Diego Sánchez: Level 4 Chess Rival (900 ELO)

Pawn tier · Aggressive Attacker · plays the Smith-Morra Gambit

• Level: 4 of 100
• Tier: Pawn
• Rating: 900 ELO
• Opening: Smith-Morra Gambit
• Style: Aggressive Attacker
• From: Argentina
• Age: 14
• Plays: Black (you have White)

How Diego plays

Diego is fourteen and plays every game as if the clock is about to fall. By temperament he is an attacker, which makes his choice against the Smith-Morra a little funny: he grabs your pawn with ...dxc3 and then has to defend for a while. He does it because he likes having something to fight for, and an extra pawn feels like a head start.

In practice Diego is not patient enough to sit on his material. He develops with ...Nc6, ...d6 and ...e6, but as soon as he sees a chance to hit back he will throw a pawn forward or bring his queen out to make threats, even with his king still in the centre. He enjoys messy, open positions where both kings are a little uncomfortable. He is unhappy when you calmly finish development and leave him nothing to attack. At 900 he still misses tactics, and his own impatience creates most of them.

At 900 ELO, Diego plays like a real club player at that rating: he sees simple threats but still leaves pieces hanging and misses tactics two or three moves deep. Check every capture he offers, and look for loose pieces after each of his moves. Most games at this level are decided by the first clean tactic, not by the opening.

Smith-Morra Gambit: the line Diego plays

Diego 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

• 3...dxc3: ...dxc3 accepts the gambit. Black is a pawn up.
• 4...Nc6: ...Nc6 develops and covers d4 and e5.
• 6...e6: ...e6 blunts your Bc4 and keeps the d5 square under control.
• 8...Be7: ...Be7 prepares castling. Black is cramped but solid.

Learn it move by move: Smith-Morra Gambit walkthrough

How to beat Diego

1. Do not rush to win the pawn back. Develop, castle and put a rook on the c-file your gambit has half-opened. Diego tends to lash out before his king is safe, and open lines then pay you back.
2. Look for Nb5 aimed at d6 and c7 whenever he has not played ...a6. Backed by Bf4, the knight puts heavy pressure on d6, and at this rating he often misses the jump entirely.
3. When he starts an early queen raid or a premature ...b5, ignore the noise and count developed pieces. If you are three or more ahead, the right answer is usually to open a central file at once.
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 Diego teaches you

Diego teaches you to turn a lead in development into an attack before it fades, and to stay calm when an impatient opponent starts making threats.

Neighbours on the ladder

• Margaret Holloway: level 3
• Priya Mehta: level 5