Siberian Trap? Play 9.Rd1 or 9.Nb5 instead of 9.h3.
Is the Siberian Trap common? No. In 3,062,092 Lichess games we found the position 32 times.
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