Reza Schmidt: Level 97 Chess Rival (2382 ELO)

Queen tier · Speed King · plays the Smith-Morra Gambit

How Reza plays

Reza is all about speed and practical chess. At 22, from Greece, his character grew up on fast time controls, and he plays with quick, confident intuition. He accepts the Smith-Morra Gambit without hesitation because he likes concrete positions where he can rely on his instincts: take the pawn, develop quickly, and defend with energy rather than long analysis.

He is happiest in sharp, messy positions where both sides have chances and quick decisions matter. Reza is resourceful in defence and finds practical moves that make the attacker's life hard. What he enjoys less is long-term pressure without immediate threats. When White plays quietly, keeps the compensation alive and does not rush to win the material back, Reza has to defend a passive position for many moves, and patience is the part of chess his style is least suited for.

At 2382 ELO, Reza plays at master strength. Outright blunders are rare, so you need a sound opening, a clear plan and accurate calculation in sharp moments. A draw against him is a good result; a win means you played a very good game.

Smith-Morra Gambit: the line Reza plays

Reza 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 Reza

  1. Keep your bishop on b3 rather than c4. His ...Ne5 idea, trading off your Nf3 or Bc4, is one of his main ways to relieve pressure, and a b3 bishop denies it the tempo.
  2. Play h3 to stop ...Bg4. The pin against your f3 knight is another freeing idea, and keeping the knight free maintains your control of the centre.
  3. Do not rush to regain material. Morra compensation lasts, and a long, quiet pressure phase suits your position better than a forced sequence he can meet with practical defence.
  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 Reza teaches you

Reza teaches you to keep compensation alive patiently, so a quick, practical defender has to show long-term accuracy.

Neighbours on the ladder