Anton Lee: Level 41 Chess Rival (1942 ELO)

Bishop tier · Czech School · plays the Smith-Morra Gambit

How Anton plays

Anton is a 54-year-old from Novosibirsk who learned chess from Czech textbooks on pawn structure and has never stopped thinking in terms of chains and holes. He takes the Smith-Morra pawn, develops with ...Nc6, ...d6 and ...e6, and then calmly waits for White's attack to lose steam. His plan is always structural: hold the extra pawn, complete development, and reach an endgame where the material counts.

He is comfortable in solid, slightly cramped positions where his pawns cover the key squares. He is less comfortable when White's pieces aim at a single weakness and he must defend with every piece. His d6 pawn is the main target, and Anton dislikes when White piles up on it, because his defensive setup assumes he has time. Push him into a position where time is short and his structure becomes a burden.

At 1942 ELO, Anton rarely gives material away for nothing. He is held to that rating by the engine, so you will see the occasional inaccuracy in quiet positions, but tactics are usually spotted. Games are won by building a better position over many moves and converting it carefully.

Smith-Morra Gambit: the line Anton plays

Anton plays the Black side of the Smith-Morra Gambit: after 1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 they take the pawn with ...dxc3 and then develop with ...Nc6, ...d6, ...e6 and ...Nf6. Black keeps the extra pawn and tries to survive White's lead in development.

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 e6 7.O-O Nf6 8.Qe2 Be7

Learn it move by move: Smith-Morra Gambit walkthrough

How to beat Anton

  1. Aim your dark-squared bishop at d6 with Bf4. Combined with a knight on b5, this creates direct pressure that forces him to defend instead of developing.
  2. Watch for ...a6 to remove the knight from b5. Keep your pieces flexible so that if your knight is chased, it can regroup quickly to c3 or d4.
  3. Play energetically in the first fifteen moves. Every tempo he gets to complete development makes the extra pawn more valuable, so make sure each move creates a threat.
  4. If you gambit the pawn, play for activity, not material: castle, put a rook on d1 and the queen on e2, and look for Nd5 or e5 to rip open the d-file. If you would rather not gambit, 2.Nf3 leads to an Open Sicilian where they reply ...d6 and ...a6.
  5. The book answers 1.e4 (including the Alapin 2.c3 and the Open Sicilian 2.Nf3). Open 1.d4 and he is out of book immediately.

What beating Anton teaches you

Anton teaches you to play for an initiative with concrete targets, using tempo and piece pressure against a solid structural defender.

Neighbours on the ladder